Congress

  • The White House budget request for 2016 is out, and it includes a 1.3 percent pay raise for federal employees. But Congressional Republicans are warning it will be dead on arrival. David Hawkings, senior editor of Roll Call, tells In Depth with Francis Rose about his view of the budget from Capitol Hill.

    February 02, 2015
  • he good news (for some) is that the much-leaked budget will be presented in full today to Congress and the media. The other sure thing is that it is DOA, as in Dead On Arrival, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    February 02, 2015
  • The nine-member Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission submitted 15 recommendations to bring effectiveness and efficiency, and that would protect, maintain and improve benefits for the service members.

    January 30, 2015
  • By JOSH LEDERMAN and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Declaring an end to “mindless austerity,” President Barack Obama called for a surge in government spending Thursday, and asked Congress to throw out the…

    January 30, 2015
  • Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch won two key Republican endorsements Thursday en route to likely confirmation as the first black woman in the nation's top law enforcement job.

    January 29, 2015
  • Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said his committee has more work to do before it draws up a broad acquisition reform package. But one element will be a more full-throated role for the uniformed military.

    January 29, 2015
  • Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services Committee that a bunch of incremental changes could help DoD find success with its acquisitions more often. The seven legislative proposals address redundant documents and processes that the military needs help from Congress to get rid of and give program managers more time.

    January 29, 2015
  • Confronting skeptical Republicans, attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch pledged a new start with Congress and independence from President Barack Obama Wednesday, even as she defended the president's unilateral protections for millions of immigrants in the country illegally.

    January 29, 2015
  • Bonuses went to some employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs who later got caught up in the wait time scandal, and other incidents at the agency. The congressman who sponsored the bill that makes it easier to fire SESers at VA wants to go after those bonuses now. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) is chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said seeing results from the VA Management Accountability Act of 2014 (the firing bill that President Barack Obama signed late last year) won't happen overnight.

    January 28, 2015
  • By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will ask Congress for a hefty, almost 8 percent boost for the Pentagon, including $5.3 billion to equip and train Iraqi soldiers and moderate…

    January 28, 2015
  • The Obama Administration has two years to go — two years with a Republican-led Congress. Some might assume not a lot will be done in these two years. "Oh contrare," says John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to explain further.

    January 27, 2015
  • Both the House and Senate Armed Services committees are setting their hearing agendas for the 114th Congress. Both have new leaders, but many of the problems they'll deal with have been around for a long time. On In Depth with Francis Rose, Chairman Randy Forbes (R-Va.) of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces says carrying momentum into future Congresses could be one of the most important achievements of this Congress.

    January 26, 2015
  • Mandiant issued a report finding the Veterans Affairs Department network domain controllers had no evidence of data theft, such as the loss of credentials, personal information or personal health information or VA sensitive information. But some congressional sources are skeptical of Mandiant's findings, calling it too narrow to be sure the network and veterans data is safe.

    January 26, 2015
  • A new report from OMB stated the discretionary spending budget caps for defense and non-defense categories matched or came in less than what's called for in the Budget Control Act.

    January 23, 2015