Senate
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Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week with a packed agenda. Topping the list of priorities is hammering out final details of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government running beyond the end of the fiscal year -- Sept. 30. Amid the election-year politicking, the list of unfinished business also includes legislation to restructure the financially ailing U.S. Postal Service and a cybersecurity bill that aims to safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure. Perhaps looming largest of all is what Congress plans to do about automatic, across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, set to take effect Jan. 2. Failure to avert the cuts could send the country over a "fiscal cliff," budget experts warn.
September 10, 2012 -
A battle over the role companies should play in keeping the U.S. safe from cyber attacks threatens to kill cybersecurity legislation in the Senate
August 01, 2012 -
The top Republican and Democrat on Capitol Hill have announced an agreement to keep the government running on autopilot for six months when the current budget year ends on Sept. 30. The announcements by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP House Speaker John Boehner are aimed at averting any chance of a government shutdown this fall. The leaders said an official vote on the bill won't come until September.
July 31, 2012 -
Remember the recent cyber attack on more than 100,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants? It's been out of the headlines lately, but lawmakers haven't forgotten about it.
July 31, 2012 -
Good news, bad news. The good news is that the end of the world — in your case, maybe extended furloughs or even a layoff — is likely to be extended. Things are currently scheduled to go boom early next January. But there are signs that Congress may delay the day of reckoning until March or April of 2013. Now your only worry is the Mayan calendar, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
July 31, 2012 -
The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency's solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink. With cash running perilously low, two legally required payments for future postal retirees' health benefits - $5.5 billion due Wednesday, and another $5.6 billion due in September - will be left unpaid, the mail agency said Monday.
July 30, 2012 -
Legislation forcing the White House to explain how the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration will affect individual agencies is now waiting for President Barack Obama's signature. The Senate unanimously approved the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 Wednesday, which requires the administration to detail within 30 days how the $1.2 trillion over 10 years in automatic cuts will be applied. The House passed its version of the bill last week in a 414-2 vote.
July 26, 2012 -
Senate Bill 3285 would grant Russia permanent normal trade status, requiring the U.S. to provide Russia with tariff and trade treatment that's no less beneficial than what the U.S. applies to any other country with the same status.
July 26, 2012 -
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the furloughs would address tighter budgets caused by sequestration. He also discussed other possible effects, including reductions in contracting. Wednesday's hearing represented the first time members of Congress have closely examined the effects across-the-board spending cuts could have on civilian agencies.
July 26, 2012 -
In a report from the Heritage Foundation, analyst Paul Rosenzweig said the bill still is intrusive, provides little liability protection for private owners and the proposed incentives would make the standards mandatory, not voluntary as lawmakers have claimed.
July 24, 2012 -
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to bring a stalled cybersecurity bill up for a floor vote by the end of next week. Lawmakers are still haggling over the final details but the bill's sponsor, Sen. Joe Lieberman, believes he'll have enough votes to pass the revised bill that includes compromises lessening the impact for private industry.
July 18, 2012 -
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the United States is under cyber attack and that cybersecurity was a matter of national security.
July 12, 2012 -
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved six bills that would affect the day-to-day workings of the federal government.
June 28, 2012 -
Congress is demanding more answers about how $1.2 trillion in budget cuts set to take effect in January will be applied across the government. The House Budget Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill directing the Obama administration to provide Congress a report that provides specific details about how the spending cuts will affect federal agencies and programs. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee formally requested that the head of the Office of Management and Budget, Jeff Zients, testify before the committee on the "mechanics and impact" of the automatic cuts.
June 27, 2012 -
The pressing need for cybersecurity legislation has led to widely divergent paths in the House and Senate. The House has opted for a more incremental approach, while the Senate has crafted comprehensive legislation
June 27, 2012