Elijah Cummings

  • Current and former Obama administration officials' use of personal email addresses and secret, secondary email accounts to conduct official business came under scrutiny Tuesday at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said her use of a secret account was to do her job more efficiently.

    September 10, 2013
  • The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved major postal reform legislation Wednesday. The 22-17 party-line vote moves the 2013 Postal Reform Act, introduced by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), to the full House for consideration.

    July 24, 2013
  • In the past few weeks, competing draft proposals have been circulating on Capitol Hill. But at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday, Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) took a step toward compromise. Issa agreed to make changes to his draft plan, including adopting several measures proposed by Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in postal reform legislation he separately introduced Wednesday.

    July 17, 2013
  • A trio of lawmakers from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee want the Government Accountability Office to examine whether the General Schedule system for federal employees needs an update. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), said the watchdog agency's review would aid the lawmakers in evaluating "the appropriateness of the General Schedule (GS) as a pay scale for today's workforce."

    April 22, 2013
  • Agriculture Department Secretary Tom Vilsack can move money in-between accounts within the same bureau, but not across the agency under a special provision called Interchange Authority. Vilsack has officially asked Congress for use of that authority in an effort to stunt the negative effects of sequestration at his agency. At at recent House hearing, Republican lawmakers questioned why more agencies haven't movasked Congress for similar permission.

    March 20, 2013
  • The U.S. Postal Service's worsening financial situation led Postmaster General Pat Donahoe to announce last week the agency would end Saturday mail delivery beginning in August. But lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were divided over Donahoe's announcement. The postmaster general told the committee during a hearing Wednesday the decision was necessary to save $2 billion a year and to begin shoring up the service's funding shortfalls.

    February 13, 2013
  • House and Senate lawmakers have called on President Barack Obama to fill inspector general vacancies at six large agencies, including open spots at the Departments of Homeland Security and State.

    January 25, 2013
  • This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" National Council of Social Security Administration Field Operations Locals President Witold Skwierczynski responds to the agency's decision to reduce public office hours. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., discusses the danger of cutting public services while Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., shares ideas to encourage U.S. manufacturing. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Nikki Fleming also appears.

    October 17, 2012
  • The pressing need for cybersecurity legislation has led to widely divergent paths in the House and Senate. The House has opted for a more incremental approach, while the Senate has crafted comprehensive legislation

    June 27, 2012
  • The federal government now faces a fork in the road with regards to IT investment. George DelPrete, leader of Grant Thornton's federal government information technology, offers his insight. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) talks about legislation he introduced to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was one of the sponsors of a bill to help military families facing foreclosure.

    May 25, 2012
  • Retired Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles said new legislation calling for diversity benchmarks in the military would codify the recommendations of the commission he led in 2011 and would make for a better armed forces.

    May 21, 2012
  • State and local investigations make it difficult for investigators to probe possible Hatch Act violations by federal employees, said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner. The Office of Special Counsel is asking Congress to remove OSC's duty of policing state and local issues, so it can focus on federal cases.

    May 17, 2012
  • Congressmen introduce the Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act of 2012, a bill aimed at preventing hazing in the military services.

    May 08, 2012
  • Embattled GSA official Jeff Neely ran his region like a "fiefdom" and was the agencies "weakest link," Congressman Elijah Cummings told In Depth on Thursday. And while he supports investigating conference practices government-wide, that isn't an excuse for fed bashing, he said.

    April 19, 2012