Senate
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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 -
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce, hosted a hearing Tuesday to discuss the low morale of federal employees and explore possible solutions for agencies seeking to improve it.
May 07, 2014 -
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the chairman of a key congressional panel with oversight of the federal workforce says he wants President Barack Obama's pick for White House budget director to "possess a background in federal workforce and governmental oversight issues." Earlier this month, Obama nominated the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, Sylvia Burwell, to take over for Kathleen Sebelius as the head of the Health and Human Services Department.
April 24, 2014 -
Forty-one agencies don't have designated inspectors general of their own, according to Senate Financial and Contracting Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). She's sponsoring a bill that focuses on these small agencies that don't have the budget or resources for their own IG. Beryl Davis, director of financial management and assurance issues at the Government Accountability Office, testified recently before the subcommittee. She tells
April 14, 2014 -
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) told a panel of agency IGs that she's currently drafting legislation that would pool together resources and establish an IG office specifically for the dozens of small agencies that fall outside the scope of the 1978 IG Act.
April 10, 2014 -
The Defense Department's overall budget will shrink by a combined $900 billion by fiscal year 2021, according to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. He tells the Senate Armed Services Committee how the Army will absorb more than $260 billion in cuts during that span. On Pentagon Solutions, Odierno says the Pentagon is creating a Total Army Solution for the looming budget cuts.
April 09, 2014 -
The Senate's list of experts making recommendations for a 21st century government doesn't include any contractors or contracting groups. Agencies and think tanks will submit recommendations, but so far, no organizations that represent government's industry partners. Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, weighs in on In Depth with Francis Rose
April 02, 2014 -
"Executive branch Swiss cheese" is what Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee calls leadership vacancies at your agency. He and ranking member, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), are looking for ways to plug up the employment gaps at your agency. Max Stier, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for Public Service, testified before the committee at a hearing called Management Matters: Creating a 21st Century Government. He has a list of recommendations for Congress to follow as it plans a way to modernize your agency's workforce.
April 01, 2014 -
The Postal Service's financial problems are the subject of several bills on Capitol Hill to give them more flexibility for making benefits payments, changing their benefits structures, changing their business model and obligations and other options. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, talked to In Depth with Francis Rose at his office on Capitol Hill yesterday about the problems the Postal Service is facing. In our Congressional Spotlight, Francis Rose asked him what he thinks the Postal Service's business operation looks like several years in the future.
March 26, 2014 -
Congress will try again this session on cybersecurity legislation, but some of the problems that prevented it from passing the last several years are back again. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, talked to In Depth with Francis Rose about cyber legislation in his office on Capitol Hill today. He says the landscape looks a little different for the legislation this time around.
March 25, 2014 -
The Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on whether to release key parts of its investigation into CIA interrogation tactics. A vote to publish the materials could worsen relations between the panel and the agency and force President Barack Obama to intervene. Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp spoke with Jeremy Herb, staff writer at The Hill newspaper, about what comes next.
March 25, 2014 -
Cash, drugs and science experiments are all part of VA's fiscal 2015 budget request.
March 17, 2014 -
Legislation newly introduced in the Senate proposes to scrap hundreds of unneeded, outdated or repetitive reports. The House, meanwhile, is marking up its own version of the bill.
March 12, 2014 -
The Preventing Conflicts of Interest with Contractors Act would block the Office of Personnel Management from contracting with companies to perform final quality reviews if those same companies are also responsible for conducting initial investigations. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta announced in early February that, going forward, only federal employees would conduct final quality reviews. The new bill writes Archuleta's decision into law. Otherwise it could be reversed by a future OPM director.
February 28, 2014