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In a world of shrinking budgets, federal agencies are constantly looking to improve performance. No one is dealing with that more right now than the Department of Defense. But the DoD, with its inherent emphasis on mission and metrics, is also poised to adapt to this new climate better than anyone else. On the Federal Drive, several DoD experts weighed in on balancing performance and resources.
In the IRS, IT has made some progress of late. But much of the agency's core taxpayer data system still relies on systems that were initially engineered in the punch card and magnetic tape era, the agency's commissioner said.
Lawmakers should get their rest and relaxation now, because they've got lots to do when they get back from their recess. There will be hearings on federal conferences in the wake of the scandal at the General Services Administration, plus competing Postal Service, budget and cybersecurity bills. Federal News Radio asked Pete Kasperowicz at The Hill newspaper for his predictions.
Issues related to federal employees and their pay and benefits have played a starring role in the competing budget proposals introduced by the White House and lawmakers alike. Find highlights from how the proposed budgets would affect federal employees as well as how they've fared so far in Congress
Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel wants agencies to cut spending and invest in new capabilities at the same time. Savings from outdated or inefficient IT projects can be plowed into new innovations, he said.
President Obama said the fiscal 2013 passed by the Republican-controlled House will cut into crucial federal services.
The bill — introduced last summer by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) — would eliminate Saturday mail delivery, close mail processing facilities, require postal employees to pay the same percentage in their health and life insurance premiums as federal employees do, and allow the Postal Service to use nearly $11 billion in surplus retirement contributions.
The House Democrats\' budget proposal is the most fed-friendly of the plans put forth for fiscal 2013.
After rejecting a bipartisan compromise and President Obama\'s budget Wednesday, the House prepares to vote on a Republican plan that calls for an extension of the federal pay freeze through 2015, increased federal retirement contributions and a reduction of the federal workforce by 10 percent.
The Pentagon is telling lawmakers military retirees' share of health care costs is going to have to increase if it's going to meet the budget targets Congress and the President handed over with last year's budget control act.
The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House conservatives, laid out a budget blueprint that increases federal employees' pension contributions and incentivize feds to enroll in lower-priced health plans.
Mike Lillis of the Hill newspaper told The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp that lawmakers are just jockeying for campaign fodder with all this budget talk. Don\'t expect anything big to happen until after the election.
The Postal Service is on Capitol Hill today pitching its strategy to withdraw employees from the federal health insurance program.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced \"Making It in America,\" the Democratic budget proposal that calls for an end to the sequester while preserving the Medicare guarantee. Unlike the other proposals under consideration, this proposal does not call for an extension of the federal pay freeze or an increase in feds\' contributions to their retirement funds.