CBO report: Trump’s proposed military buildup will cost $683 billion

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• President Donald Trump’s planned military buildup would cost taxpayers an extra $683 billion over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office said the administration’s goals of increasing the readiness, size and capabilities of the military will push defense spending up 12 percent between 2018 and 2027. (Congressional Budget Office)

• The president has sent another nominee for consideration. He nominated Michael Griffin to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. Griffin was NASA administrator under President George W. Bush. Most recently, he was chair and CEO of the Schafer Corporation. (White House)

• The Senate is prepared to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen to be secretary of the Homeland Security Department later this week. Debate on her nomination ended yesterday. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is encouraging his colleagues to vote yes. The committee approved her nomination with an 11-to-four vote. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)

• HSGAC’s ranking member Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wants answers from the Veterans Affairs Department about its treatment of whistleblowers. After reading recent reports of whistleblower retaliation at the VA, McCaskill wants to know what it’s done to process complaints more quickly, and what policies they have to ensure confidentiality. VA recently set up a new office to deal with accountability issues and whistleblower complaints. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)

• A technology program to solve one of the most frustrating parts of being a federal employee is coming. Federal workers could soon have one place to store and find their entire employment record from being hired to retirement. The Office of Personnel Management is leading an effort to develop an employee digital record to replace the electronic official personnel folder and the enterprise HR integration system. OPM said the EDR is composed of two parts: data standards and a data exchange. The data standards will be fully machine-readable and can be used to streamline data exchange in the cloud across the government. (Federal News Radio)

• Just a few days before the latest continuing resolution expires, the Navy said it’s wasted $4 billion under the previous ones. Officials disclosed the estimate on Monday, saying that’s the amount of money that has gone to waste because of CRs dating back to 2011. The costs come from throughout the fleet, but generally reflect the inefficiency involved in operating for at least several months in each of the last 10 years without knowing how much total funding will be available, and having money in the wrong accounts. Congressional leaders and the president are scheduled to discuss a resolution to the 2018 budget impasse on Thursday, just a day before the current CR expires. (Federal News Radio)

• Representatives from Texas and Florida want the House to ask for more money from the Office of Management and Budget for storm recovery efforts. In a letter to House leadership, the 38 reps from both parties called the current disaster supplemental appropriations request “utterly inadequate,” saying it does not provide the bare minimum needed for their states’ recovery efforts. (Rep. John Culberson)

• The Securities and Exchange Commission’s new cyber unit launches its first emergency action. The unit, formed in September, obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of PlexCorps, a Canadian securities dealer. It filed fraud charges against the company and its owner, Dominic Lacroix. He raised $15 million, promising investors a 1,300 percent return on something called PlexCoin. Cyber unit chief Robert Cohen called it a full-fledged cyber scam. (Securities and Exchange Commission)

• The Peace Corps is getting a new home in Washington D.C. The General Services Administration announced a lease agreement for the Peace Corps’ new headquarters, located at Constitution Square. The agency will move there in 2019. Peace Corps CEO Shelia Crowley said the move to a modern, green building will improve productivity and efficiency. (General Services Administration)

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