Congress

• House Veterans Committee adds latest VA cyber breach to ongoing investigations

  Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) wants answers from the Veterans Affairs Department after its latest privacy and cyber breach of the data of more than 5,000 veterans through its eBenefits portal. VA says it has fixed the software defect and its Data Breach Core Team is investigating what happened.

  Congress

  January 27, 2014
• Congress made the cuts, not the President

  On this week's Capital Impact show, Bloomberg Government analysts discuss cuts made by Congress to the defense budget, and the winners and losers in this budget battle. January 23, 2014

  Budget

  January 23, 2014
• DoD conference policy in-line with OMB guidance, GAO says

  A new Government Accountability Office report says that the Defense Department's oversight of conference spending is consistent with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

  Congress

  January 23, 2014
• Senate to take up major overhaul of VA benefits

  Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the measure that includes dozens of provisions that expand benefits and hiring programs and grants advance appropriations to most of the Veterans Affairs' accounts. Senate Veterans Affairs chairman suggested paying for the changes by reducing DoD's wartime budget.

  Congress

  January 23, 2014
• Senate bill would give GPO new name

  New bipartisan legislation is aiming to rebrand the 153-year-old Government Printing Office. But that doesn't mean you'll stop seeing the GPO initials stamped on government documents any time soon. The bill, introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) last week, would retain GPO's familiar initials, but change the official name of the agency to the Government Publishing Office.

  Congress

  January 22, 2014
• Fed buildings to get much-needed upgrades thanks to budget boost

  The General Services Administration says it will finally be able to begin digging out of a backlog of deferred maintenance of federal buildings thanks to a boost in funding from the recently passed bipartisan spending bill. The spending bill, passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last week, authorizes GSA to spend about $9.3 billion from the Federal Buildings Fund.

  Budget

  January 21, 2014
• E-Gov Fund continues to stand alone, gets boost to $16M

  Senate lawmakers won out over the debate about whether or not to merge the E-Government Fund with the Federal Citizen Services Fund. DHS also receives $166 million for cybersecurity programs in the fiscal 2014 spending bill.

  Congress

  January 21, 2014
• Federal scientists crying foul over DATA Act’s conference restrictions

  A group of federal scientists is concerned that proposed restrictions on federal employees attending conferences could put scientific research behind the curve. The Assembly of Scientists wrote to the two top senators on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee last week, arguing that the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act would likely lead to a "decline in the productivity, creativity, morale, recruitment and retention" of many of the government's top scientists.

  Federal Drive

  January 20, 2014
• 3 takeaways from HealthCare.gov cyber hearing

  HHS and CMS cyber officials tell House lawmakers the Affordable Care Act portal is meeting or exceeding industry best practices for information assurance.

  Congress

  January 17, 2014
• The economy and cybersecurity

  On this week's Capital Impact show, Bloomberg Government analysts will discuss democrat and republican plans to spur job growth, and why some companies are lagging behind in implementing the cybersecurity framework. January 16, 2014

  Budget

  January 16, 2014
• Which lawmakers are fed-friendly on Capitol Hill?

  Federally Employed Women released its annual Voting Record Scorecard. Now, federal employees can see which lawmakers are supporting legislation that helps them.

  All News

  January 16, 2014
• 2014 funding: Agency-by-agency breakdown of spending bill

  With the unveiling of the bipartisan spending bill this week, federal agencies are getting a clearer picture of how much funding they'll get for the rest of the fiscal year. Track which agencies will see sizable increases or which will be getting the short end of the stick.

  Budget

  January 16, 2014
• Management changes, the 2014 budget, and more

  Host Mike Causey will discuss the status and duties of federal managers in 2014, with Pat Niehaus, president of the Federal Managers Association. He'll also discuss the budget situation with Federal Times writers Sean Reilly and Nicole Blake Johnson. January 15, 2014

  Mike Causey

  January 15, 2014
• Agency watchdogs seek more independence, budget boost

  House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) says agency inspectors general are increasingly facing obstacles in their efforts to uncover waste and misconduct. The top watchdogs at both the Justice Department and the Peace Corps told lawmakers they've faced resistance from their agencies at times in turning over records in recent years. Lawmakers also expressed concern about the impact of across-the-board budget cuts on the operations agency IG operations.

  Congress

  January 15, 2014