Congress

  • The Veterans Affairs Department says it is spending $24 million per year to maintain facility space it can't use. Some of the restrictions on closing them are political, some are local, so VA thinks it needs a BRAC of its own.

    March 06, 2015
  • In addition to the IG Empowerment Act, the committee approved eight bipartisan bills, several of which run the gamut of federal management and workforce issues, from sick leave to car repairs.

    March 05, 2015
  • Congress is renewing its push for more oversight of a controversial agency. Two House members introduced the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Inspector General Act of 2015. It's a bipartisan effort, sponsored by Reps. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio). The bill would create an independent Inspector General position at the CFPB. Stivers joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the bill.

    March 05, 2015
  • Ashton Carter, the new Defense secretary, told lawmakers this week that most of DoD's civilian workforce is performing mission-critical functions. But large budgets over the past decade have let the department do a lot of hiring without much thought toward cutting outdated positions, he said.

    March 05, 2015
  • By ERICA WERNER and DAVID ESPO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Bitterly admitting defeat, the Republican-controlled Congress sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Tuesday that funds the Department of Homeland Security without any of…

    March 04, 2015
  • Nearly a quarter of the military's facilities are rated as in "poor" condition; another 7 percent are failing. Officials say their 2016 budget would begin to dig out of billions of dollars in backlogged maintenance needs.

    March 04, 2015
  • Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are fighting back against the Pentagon's cost-cutting plan for employees who travel for work.

    March 03, 2015
  • The House on Monday approved a bill allowing the Veterans Affairs secretary to force senior executives to repay bonuses if the employees engaged in misconduct.

    March 03, 2015
  • By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker John Boehner left open the possibility Monday that the House might pass long-term funding for the Homeland Security Department without immigration provisions attached, as Republican…

    March 03, 2015
  • Some would argue that Republicans and Democrats in Congress make it a habit of torturing each other. But Senior Correspondent Mike Causey knows that they're really there to torture us.

    March 03, 2015
  • While it's unclear whether Congress will approve another continuing resolution or full-year funding for the Homeland Security Department after this Friday, DHS has made plans in case of a lapse in funding.

    March 02, 2015
  • The Homeland Security Department is running on a one-week continuing resolution after Congress couldn't agree on a long-term spending plan for the agency. The new CR is set to run out on Friday. David Hawkings is Senior Editor of Roll Call. He outlined the debate over the DHS budget on Capitol Hill for Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    March 02, 2015
  • The Internal Revenue Service is making technology investments to move away from some programs it says started during the Kennedy Administration. Congress repeatedly slashed and froze its budget over the past five years, so it's important for the IRS to know exactly how much its IT investments will cost. According to the Government Accountability office, that's not exactly the case today. David Powner is director of information technology management issues at the GAO. He shared three recommendations to improve how the IRS tracks its investments with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    March 02, 2015
  • The OMB E-Gov Cyber unit will prioritize those agencies that have struggled to implement two-factor authentication for CyberStat reviews. Only 41 percent of federal civilian agencies are using HSPD-12 cards to log on to networks and computers.

    March 02, 2015
  • Nineteen agencies have already adopted Integrity, the new electronic financial disclosure program introduced by the Office of Government Ethics to help streamline public filing process.

    March 02, 2015