Congress

  • Congressman Mick Mulvaney and Coalition for Government Procurement Chairman Bill Gormley will talk the challenges that small businesses face when trying to do business with the government. May 15, 2012

    May 15, 2012
  • The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee gave the acting GSA administrator 21 days to answer 41 multi-part questions about the agency's efforts to prevent waste, fraud and abuse following the now infamous Western Regions Conference. Senators also recommended the agency review all other recent GSA conferences for possible problems.

    May 15, 2012
  • The Defense Department had proposed having patients pay up to 14 percent of their health care costs by 2017, compared with 10 percent now.

    May 15, 2012
  • Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation Monday that would automatically increase new federal employees' contribution rate to their federal 401(k) style Thrift Savings Plan. the "Save More Tomorrow Act," would automatically escalate the contribution annually by 1 percent for the two years following enrollment. That gradually raises the contribution rate to 5 percent, making employees eligible for matching contributions from their agencies.

    May 14, 2012
  • Is Prohibition, which ended in 1933, coming back to federal offices? Will root-beer-based martinis be the new drink of choice of federal party-goers? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wonders: Has it already started?

    May 14, 2012
  • Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) talked to the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about his objections to how the Internal Revenue Service handles whistleblower complaints.

    May 11, 2012
  • More than 30 civil liberties groups have come out against the leading cybersecurity bill in the Senate.

    May 11, 2012
  • Ten agencies do not have Senate-confirmed inspectors generals. Four have been waiting for more than 1,000 days for a nomination or confirmation. But House lawmakers found that agencies without a permanent IG still are making a lot of progress in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.

    May 11, 2012
  • Hours after a key House committee voted to give the Pentagon more money than it asked for in next year's budget, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said thanks, but no thanks. Panetta warned passing a $3 billion increase would set a showdown with the Senate and force sequestration to happen.

    May 11, 2012
  • If you ask the typical federal/postal worker what his or her greatest job-related fear was, many would answer they are afraid Congress will change their retirement rules and base their benefits on their highest five-year average salary. Yet the likelihood of losing the current high-three system is small compared to other, more real threats, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    May 11, 2012
  • The House approved the first spending bill for 2013, setting operating budgets for the Commerce and Justice Departments and for science-related agencies, such as NASA.

    May 10, 2012
  • The GOP-controlled House passed legislation Thursday requiring federal workers to contribute more toward their retirement. The Sequester Replacement Act of 2012 proposed gradually increasing federal employees' pension contributions by 5 percent over five years as an alternative to sequestration.

    May 10, 2012
  • Budget analyst Steve Bell says there is "no chance" Congress will be able to pass a plan to avoid sequestration — the automatic, across-the-board cuts that would go into effect Jan. 2, 2013, as part of last summer's deficit deal.

    May 10, 2012
  • A top Air Force General outlined steps taken to make sure jet pilots don't black out. Two whistleblower pilots recently said the F-22 oxygen delivery system was faulty, causing a condition known as hypoxia.

    May 10, 2012