President Barack Obama's proposal to change the way retirees' cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated has drawn the ire of federal-employee groups and unions. The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) has released a calculator designed to show retirees and policymakers how benefits would be reduced if the chained CPI were implemented.
Employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be furloughed four days starting in July, acting Administrator Kathryn Sullivan wrote in an email to staff Monday.
Elected and appointed officials are exempt from sequestration-related furloughs. But now that President Barack Obama has voluntarily taken a 5 percent pay cut, odds are many of the people he appointed to their jobs will also follow suit. So what do rank-and-file federal employees think? Check out Senior Correspondent Mike Causey's column for more.
With the release of the White House's 2014 budget proposal last week, budget season on Capitol Hill is in full swing. But while Congress will be debating the merits of the President's budget plan via a flurry of congressional hearings this week, the permanent director's chair at the Office of Management and Budget remains vacant.
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
President Barack Obama wants to make federal service cool again. But his budget proposals, which would reduce future retirement benefits and force feds to pay more for them, has a lot of current civil servants hot under the collar, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.
The Office of Personnel Management told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the 50-year-old law creating the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) has hurt its ability to keep the FEHBP up-to-date. The agency estimates billions in savings over the next decade should Congress approve the White House's proposals in the 2014 budget request.
On this week's Capital Impact show, Bloomberg Government analysts discuss the latest jobs report and and how sequestration is affecting the economy of Fairfax County Virginia. April 11, 2013
Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: Would you be willing to accept a slightly smaller retirement benefit if it would help get the country out of debt? What if future cost-of-living adjustments to your civil service benefit were reduced by a mere 0.3 percent each year?
Federal employees would see a slight pay bump next year under President Barack Obama's proposed budget for 2014. But at the same time, the White House budget outline proposes sweeping changes to federal employees' retirement benefits, including reductions to annual cost-of-living increases for retirees.
The White House asked Congress for a $2 billion increase in federal technology funding for fiscal 2014. Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel said there is broad recognition that the time to invest in IT is now because of the long-term savings and benefits it can bring.
The Defense Department's 2014 budget proposal reduces the size of the civilian workforce slightly, increases TRICARE premiums, and requests another round of base closures. It also calls for a slight raise for both civilian employees and uniformed servicemembers. The budget significantly exceeds the Defense spending caps in current law.
James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, said the 17-agency community is trying not to repeat lessons of past cuts that hampered analytical capabilities. Clapper also issued a new IC-wide code of ethics and made a key change to the security clearance form.
Absent structural changes, the combination of 10-year budget caps Congress has already approved and rising growth in personnel costs mean DoD would be able to sign paychecks, administer healthcare benefits and not much more.
Craig E. Hooks, assistant administrator at EPA's Office of Administration and Resources, sent an email to all agency employees describing the agency's furlough plans. Full-time employees will be furloughed for 32 hours during the first phase of EPA's furlough process.