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Pentagon leaders say the reductions to military personnel spending they're proposing as part of the 2015 budget weren't easy decisions, but Congress needs to OK them this year, or the overall budget picture will get far worse over the next five years. More from Federal News Radio's DoD reporter Jared Serbu.
The Postal Service's financial problems are the subject of several bills on Capitol Hill to give them more flexibility for making benefits payments, changing their benefits structures, changing their business model and obligations and other options. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, talked to In Depth with Francis Rose at his office on Capitol Hill yesterday about the problems the Postal Service is facing. In our Congressional Spotlight, Francis Rose asked him what he thinks the Postal Service's business operation looks like several years in the future.
House Democrats have a bill proposing a 3.3 percent pay raise for federal employees in fiscal 2015. It's more than three times higher than what the White House calls for in its fiscal 2015 budget request. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, offers her take to In Depth with Francis Rose.
President Barack Obama's proposal for a 1 percent pay increase may be headed out the window. The latest proposal is for a 3.3 percent increase. The proposal is getting a big thumbs up from Federal employee unions. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says this proposal hearkens back to the past.
The Littoral Combat Ship program is struggling to stay afloat financially. But Congress has another concern. The ships themselves might be easy to sink. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus testified before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on the Navy's budget request yesterday. Subcommittee member Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) asked him to explain how this is possible if the LCS is supposed to be the ship of the future.
Half a decade of reports and recommendations on the F-35 program has led to one conclusion: It's still not out of the woods. The fifth annual progress report from the Government Accountability Office has some bad news that looks all too familiar to some people. Mike Sullivan, director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues at GAO, testified about the F-35 program at a hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces today. He joined In Depth with Francis Rose for Pentagon Solutions.
Federal employees will soon get their annual chance to speak out about how they're feeling about their workplace, morale and management within agencies. The Office of Personnel Management will soon roll out this year's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Federal Drive host Emily Kopp spoke with John Palguta, vice president of public policy at the Partnership for Public Service, who offered some tips for agency managers prepping for the survey.
The Food Safety Modernization Act passed three years ago boosted the Food and Drug Administration's power to keep our food supply safe. But like any new law, the devil is in the details and they've been a long time coming. The FDA is still working on the major rules. Mike Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for Food and Veterinary Medicine, spoke with Federal Drive host Emily Kopp about what comes next with the rules.
Proponents of government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) say agencies are starting to understand their value. They are optimistic even though less than 15 percent of all federal IT spending goes through GWACs now. Rob Coen, acting director of NIH's Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center, spoke with Federal Drive host Emily Kopp about the GWAC programs NIH manages. Kopp caught up with Coen at the recent Acquisition Excellence Conference.
The most expensive defense program ever, the F-35 fighter plane, is running into more problems. The Government Accountability Office says software delays could force the Marine Corps to push back its roll out scheduled for next year. What's more, the auditors say the Defense Department will have to spend more than $12 billion annually on the program for the next 22 years. For more on the future of the F-35 program, Federal Drive host Emily Kopp spoke to Rob Levinson, a senior defense analyst for Bloomberg Government. Read our related story.
A new Government Accountability report finds that the DoD will have to spend $12 billion annually over the next 22 years on the F-35 program. Rob Levinson, Bloomberg Government senior defense analyst, explains the impact.