Congress

  • Agencies should not change their spending plans for this year or next, but need to start assessing which programs would be impacted by automatic sequestration cuts if Congress doesn't cancel them, OMB acting Director Jeff Zients told Congress Wednesday.

    August 02, 2012
  • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee lawmakers were expected to ask the agency's inspector general to look into the 14th Annual SmartPay conference happening this week in Nashville. GSA says all conferences must go through a multi-step approval process, including those already in the planning stages for 2012 and beyond.

    August 02, 2012
  • The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general partnered with both Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to investigate an increasing number of cases. Leaders of all three reported to a House subcommittee hearing that the collaboration has benefited the investigation process.

    August 02, 2012
  • GAO highlights a need for tighter controls to fix the contracting program.

    August 02, 2012
  • When you think of the good old days do you think of your childhood, or maybe when you were in high school or college? For some people, like those who work for or are otherwise linked to Uncle Sam, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says the good old days may be as recent as this time last year when we thought times were tough.

    August 02, 2012
  • NTEU president Colleen Kelley and Steve Watkins and Andy Medici from the Federal Times will talk about some of the big a wide variey of issues affecting federal workers. August 1, 2012

    August 01, 2012
  • Outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz, who retires in August, spoke to reporters during his last press conference at the Pentagon about the challenges facing the branch amid tensions with Congress and new geo-politics that pose security threats.

    August 01, 2012
  • Although the word "default" might elicit a sense of urgency in most people, it doesn't appear to be inspiring lawmakers to take action on the proposed Postal Service bill. USPS is expected to default on $5.5 billion in pension costs that it owes to the Treasury.

    August 01, 2012
  • A battle over the role companies should play in keeping the U.S. safe from cyber attacks threatens to kill cybersecurity legislation in the Senate

    August 01, 2012
  • The contract includes "very stringent" IT security requirements. The announcement follows a data breach that affected 123,000 TSP participants in 2011.

    August 01, 2012
  • Ever watch an inept team of trainees assemble then take apart an explosive device? If not, move to D.C. or watch live coverage of Congress on TV. With Congress, you get the political version which, more often than not, ends in a whimper rather than a bang, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    August 01, 2012
  • Faced with congressional inaction in averting looming across-the-board cuts that take effect in January, the Office of Management and Budget will begin meeting with agency leaders to discuss how the cuts will be implemented. In a memo to agency heads, OMB Director Jeff Zients said his office will consult with agencies to determine which budget accounts and programs are exempt from sequestration.

    July 31, 2012
  • The top Republican and Democrat on Capitol Hill have announced an agreement to keep the government running on autopilot for six months when the current budget year ends on Sept. 30. The announcements by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP House Speaker John Boehner are aimed at averting any chance of a government shutdown this fall. The leaders said an official vote on the bill won't come until September.

    July 31, 2012
  • The Government Accountability Office looked at how agencies were complying with the Services Acquisitions Reform Act of 2003. It discovered that while many chief acquisition officers had assumed duties far beyond what the act intended, that might not be such a bad thing.

    July 31, 2012