Congress

  • OMB and GSA put out separate memos detailing steps agencies should take if the government shuts down. OMB reminded agencies to secure systems and how to deal with third-party social media sites. GSA gave agencies ideas to minimize the impact of having to shutdown websites.

    September 30, 2013
  • What's your agency's shutdown plan? Federal News Radio provides links to each agency's guidance in the event of a government shutdown.

    September 30, 2013
  • If you've been in government for at least two years, this is not your first shutdown rodeo. If you have been around a long time, you've been to the brink a lot, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. But even if one (or even both) sides blink, this is going to happen again. Soon.

    September 30, 2013
  • Pentagon guidance says military members will report to work as normal under a government shutdown, and most employees working under service contracts would be unaffected as well. But about half the civilian workforce would be told to stay home without pay.

    September 27, 2013
  • Despite coming close in 2011, a government shutdown hasn't occurred since 1996. Frank Reeder, who was director of the Office of Administration of the White House in the Clinton administration at the time, said one of the most challenging aspects was managing the morale of the federal workforce.

    September 27, 2013
  • Federal employees began learning Friday whether they'll be forced to stay home if the government shuts down next week. Supervisors were tasked with informally telling employees today whether they are classified as "essential" or "nonessential," according to several federal-employee unions briefed by the Obama administration. Congress is prepared to work through the weekend, but the clock is ticking down for lawmakers to agree on a funding bill keeping the lights on at agencies beyond Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

    September 27, 2013
  • The Air Force says budget uncertainty will mean a lot of delayed contracting decisions in the first portion of 2014. Meanwhile, the service is hurriedly trying to spend every last dollar in its 2013 procurement accounts.

    September 27, 2013
  • A government shutdown could furlough 800,000 federal employees. The shutdown could hit as early as Tuesday if a bitterly divided Congress fails to approve a temporary spending bill to keep the government running.

    September 27, 2013
  • In politics, as in football, sometimes the best move is to punt. And even if you are not a sports fan or political junkie consider what Congress and the Washington football team have in common: So far this season both are losers. The difference is the football team is bound to win one while Congress keeps failing to score and punting, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    September 27, 2013
  • EPA also issues guidance to agencies, and OPM updates the governmentwide shutdown guidance.

    September 26, 2013
  • The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service says it can return to being profitable and begin to pay down its debt if Congress gives it the authority to overhaul its health benefits structure. Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday that launching a postal-specific health care plan would help save the agency $8 billion annually through 2016.

    September 26, 2013
  • Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) has put confirmation of Deborah Lee James on hold until she gets answers about possible cuts to the A-10 Thunderbolt attack fighter fleet.

    September 26, 2013
  • Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wants to know whether many of the federal government's Senior Executive Service members are deserving of the bonus payments they receive. McCaskill, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on financial and contracting oversight, wrote to the head of the Government Accountability Office, asking the watchdog agency to investigate whether bonuses paid to SES employees involved in contract management are effective tools in reducing costs or improving contract performance.

    September 25, 2013
  • What will a government shutdown really mean for federal employees and government HR offices if it goes into effect next week? Advice from someone who knows - former DHS Chief Human Capital Officer Jeff Neal.

    September 25, 2013