House Appropriations Committee

• IRS looking to strengthen IT, customer service in fiscal 2017

  IRS Commissioner John Koskinen pledged improved customer service, tougher enforcement and stronger cybersecurity for the agency as it looks for $11.8 billion in 2017 funding.

  Congress

  February 12, 2016
• Shutdown aversion plan not yet on Congress’ radar

  Sources from the House Oversight and Government Reform and the House Appropriations committees said Monday that a vote on a "clean" continuing resolution has not yet been scheduled for next week.

  Government Shutdown

  September 22, 2015
• DoD’s share of the OPM data breach: $132 million

  Defense Department Comptroller Michael McCord sent a reprogramming request to Congress in July asking to move money around to help pay for identity protection and data breach services as well as higher costs for security clearance background investigations.

  Workforce

  August 25, 2015
• DHS funding takes $2.1B hit in House proposal

  The House Appropriations Committee approved the Homeland Security appropriations bill, which is $2.1 billion or 5 percent less than what President Barack Obama asked for in his Fiscal Year 2016 budget request.

  Congress

  July 14, 2015
• IRS, GSA bear brunt of spending cuts in House bill

  The IRS would face even greater financial constraints and federal building construction would grind nearly to a halt under a $20.2 billion FY 2016 spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee.

  Budget

  June 17, 2015
• White House ticks off objections to appropriations legislation

  The administration criticized the House appropriations framework that would implement sequestration funding levels for non-Defense agencies, while using Overseas Contingency Operations funds to pay for base Defense spending.

  Budget

  June 02, 2015
• Carter opens door to more DoD civilian job cuts

  Ashton Carter, the new Defense secretary, told lawmakers this week that most of DoD's civilian workforce is performing mission-critical functions. But large budgets over the past decade have let the department do a lot of hiring without much thought toward cutting outdated positions, he said.

  Budget

  March 05, 2015
• VA’s disability claims backlog down by 44 percent, but problems remain

  The Department of Veterans Affairs believes it is on track to end its disability claims backlog by 2015. It's an uphill fight, considering that more than half of its claims have been waiting for at least four months, and appeals take an average of more than two years.

  Defense

  April 02, 2014
• House CR funds gov’t through Dec. 15, gives agencies flexibility to avoid furloughs

  The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a stopgap spending measure late Tuesday that would fund agencies slightly below current budget levels through Dec. 15. The bill gives agencies some additional spending flexibilities and includes a measure that could help agencies stave off furloughs in the first few months of fiscal 2014.

  Budget

  September 11, 2013
• GSA, Treasury officials decry House committee budget shortfalls

  Top officials at the Treasury Department and the General Services Administration say budget cuts being considered by House lawmakers - and that have since adopted by the House Appropriations Committee - would erode their agencies' missions. In sharply divided vote mostly along partisan lines Wednesday, the committee approved the fiscal 2014 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.

  Budget

  July 18, 2013
• House again aims to merge E-Gov funding

  The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government passed the fiscal 2014 appropriations bill with a provision to merge the E-Government Fund and the Federal Citizen Services Fund to create an Information and Engagement Fund for citizens. Appropriators also would cut the total request for the merged funds by about $15 million.

  Budget

  July 16, 2013
• House subcommittee approves 24 percent cut to IRS budget

  The embattled Internal Revenue Service faces a 24 percent cut to its budget next year, under a spending plan introduced by the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday. The IRS funding was included in the committee's Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which also includes funding for the Treasury Department, the General Services Administration and the Executive Office of the President. The subcommittee is set to mark up the proposal Wednesday.

  Budget

  July 09, 2013
• DoD’s budget reprogramming won’t help with sequestration

  Pentagon says it will use its limited budget flexibility to compensate for unexpected war costs, not to blunt sequestration. Services continue to warn Congress about how budget cuts are impacting readiness.

  Budget

  May 09, 2013
• Hagel orders DoD to ‘restructure’ path toward integrated health record

  The Pentagon delays its RFP for a new electronic health record system. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says a revised approach is coming soon.

  Defense

  April 17, 2013