Congress
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The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations wants to know how agencies plan to dispose of and consolidate more than 7,000 federal properties worth $350 billion. On the same day, the FBI announced the finalists for the site of its consolidated relocation.
July 29, 2014 -
Worried about a repeat of last year's government shutdown? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey tells us whether there's another October surprise in your future.
July 29, 2014 -
Congress is a step closer to transforming the Veterans Affairs Department. House and Senate negotiators have agreed to a $17 billion deal. Among many things, the bill will provide funding for veterans to seek care at non VA facilities. Martin Matishak, staff writer for the Hill Newspaper, joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to break down the numbers.
July 28, 2014 -
The National Security Agency's top lawyer says the Edward Snowden disclosures not only hurt U.S. intelligence gathering capabilities - they may have also damaged the chance of Congress successfully passing cybersecurity legislation anytime in the near future.
July 25, 2014 -
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members approved the Federal Records Accountability Act, which mandates preservation of digital correspondence. The committee also passed the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act, which would establish a presidential committee to find and review outdated, burdensome, costly or obsolete regulations.
July 25, 2014 -
Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) introduced a bill requiring agencies to use continuous process improvement measures. The bipartisan "Lean and Responsive Government Act" looks to improve efficiency and effectiveness in agency management.
July 23, 2014 -
Your agency could save itself time and work on the hiring process if a new bill from Senator Jon Tester becomes law. The Competitive Service Act would let other agencies share information about applicants they didn't hire that might fit your agency's openings. In our Congressional Spotlight on In Depth with Francis Rose, Senator Tester explained how he thinks the bill will make your agency's hiring process faster and better.
July 22, 2014 -
To maintain readiness under current budget pressure, the Defense Department needs to have a long-term mindset and rethink their force structure, according to Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.
July 18, 2014 -
The House has approved a massive spending bill that would slash funding for the Internal Revenue Service by more than $1 billion next year. The agency, which has been under fire for the improper targeting of conservative groups, would see its current $11.3 billion budget decline by 13 percent under the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal 2015 passed by the House Wednesday. But that's just one of the the provisions of the bill drawing the ire of the Obama administration, which issued a notice earlier this week threatening to veto the legislation.
July 16, 2014 -
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate's postal reform plan would save just under $17 billion. Changes to the agency would include maintaining increased postal rates and cutting delivery to five days per week.
July 16, 2014 -
The General Services Administration needs to step up its leadership to take advantage of cost-saving real estate opportunities, according to House members participating in a recent round table discussion.
July 16, 2014 -
Jon Etherton, president of Etherton and Associates, Inc., will give us an update on the procurement issues being discussed on Capitol Hill. July 15, 2014
July 15, 2014 -
There's growing consensus on Capitol Hill and from the Obama administration that the pay and personnel system used by the federal government since 1949 and infrequently updated is showing its age — and due for a major facelift. Lawmakers probed the General Schedule system Tuesday during a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census.
July 15, 2014 -
As Congress tries to piece together the big National Defense Authorization Act for 2015, it's also looking back to the version of the bill it passed two years ago and asking what ever happened with some of those provisions. The 2013 version of the NDAA included several provisions dealing with small business that made advocates happy. But several of those legal changes are still awaiting agency regulations to actually implement them. The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the matter earlier today. Larry Allen was among the witnesses. He's president of Allen Federal Business Partners. He shared his insights on the neglected proposals on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 15, 2014 -
The Smart Savings Act would make the Lifecycle Funds the default investment option in the Thrift Savings Plan for new federal employees.
July 15, 2014