Congress
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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel put the ball in Congress' court this week when he released details of how the Pentagon would manage billions of dollars in cuts if sequestration continues into fiscal 2014 and beyond. But, there's not yet anything close to a winning strategy in Congress to avert or replace the automatic budget cuts.
July 11, 2013 -
The Office of Personnel Management's proposed changes to the Combined Federal Campaign, the annual federal fundraising drive, are getting a frosty reception from local charities. OPM wants to do away with the local volunteer coordinating committees and put in place a set of more centralized regional committees established by OPM. It also wants to require charities to pay an application fee and eliminate cash and check donations in favor of electronic donations. However, some charities say the proposed changes would likely lead to fewer charities joining the program -- and fewer total donations.
July 10, 2013 -
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a letter to Congress that if spending caps continue under sequestration, marked cuts in DoD's budget would possibly lead to reductions in force. Hagel also said there could be severe cuts in operations and maintenance.
July 10, 2013 -
House Republicans said IRS official Lois Lerner waived her right to remain silent by giving an opening statement in her hearing. Lerner still may testify before Congress with a variety of consequences.
July 09, 2013 -
House members with constituents impacted by budget cuts to the Patent and Trademark Office and Department of Defense are taking steps to ease the effect of sequestration and furloughs.
July 08, 2013 -
The annual appropriations process is a complex and arduous Washington practice. But sequestration has snarled the process this year. As appropriators work to set agency funding, the House and the Senate disagree about how to account for the cuts in next year's spending plans.
July 07, 2013 -
On this week's Capital Impact show, Bloomberg Government analysts will discuss how the Berry Amendment is affecting troop supplies, what's ahead for Congress when its members return from vacation, and the lobbying activities of companies that supply goods and services associated with the July 4th holiday. July 4, 2013
July 04, 2013 -
While agencies missed their overall small business goal in 2012, they did meet the governmentwide goals for small disadvantaged businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said the results are "unacceptable."
July 03, 2013 -
The law, which goes into effect today, expands reprisal protections to subcontractors and lets contractor employees report wrongdoing to supervisors within their own companies. Previously, contractors would have to go to government agencies or Congress to report waste, fraud and abuse.
July 01, 2013 -
The metrics used by the Defense Department to help determine whether it needs an official round of Base Realignments and Closures (BRAC) is in need of an update, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Current procedures lack the precision needed to give the Pentagon accurate data on the number of excess properties it actually owns.
June 27, 2013 -
The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it is seeking to cut its business relationship with a firm that may have had inside access to the agency's procurement decisions. Lawmakers also questioned agency decisions to award the company special status as veteran-owned and serving economically-disadvantaged areas.
June 27, 2013 -
In an effort to incorporate iris, facial and fingerprint recognition technologies across the government, the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee pressed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to set a date for the release of national biometric recognition standards.
June 21, 2013 -
Patrick McFarland, the inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management, confirmed to a Senate subcommittee Thursday that his office has been investigating USIS, the government's largest contractor for background-investigation services, since late 2011. He said at least 18 security clearance investigators have been convicted of falsifying investigations since 2007. McFarland said there may be "considerably more" fraud that hasn't been uncovered due to "alarmingly insufficient oversight" of the security-clearance process.
June 20, 2013 -
USPS issued final determinations Wednesday to close three Capitol Hill post offices by July 21, which is expected to save about $2 million over the next 10 years. That's only a drop in the bucket in the agency's stretched-thin budget, but top House Republicans on the Administration and Oversight and Government Reform Committees hailed the move for sending a strong message.
June 19, 2013 -
Under intense congressional and media pressure, VA has moved aggressively to eliminate its backlog of new claims for disability benefits. But veterans who appeal VA's decisions are still waiting years, on average.
June 19, 2013