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House of Representatives
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The size of DoD's civilian acquisition workforce has grown by some 20,000 employees over the past five years and now numbers about 135,000 personnel members, according to Stephanie Barna, acting assistant secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management. That's thanks to an effort by DoD begun in 2009 to recapitalize its acquisition workforce. But the department's focus on the acquisition workforce has been strained by a slew of competing priorities and congressionally-mandated belt-tightening, Barna said.
July 10, 2014 -
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Legislation passed by the House creates a social media working group for the Department of Homeland Security, and adds in requirements and accountability processes to improve interoperability across the agency.
July 09, 2014 -
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The appropriations process was supposed to be easier this year compared to last, because lawmakers had signed off on a bipartisan deal that set top-line spending levels for the next two years. But action in both the House and the Senate appears to have largely stalled.
July 07, 2014 -
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The House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut more than $300 million from last year's Internal Revenue Service budget. This adds to the tension between Congress and the IRS over lost emails.
June 23, 2014 -
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An early House version appropriations language for 2015 would bring the IRS budget below sequestration levels in fiscal 2015. Earlier this week, the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government approved funding levels that are more than $300 million below what the agency has to spend this year. IRS officials have been adamant that even that level is far too low. The bill comes right after warnings from the Government Accountability Office for the IRS to make some long term budget plans to better deal with an uncertain financial future. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, is looking at what the cuts would mean for agency operations and the workforce. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose these cuts go too far. Read related article by Federal News Radio's Stephanie Wasko.
June 20, 2014 -
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Despite reports of delayed patient treatments, falsified records and preventable veteran deaths, the Department of Veterans Affairs said all of its 470 senior executives have been rated "successful" over the past four fiscal years. The ratings have sparked outrage among members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, whose chairman called the performance rating and bonus system at the VA "outlandish."
June 20, 2014 -
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The mid-term elections are upon us, and some people are complaining about political fatigue and gridlock. But for federal and postal workers — and retirees — these may be the good old days, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
June 17, 2014 -
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Does an upset in a political primary in Richmond, Virginia, mean permanent political gridlock in Washington? According to some pros, everything changed last Tuesday, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
June 13, 2014 -
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The electronic wait system for keeping track of and monitoring initial primary-care appointments for new patients at Veterans Affairs medical facilities is not the only scheduling system at VA that's now under scrutiny. A separate system for monitoring VA patients' access to outpatient specialty care -- such as cardiologists, gastroenterologists and physical therapists — is also "unreliable," according to GAO's Debra Draper, who testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee Monday evening.
June 09, 2014 -
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On its surface, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 is simple, but its simplicity belies the risks it presents for VA employees, former DHS CHCO Jeff Neal says.
May 30, 2014 -
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The Sept. 30 deadline for Congress to deliver a complete fiscal 2015 budget plan is still about four months away. But with a lengthy summer recess spanning nearly the entire month of August, that leaves fewer than 40 working days for the appropriation committees on Capitol Hill to finalize agency spending levels. That has some budget watchers already raising the possibility of a stopgap continuing resolution to fund government operations.
May 29, 2014 -
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Congress has until Sept. 30 to deliver a complete fiscal 2015 budget plan setting agency funding levels. Track the progress of your agency's 2013 appropriations bill.
May 29, 2014 -
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The House passed its version of the annual defense authorization bill Thursday, while the Senate's is still a work in progress. Both versions mostly shun DoD's proposals to cut costs during sequestration.
May 23, 2014 -
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A measure included in the massive Defense policy bill approved by the House Thursday would ensure agencies maintain the flexibility to bring federal retirees back on board on a part-time basis. An amendment to the 2015 Defense Authorization Act, introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), extends the authority for agency heads to rehire retirees without specific approval from the Office of Personnel Management.
May 22, 2014
