Senate
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President Barack Obama's nominee Anne Rung takes another step forward in becoming administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
July 30, 2014 -
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.
July 11, 2014 -
A new bipartisan report from the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations called the Air Force's now-canceled Expeditionary Combat Support System "one of the most egregious examples of mismanagement by the DoD in recent memory." But the failure of ECSS may not be an aberration, the report suggested. Other enterprise-resource planning programs in the department are at risk of falling victim to the same fate.
July 09, 2014 -
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has cleared his first hurdle on the way to becoming director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee gave him the nod, even though some members weren't thrilled with his answers to their questions. Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to recap the drama, and share details on everything else the busy committee did yesterday that could impact federal agencies. Read Jason's related article.
June 26, 2014 -
Senators are proposing legislation to give federal chief information officers more control over information technology investments. A draft bill would let CIOs have budget authority and approval over all IT contracts. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will offer up this version of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act today at a meeting of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what's in the draft copy of the bill. Read Jason's related article.
June 25, 2014 -
Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-Okla.) investigation into Veterans Affairs hospitals reveals widespread manipulation, criminal activity and poor management.
June 25, 2014 -
Legislation in the Senate would allow the Veterans Affairs secretary to dismiss members of the Senior Executive Service on the grounds of performance, and that could mean more appeal cases for the already-swamped Merit Systems Protection Board.
June 19, 2014 -
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 -
In this edition of Inside the Reporter's Notebook, Executive Editor Jason Miller shares news and buzz about the IT and acquisition communities.
June 06, 2014 -
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the ranking member of the Finance Committee, is calling on President Barack Obama to nominate a permanent director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The top spot at the patent agency has remained vacant since former director David Kappos departed the agency in February 2013. In a letter to President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Hatch said the vacancy "hampers the agency's ability to influence policy and make long-term plans."
June 03, 2014 -
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 -
Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act Friday, calling for a 3.3 percent pay increase for federal employees for calendar year 2015. Federal employee union leaders praised the proposal, which would raise feds' pay more than the 1 percent President Barack Obama introduced in his 2015 budget proposal. The bill is similar to one introduced in March by House Democrats.
May 23, 2014 -
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 -
A 1 percent pay raise for 2015 will go a little way toward rebuilding trust between federal employees and Congress and federal employees and their leaders. But only a little way. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce, wrote a column as part of our special report: Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees. He says he learned at a recent hearing the trust problems in the workforce are complicated.
May 22, 2014 -
People work better and more efficiently when they feel respected. And lately, Congress hasn't done a lot to make federal workers feel valued, says Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in a column written for Federal News Radio's special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees. But, Tester says, he has a plan to start changing that low morale.
May 22, 2014