Budget

  • Federal News Radio asked a panel of experts how they would solve the flawed budget process as part of our special report: Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process. See what they had to say and tell us which ideas you think would work best.

    March 04, 2014
  • In addition to restoring reasonable Presidential reorganization authority, it's time to implement a statutory Government Transformation Board to make periodic findings and recommendations to Congress, says David Walker, former comptroller general of the U.S. Mr. Walker's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Twenty states currently use biennial budgeting, with great results, says Congressman Reid Ribble. Rep. Ribble's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • The state of Connecticut relies on a results-based accountability model to develop its budget. Rep. Diana Urban says the system offers a structure that allows lawmakers to create a shared vision and get rid of programs that are not achieving that vision. Rep. Urban's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Federal employees continue to be Congress' go-to resource for deficit reduction through pay freezes and increases in their retirement contributions, according to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Van Hollen's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Agencies must face the fiscal realities of constrained budgets and limited resources. Dan Chenok, the executive director of IBM Center for the Business of Government, says executives need to look across all levels of government to find ways to save costs. Mr. Chenok's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Adopting biennial appropriations and committing to stable funding for capital investments would go a long way towards fixing a broken budget process that is inherently political, says Bryan Clark of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Mr. Clark's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Under the current annual budget cycle, the difficult struggle to pass appropriations bills consumes too much valuable time and effort, says Robert Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition. Mr. Bixby's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • The challenge is not to fine tune the obviously dysfunctional budget process. The challenge is to rethink the budget process and the presentation of the budget so that it is more likely to produce a durable consensus among a significant number of Democrats and Republicans and promote better public understanding of the fiscal choices the nation faces, says David Wessel of the Brookings Institution. Mr. Wessel's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

    March 04, 2014
  • Air Force leaders intend to surpass their share of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's edict to reduce DoD headquarters spending by 20 percent and complete the task several years ahead of schedule. The personnel cuts are part of the service's plan to shrink its size in order to catch up with decades of deferred spending on readiness and modernization.

    March 03, 2014
  • OPM Director Katherine Archuleta didn't have details on the proposals, but she said agencies need to learn from each other and build on their successes.

    March 03, 2014
  • On this week's Capital Impact show, Admiral James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discusses Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's inaugural budget with Bloomberg Television's Peter Cook. February 27, 2014

    February 27, 2014
  • IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government that budget and staffing reductions are impacting the agency's core missions of customer service and tax collection. The agency projects it will only be able to answer 61 percent of phone calls this year, meaning some 20 million phone calls will go unanswered. Meanwhile, taxpayers attempting to reach IRS offices are facing wait times that stretch past 20 minutes.

    February 27, 2014
  • The Senate subcommittee with oversight of the federal workforce will take up the issue of federal-employee compensation and sinking employee morale. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the subcommittee chairman, said at the National Treasury Employees Union's annual legislative conference that the hearing would focus, in part, on making sure federal pay stays competitive with the private sector.

    February 26, 2014