Budget

  • The Postal Service reported a net loss of $586 million for the quarter that ended on June 30, an improvement over a $2 billion loss recorded during the same period last year

    August 10, 2015
  • Adm. Paul Zukunft says he’s highly optimistic that more money is coming to help recapitalize his fleet. The House and Senate have yet to agree to a 2016 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, but he said his discussions with leaders of both parties from the two congressional appropriations committees suggest his service will get a robust plus-up.

    August 10, 2015
  • In this week's Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work tells the deputy chief management officer to come up with an implementation strategy for a “rationalized” Pentagon organizational chart.

    August 10, 2015
  • The Pentagon is telling its senior leadership to get ready for another round of cutbacks to administrative spending. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work says he wants a plan on his desk to de-layer DoD’s organizational chart and also get better value from its service contracts. Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu writes about it in this week’s edition of Inside the Reporter’s Notebook.

    August 07, 2015
  • The Office of Management and Budget's director urges Congress to reconsider the budget belt-tightening it has in store for the IRS, the Office of Personnel Management and federal IT.

    August 07, 2015
  • The Army Reserve wants to make sure its soldiers aren’t relegated to the military’s B-team – called on only in case of emergency. But to do that, it needs to make sure its servicemembers are constantly training in their specialties, something that’s increasingly difficult under constrained budgets. As Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu reports, the Reserve is looking to dramatically lower its training costs through public-private partnerships.

    August 04, 2015
  • Congress has long promised no government shutdown this year. But some observers think it's now starting to look more likely. Some Republicans want to tie any appropriations measure — or continuing resolution — to language that would defund Planned Parenthood. Eighteen House Republicans signed a letter before leaving for summer recess. And some senators are joining the movement. David Hawkings, senior editor of Roll Call, writes the Hawkings Here blog. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that Republicans have fought similar battles before.

    August 03, 2015
  • The Homeland Security Department is committing $250 million in spending to the professional services governmentwide acquisition contract known as OASIS. DHS signed a memorandum of understanding with GSA detailing its commitment. Todd Richards is the OASIS contract program manager at the General Services Administration. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller talked to Richards at the National Contract Management Association’s World Congress in Dallas and has more details about the MOU with DHS.

    July 30, 2015
  • The Department of Defense is seeing an increase in its projected IT spending for 2016 for the first time in 3 years. The increase is small at 1.6 percent but that's an extra half a billion dollars. Shawn McCarthy is the Research Director at IDC Government Insights. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose where that half a billion could be going.

    July 30, 2015
  • The Senate passed a piece of legislation Wednesday that will help the Veterans Affairs Department avoid a budget shortfall that could impact the care some veterans receive.

    July 30, 2015
  • After nearly 20 years of development, the Marine Corps said its first squadron of F35B joint strike fighters is just about ready for combat. It's the first joint strike fighter model to reach initial operational capability and the Defense Department spends nearly $100 billion in the process so far. Jim Hasik is a senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what the Pentagon could have spent its money on instead.

    July 29, 2015
  • The White House wants agencies to use data to make budget decisions and more data is available than ever to determine what works and what doesn't. But data may not be the only measure of program success. Paul Eder is a lead consultant at the Center for Organizational Excellence. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that expectations may play a part in the success of your work.

    July 29, 2015
  • This week on "Your Turn", Katie Maddocks and Greg Stanford of the Federal Managers Association, will bring us up to date on what Congress is doing, and what's likely to happen soon, and during the 2016 election year. July 29, 2015

    July 28, 2015
  • The House has a number of bills on its calendar this week that, if enacted, could have significant impacts on federal employees and their dependents.

    July 28, 2015