Senate

  • By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress on Friday sent President Barack Obama a massive defense policy bill that endorses his stepped-up military campaign of air strikes and training of Iraqis and moderate…

    December 13, 2014
  • The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act is still attached to the 2015 Defense authorization bill the House passed and the Senate will debate this week. The latest version of FITARA looks a bit different than the original. Still, the new bill would hand civilian agency CIOs more authority, prioritize hiring of specialty IT experts and maximize use of data centers. Trey Hodgkins is Senior Vice President of Public Sector at the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector, a division of the Information Technology Industry Council. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss what we can expect from the compromise version of FITARA.

    December 08, 2014
  • The big national defense authorization bill is moving through Congress. It passed the House yesterday, and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. In purely military spending terms, the bill is a mixed bag. Some programs and platforms get plus-ups, others get cuts. Todd Harrison is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He's been studying the bill, and joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to analyze the bill's winners and losers.

    December 05, 2014
  • An amendment to the Freedom of Information Act appeared to sail through the Senate. The goal is to hold agencies more accountable for disclosing records and create a more uniform system for the public to file FOIA requests. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill unanimously. Sean Vitka, federal policy manager at the Sunlight Foundation, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with analysis of what the bill would do.

    November 25, 2014
  • Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promises to avoid another government shutdown. Lawmakers have until mid-December to turn that promise into reality. Or not. It's a good idea to be prepared. The Government Accountability Office reviewed how agencies handled last year's lapse in appropriations. Yvonne Jones, the agency's director of Strategic Issues, explained the findings on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    November 24, 2014
  • Everyone with a stake in the federal budget is looking toward Dec. 11. That's when the continuing resolution runs out, and Congress will have to decide what to do next. Beyond that, federal agencies are looking at two long years of a Republican Congress and Democratic White House. Will it be the immoveable rock facing the irresistible force? Or can good things still happen? Don Kettl, professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and long-time watcher of all things federal, offered some insight on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    November 24, 2014
  • The government should be smaller, the Postal Service's finances need to be addressed once and for all, and it may be time to rethink the civil service system. This is all according to Senator Ron Johnson. The Wisconsin Republican will replace Delaware Democrat Tom Carper as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in December. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Senator Johnson discussed his priorities.

    November 21, 2014
  • A Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday from retired Rear Adm. Earl Gay on his nomination to be the Office of Personnel's first deputy director in three years.

    November 18, 2014
  • Wednesday was a productive day for Congress as the House sent two bills to President Barack Obama and a pair of critical DHS nominees head to the Senate floor.

    November 13, 2014
  • The campaigning is done and the votes are in. Republicans will soon gain control of the Senate for the first time since 2007, and they've widened their lead in the House. So what can feds expect from their newly elected officials? Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to share her perspective.

    November 06, 2014
  • Federal workforce issues could face challenges as a result of yesterday's elections. Republicans beginning in January will regain a majority in Senate while adding 14 seats to their lead in the House. What will this all mean to federal employees and agencies? Dan Blair is president and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with analysis.

    November 05, 2014
  • The Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) is closer than ever to becoming law. Key Senate and House lawmakers have reached an agreement on the bill. Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details on what has to happen next for FITARA to reach the President.

    November 05, 2014
  • Federal News Radio examines what the winners of the midterm elections in Maryland, DC and Virginia could do for federal employees.

    November 04, 2014
  • ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A maverick Republican senator criticized faulty missile defenses, unneeded airports and golf course repairs among the projects completed on the taxpayers’ tab in his annual collection of billions…

    October 22, 2014