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Congress missed the deadline to avert sequestration last week. And now a deadline to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month is barreling toward lawmakers. But members of both chambers and from both sides of the aisle say they're confident they can work out a deal to keep the government running.The likely sticking point is how the the automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, will continue to play out. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R- Okla.) discuss the continuing resolution and sequestration on In Depth with Francis Rose.
The fiscal 2013 spending bill doesn't remove the requirement for the Postal Service to deliver first-class mail six days a week. Other provisions in the bill povide a boost in funding DHS cyber, DoD acquisition and VA IT spending.
The Protecting America's Civilian Employees Act would require the Office of Management and Budget to submit a plan to Congress on how they would cut spending without harming the federal workforce.
The House has approved legislation to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month, freeze federal pay for a third straight year and give the Defense Department some relief from a cash crunch caused by sequestration. The huge spending measure, which was passed on a 267-151 vote, would fund federal operations through September. It leaves in place automatic cuts of 5 percent to domestic agencies and 7.8 percent to the Pentagon ordered by President Barack Obama Friday night after months of battling Republicans over the budget.
In his final report to Congress, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen's conclusion was all too clear: Since the invasion a decade ago this month, the U.S. has spent too much money in Iraq for too few results.
The lower chamber's bill would significantly soften the blow against DoD and potentially eliminate current plans such as civilian furloughs because of the automatic budget cuts. The remainder of the government would remain under both sequestration and a full-year continuing resolution.
Host Roger Waldron talks sequestration with Deltek's Ray Bjorklund, and Bloomberg Government's Cameron Leuthy. March 5, 2013
Over the past few years, unimplemented agency inspector general recommendations that could potentially save the government billions of dollars have piled up. Now, with $85 billion in automatic budget cuts kicking in, lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are telling agencies there's no excuse for them to further delay implementing the cost-saving measures and best practices identified by their IGs.
House Republicans unveiled a stopgap government funding measure Monday. The measure would extend the federal pay freeze and leave in place automatic sequestration cuts but would award the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments their detailed 2013 budgets while other agencies would be frozen at 2012 levels -- and then bear the across-the-board cuts. The current continuing resolution expires March 27.
The chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote to 17 agencies requesting short-term ways to achieve savings instead of the across-the-board cuts expected to start today.
Sequestration is officially a reality for federal employees and agencies. President Barack Obama signed the sequestration order into effect Friday night. After more than 15 months, fierce debate and a delay at the beginning of the year, the $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts are officially here. Find out what steps civilian agencies and the Pentagon are taking, including employee furloughs. Plus find out what comes next in terms of negotiations between the White House and Congress.
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts will discuss sequestration and its impact on Congress. February 28, 2013
The administration issued new guidance late Wednesday detailing specific steps agencies should take as sequestration now is one-day away. Danny Werfel, OMB's controller, told agency leaders to place "increased scrutiny" around several personnel issues, including new hires, training, travel and conferences.
The automatic budget cuts set to occur under sequestration will go into effect as a matter of law on Friday. But their full impact won't be felt until late this spring, long after lawmakers encounter the next budget showdown.