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The House Republican response to President Obama\'s fiscal 2013 budget is similar to last year\'s, which caused a \"political firestorm\" for its proposed changes to Medicare, said The Hill staff writer Erik Wasson.
The Internal Revenue Service\'s systems leave taxpayer data at risk according to government auditors.
Two small agencies with large responsibilities toward the federal workforce say they\'ve trimmed all the fat from their budgets and will need more resources to keep up with increasing caseloads. Merit Systems Protection Board Chairman Susan Tsui Grundmann told a Senate subcommittee she worries about impending staff retirements as well. The Office of Special Counsel is also feeling pressure to do more with less.
Gen. Keith Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, told lawmakers DoD would complete an updated version of rules of engagement for cyberspace in the next month or two. Some congressmen believe the Pentagon needs broader authorities to protect the nation from cyber attacks.
The House unanimously voted Tuesday to create a new process for disposing of the federal government's 14,000 excess properties, beginning with a pilot program to sell off more than a dozen of the most profitable facilities. Under the law, agencies would be able to keep a portion of the proceeds from the sale of real property. The bill would also create a comprehensive database compiling a list of all of the federal government's real property.
The Republican budget plan for fiscal 2013 calls for a pay freeze through 2015, changes to federal retirement contributions and a cut to the federal workforce.
Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president for national security and procurement policy at TechAmerica, said the Senate bill will hurt the ability to attract people to government business.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a staunch USPS supporter, takes Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to task for pursuing a plan to close thousands of postal facilities in order to save $7.1 billion annually.
Steve Bell, senior director of the Economic Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told The Federal Drive with Tom Temin that unless something dramatic happens the budget will have about $1 trillion for the next 10 years.
With a smaller staff through buyouts and reduced costs due to the shift to digital publishing, the Government Printing Office is requesting no increase in its budget for fiscal 2013.
The bill (S.2198), introduced Thursday by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would cap contractors\' pay at $400,000 and apply that cap to all contract employees — not just top executives.
n 2007, 75 percent of the Air Force\'s service contracts were awarded through competitive procurements. By last year, that had fallen to 59 percent.
Four senators introduced a bill that would add Medicare patients to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, as Medicare is gradually phased out. The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association tells feds to be wary of the bill.
The budget proposal House Republicans are planning to unveil next week will include provisions that would rescue the Defense Department from further budget cuts.