GOP congressman introduces plan to ‘save’ Social Security

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) unveils a bill that he says will help the Social Security program become more fiscally solvent.

• Chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Sam Johnson (R-Texas) has unveiled a plan he says will save Social Security. Johnson’s legislation calls for raising the retirement age from 67 to 69, and using the chained consumer price index to calculate cost of living adjustments. People earning over $85,000 a year would see no COLAs whatsoever. (Rep. Sam Johnson)

• Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) has claimed $255 million more for the new FBI headquarters. The money was appropriated in the continuing resolution passed on Friday. Adding this money to the $390 million she secured earlier this year and the proceeds from selling the J. Edgar Hoover building means about half of the new building’s funding has been accounted for. (Washington Post)

• Congress tucks a small provision with big implications for federal employees into the National Defense Authorization Act. It’s a limitation on how long employees suspected of wrongdoing can get stuck on paid administrative leave. The NDAA puts down a limit of 14 days — then back to work. Congress has been irked by reports of employees spending months or even years on administrative leave. A Government Accountability Report earlier this year documented 116 Homeland Security employees who’d been on paid leave for a year or more. (Federal News Radio)

• Between fiscal 2011 and 2015, agencies collected more than $500 million in the sale of federally owned buildings. Auditors with the Government Accountability Office found five agencies, including the Postal Service, kept money from those sales. Fifteen agencies told auditors they’re able to retain money from those sales, but only five did so in that time frame. (GAO)

• Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has said he will be introducing the “Cleaning Up Washington Act” when Congress returns in January. The bill would forbid members of Congress, the President’s Cabinet, and any federal employees paid on the executive schedule from taking lobbying positions for five years after leaving public service. Tester also sponsored the “Close the Revolving Door Act” in 2014, which would permanently ban members of Congress, and increase the length of prohibition on staffers. The five-year period was designed to mimic promises President-elect Trump made during his campaign in order to garner his support. (Sen. Jon Tester)

• The Pentagon will have to make cuts to civilian and military jobs if President Barack Obama signs the 2017 defense authorization bill. The bill has already passed both the House and the Senate by veto-proof majorities. The bill calls for a 25 percent cut in the Senior Executive Service and a 25 percent cut to general and flag officers. (Federal News Radio)

• The Merit Systems Protection Board will likely be down to one voting member by March 1. That’s when Susan Grundmann’s term as MSPB chairman expires. With the agency already down another member, that will leave only one member and MSPB petitions for review will begin to stack up. Experts say it’s unlikely President-elect Donald Trump will appoint two new members before March. (Federal News Radio)

• Late action by the Senate has given hope for open government. The Senate signaled its support of open government by passing a bill late Friday. Lawmakers approved the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary Government Data Act. The bill codifies and expands the Obama administration policies, calling for agencies to publish data online, using nonproprietary, machine-readable data formats. The bill also would help map federal data sets and give agency CIOs the authority to improve data quality. Supporters of the bill expect lawmakers to reintroduce the OPEN Government Data Act in the 115^th Congress and pass it quickly. (Congress)

•  DoD already has a deputy chief management officer — in charge of topics like business IT systems and business process reengineering — but the office serves as an assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, with no independent authority to order the military services to fall into line. The new job takes effect in 2018, and has to be appointed from a private sector organization. Congress delayed the implementation in order to give the Pentagon time to decide how to use the new position, and how it would work together with various other roles like the DoD chief information officer.  (Federal News Radio)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.