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The Office of Management and Budget is working with federal agencies to "plan for the possibility" of a government shutdown. With less than one week until the end of the fiscal year, agencies and contractors are using lessons learned from the 2013 shutdown to inform their contingency plans.
In today's news, federal employees can begin signing up for the self-plus one option in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program when the annual open season starts Nov. 9, Defense Secretary Ash Carter isn’t planning for sequestration as he works with the military services for the 2017 budget planning cycle, and four senators have repeated their call for President Barack Obama to name a permanent inspector general at the Veterans Affairs Department.
Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) said there have been few bipartisan negotiations so far, and a new budget proposal from the Republican Study Committee has them particularly worried. Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass some sort of budget resolution that would keep the government open past the end of the month.
The Prevent a Government Shutdown Act of 2015 demands a bipartisan deal, or an automatic lift of caps for defense and non-defense discretionary spending.
Congress returns after its August recess needing to complete 12 spending bills, deal with a looming fiscal deadline, and focus on cybersecurity and DoD issues.
The Office of Personnel Management has extended credit monitoring services to just a fraction of the victims of the recent breaches on its personnel databases. Many more — including federal employees' family members and contractors — are wondering if and when they'll be offered the same treatment.
President Barack Obama said \"significant vulnerabilities\" exist and will continue to accelerate in government and private sector systems, unless changes are made.
The Democrats' plan, introduced by House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen, would further change the Budget Control Act to allow agencies more financial flexibility. Unlike the Republican plan to restore normalized funding to the Defense Department while continuing to scale back domestic programs, the Democrats want to restore funding for both defense and non-defense agencies.
Rep. Chris van Hollen (D-Md.) wants to know how many contractors work for the federal government. But the Congressional Budget Office says it's impossible to count right now. Jeff Neal is Senior Vice President for ICF International, and former Chief Human Capital Officer of the Homeland Security Department. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said knowing the amount of federal contractors won't make a big difference if efficiency is the goal.
A collection of new House bills aim to slash the federal workforce, let go of 120,000 civilian employees at the Pentagon and take back top secret security clearances for contractors in the intelligence community.
Congress is in recess, which means your pay and benefits won't change -- at least for the next month. But budget conversations in September (when Congress comes back) may mean you should keep your ears open again. Congressman Chris Van Hollen is ranking member of the House Budget Committee and Democratic representative of the 8th district of Maryland. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the most important issue you should watch is money (of course!).
On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and resources we discuss.
Federal employees continue to be Congress' go-to resource for deficit reduction through pay freezes and increases in their retirement contributions, according to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Van Hollen's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" attendees of the union's annual Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference discuss critical issues facing federal employees. Guests include Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray, Reps. Tom Cole (Okla.) and Chris Van Hollen (Md.), and the Rev. Terry Melvin, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. AFGE Council of Prison Locals Western Regional Vice President Michael Meserve also appears.