The Pentagon's budget chief, Robert Hale, told reporters that the economic impact of sequestration would be felt nationwide. The biggest potential losses, in term of total civilian payroll dollars, would be in Virginia, California, Maryland, Texas and Georgia, he said. Hale said the unpaid leaves for civilian workers would begin in late April and would save $4 billion to $5 billion if extended through the end of the budget year, Sept. 30.
Retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Walks talks about what the next Secretary of Defense's first hurdles will be. Bernie Becker, staff writer at The Hill newspaper, discusses a possible Simpson-Bowles sequel.
The fledgling effort to replace IT systems aboard 193 Navy ships, called CANES, will take longer than expected. With or without sequestration, the Navy expects eight installations scheduled for 2013 to be interrupted.
With sequestration set to go into effect in fewer than two weeks, many in the Defense Department are concerned the looming cuts are likely and will have a devastating effect on military readiness. Former Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn, now the CEO of DRS Technologies, told Pentagon Solutions with Francis Rose the cuts will have a long-lasting impact on Pentagon planning.
GAO's Mark Gaffigan talks about how the federal government will experience increased fiscal exposure due to climate change. Gary Somerset discusses the GPO's new Pinterest page. On Legal Loop, procurement attorney Joe Petrillo discusses a change in status for the Alaska Native Corporations. John Plaguta of the Partnership for Public Service discusses the critical skills gaps in the federal workplace. Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt talks about rule writing in the wake of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Gordon Heddel of Booz Allen Hamilton talks about the challenges of creating a smarter but not bigger government. Aaron Miller of the Wilson Center discusses the hurdles awaiting new Secretary of State John Kerry. Bloomberg Government's Rob Barnett talks about President Obama's environmental policy. John Mahoney of Tully Rinckey says furloughed feds won't lose their rights.
As the Navy scours its IT systems to determine exactly what it owns, it's discovered it operates double the data centers and tens of thousands of servers and applications more than it previously thought. The findings come more than a decade after the Navy implemented its Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, which was supposed to reduce the number of disparate systems run by the agency and eliminate stovepipes. All told, Navy's IT budget could be as much as $4 billion more than it initially thought.
GAO adds two new areas to the list, NOAA's satellite programs and the federal government's financial risk because of climate change. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said nearly every initiative on the list made progress in fixing their problems over the last two years.
A total of 30 programs, once again, are considered troubled, including two new areas. But, the Government Accountability Office removed the IRS' Business Systems Modernization program after 18 years on the list, and interagency contracting after 8 years.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) talks about his plans as the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Greg Kutz of TIGTA discusses new progress being made by the IRS in recruitment and hiring. Jennifer Martinez, staff writer at The Hill newspaper, discusses the new Executive Order on cybersecurity. Don Kettl of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy offers insight on the State of the Union speech.
Among the warnings the military's top uniformed officers delivered to the Senate Tuesday: Half of Marine Corps units will fall below readiness standards by the end of the year, the Army will have to curtail training for 80 percent of its ground forces and shipyards are already becoming short-staffed because of DoD's hiring freeze.
As sequestration draws nearer, contractor groups have pointed to alarming studies that show the 9 percent in across-the-board Defense cuts would throw at least 1 million people out of work and potentially cripple the defense and aerospace industries. But in a new report, the Center for International Policy, a nonprofit group which advocates reducing military spending, presented evidence that far fewer defense-sector jobs would be lost than industry has claimed and that defense companies would likely be able to absorb the defense cuts.
Dr. Mark Maybury, the Air Force's chief scientist, discusses a wide-ranging study of potential future "game changers" and best practices in each of the service's core mission areas.
The Air Force's long-range planning and modernization takes back seat to preparations for near-term crises, including contingency plans to scale back civilian workforce. Civilian furloughs would be "breach of faith," Air Force says.
Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue and Linda Cureton of NASA talks about their upcoming retirements. Register employee benefit consultant Ed Zurndorfer explains what feds can expect from possible furloughs. White House Historical Association Vice President of Research talks about possible renovations at the White House.