Budget
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The Pentagon says it's time to trim down the size and the cost of its headquarters staff around the world. The Government Accountability Office says the size of the overall workforce at the Pentagon's combatant commands doubled over the past decade. Overall spending to support the command headquarters grew by almost $1 billion, too. John Pendleton is director of defense capabilities and management of the GAO. He explained DoD's reduction plan and recommended ways to shrink the workforce on In Depth with Francis Rose.
July 07, 2014 -
Among ten topics the Army's new undersecretary says he's pondering: the service's seeming inability to convince policymakers of the need to keep a standing active duty force of about the size the nation has today, even during budget cuts.
July 07, 2014 -
Combat in Afghanistan may be winding down for American troops, but requests for supplemental war money keep on rolling. In fact, the Pentagon is asking for no less than $58.6 billion for 2015. Officials say they've got plenty of contingency needs all around the globe. Cameron Leuthy, senior budget analyst for Bloomberg Government, joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what's in the request.
July 02, 2014 -
The Defense Department's request for its overseas contingency operations is about $20 billion less than initial estimates. Former Defense officials say realistic goals and managed expectations usually spelled success for weapons systems.
June 30, 2014 -
Army Corps of Engineers faces billions of dollars in backlogged projects. With little hope of additional funding from Congress, officials are looking for alternative ways to finance the public infrastructure they're charged with maintaining.
June 27, 2014 -
The White House wants $60 billion for the Pentagon's overseas contingency operations in fiscal 2015. Defense News reports the President's OCO budget has an extra $5 billion request for a new counterterrorism fund, too. Over the next few days, Capitol Hill will host a number of defense officials to make their cases for some specific programs. Roger Zakheim is counsel for Covington and Burling, and former deputy staff director of the House Armed Services Committee. He wrote about the relationship between the White House and Congress when it comes to defense budget planning. He shared his thoughts on In Depth with Francis Rose.
June 26, 2014 -
Your agency's funding bill may be among the spending vehicles that appear to be stalling out in Congress. The Senate's effort to get several bills through in a package has hit a roadblock. David Hawkings is Senior Editor at Roll Call and host of the Hawkings Here blog. He detailed the stops-and-starts of the agency budget process on In Depth with Francis Rose.
June 23, 2014 -
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut more than $300 million from last year's Internal Revenue Service budget. This adds to the tension between Congress and the IRS over lost emails.
June 23, 2014 -
Thanks to Congressional budget cutters and the White House sequestration program, two of the most important federal operations - the IRS and the Social Security Administration - are getting smaller and slower. So, how much longer can we afford these 'savings', Senior Correspondent Mike Causey asks?
June 23, 2014 -
From hiring freezes and furlough days, to cuts to travel and equipment upgrades, the IRS generally 'took reasonable steps' to plan for sequestration, according to a new audit.
June 20, 2014 -
Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: If the score is 32,000 them and 0 you, do you change your game plan? If your significant other says no 32,000 times in a row, do you consider another tactic? Do Congress and the White House need a new playbook?
June 19, 2014 -
Robert Levinson, senior defense analyst at Bloomberg Government takes a closer look at the Pentagon's 2015 budget request, and what's in it for contractors. June 17, 2014
June 17, 2014 -
The Postal Service's mail delivery vehicles are in dire need of replacement, but the agency doesn't have enough money to buy a new fleet. In a new report, the USPS Inspector General said the agency's current fleet will only allow it to sustain delivery operations through fiscal 2017.
June 17, 2014 -
With an employment drop over the past year, agencies must adopt a "less with less" mentality, according Bob Tobias, director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He says executives must be honest with Congress about their limited capabilities.
June 16, 2014 -
The Government Accountability Office recommended the IRS develop long-term strategies and use ROI data comparisons to better operate with a less-than-ideal budget.
June 13, 2014