Congress

  • A series of cost-savings amendments to the Superstorm Sandy aid bill the House will consider this week has drawn the ire of a federal-employee union who say the proposals "unfairly target" government workers. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) has proposed defraying some of the costs of the $50 billion recovery package by rescinding a mass-transit tax benefit for federal employees and by ordering more across-the-board agency budget cuts.

    January 14, 2013
  • Air Force commanders will get orders in the next few days to plan for the possibility of fewer flying hours, providing fewer office supplies and working on fewer IT upgrades. Part of the service's planning will be to figure out how many civilian workers would need to be furloughed and for how long.

    January 14, 2013
  • In a new report, the Government Accountability Office found tighter budgets in recent years have constrained agencies' ability to maintain and repair historic buildings and that poor data practices have led to inconsistent and erroneous information on a database designed to track federal properties.

    January 11, 2013
  • Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter told DoD components Thursday to draw up plans for full-year continuing resolution, plus sequestration. The approach to deal with across-the-board cuts would be to freeze civilian hiring, cut training, travel and conferences and reduce business technology expenditures.

    January 11, 2013
  • On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts examine NASA's acquisition forecast for this year, and the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. January 10, 2013

    January 10, 2013
  • Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he plans to introduce legislation allowing for the elimination or consolidation of outdated or redundant agency reports. Cutting back on unnecessary reporting requirements is part of the 2010 Government Performance and Results Modernization Act.

    January 10, 2013
  • New version of sequestration would reduce overall tab to DoD but compress across-the-board cuts into just seven months. A leading-think tank's "back of the envelope" calculations show the military would have to furlough almost every civilian.

    January 10, 2013
  • Financial planner Arthur Stein, will answer your questions about the Thrift Savings Plan, and give advice on what you should be doing with your TSP accounts. January 9, 2013

    January 09, 2013
  • The White House submitted a report to Congress as part of the GPRA Modernization Act that details hundreds of unnecessary reports and studies. The report listed 70 DoD reports as well as the desire to streamline the report on duplicate reports.

    January 09, 2013
  • Theresa Kern, a member of Women Construction Owners and Executives, discusses a new provision in the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill that helps women-owned, small construction companies. Grant McLaughlin of Booz Allen Hamilton talks about a new social media guide for feds. Alex Bolton of The Hill newspaper previews the upcoming confirmation season. Matthew Zisman of Bloomberg Government talks about new contracts for NASA.

    January 09, 2013
  • When lawmakers and the White House kicked sequestration two months down the road, they also made changes to how the cuts would be calculated. The Pentagon estimates the impact on the Defense budget would be gentler than before.

    January 09, 2013
  • Martin Libicki of Rand Corp talks about the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill. Dov Zakheim reviews what DoD Secretary-nominee Chuck Hagel can expect from Congress. Attorney Mark Schamel explains how the Defense Authorization Bill helps off-duty law enforcement agents. Erik Olson of the Pew Health Group discusses new food safety rules issued by the FDA. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service previews the SAMMIE nomination process. Katherine McFate discusses OMB Watch's name change.

    January 08, 2013
  • Michael Keating, senior editor for Government Product News, joins host Mark Amtower to talk about the GSA scandal, and other big stories in 2012. January 7, 2013

    January 07, 2013
  • Jimmy Christianson of the Associated General Contractors of America discusses government construction projects currently underway. Billy House of the National Journal talks about an article he wrote on the new Congress. Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, talks about GSA's Multiple Awards Schedule. Tim Solms of Microsoft discusses a new deal his company signed with DoD. Lisa Wolfe of Federal News Radio sheds light on a new website for federal job seekers. Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government talks about the new bill providing federal Sandy relief spending.

    January 07, 2013