sequestration

  • Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government and Sterling Beard of The Hill newspaper talk about the new bill to delay sequestration and extend tax cuts. Alicia Cackley of the the Government Accountability Office discusses a new report on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cary Russell of the GAO outlines the logistical challenges of withdrawing from Afghanistan.

    January 02, 2013
  • Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick introduced a bill to extend the pay freeze for federal workers for all of fiscal 2013. The Senate still must pass the bill.

    January 02, 2013
  • William R. Dougan, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said Tuesday the Senate's fiscal cliff bill will lead to a political standoff that will leave federal employees with an uncertain future.

    January 01, 2013
  • Highlights of a bill approved Tuesday by the Senate aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year.

    January 01, 2013
  • OPM published a guide providing agency human-resources officials with more information about "administrative furloughs," which are different from those stemming from government shutdowns because agencies typically have more time to plan their spending reductions. The Obama administration has reassured reassured federal agencies that sequestration won't have an immediate impact on the federal workforce or day-to-day government operations.

    December 28, 2012
  • The House approved a bill Thursday requiring federal employees to contribute more toward their retirement as part of a broader deal to avert the the so-called fiscal cliff. The 2012 Spending Reduction Act is nearly identical to a measure passed by the House last spring.

    December 20, 2012
  • The Obama administration offered agencies new guidance on sequestration, telling agency leaders and federal-employee unions that sequestration won't have an immediate impact on the federal workforce or government operations even if the automatic budget cuts go into effect Jan. 2.

    December 20, 2012
  • The White House typically gives agencies both funding and policy updates for the upcoming budget request by Thanksgiving. This year OMB decided to hold off on passback guidance because of the current fiscal negotiations with Congress. Several senior agency officials said this lag will compress the timeline to respond to the information and require them to prepare for something that may never happen.

    December 20, 2012
  • If Congress and the White House change the yardstick used to measure inflation, will retirees barely notice or will they have to go on a diet of Hamburger Helper and Ramen Noodles? Check out Senior Correspondent Mike Causey's column for more.

    December 20, 2012
  • Federal Times senior writers Sean Reilly and Stephen Losey will update us on sequestration, buyouts, and the big issues affecting federal workers in 2013. December 19, 2012

    December 19, 2012
  • In the fiscal-cliff talks, it now appears that both sides have blinked. Republicans appear willing to accept some higher taxes and Democrats seem to have agreed that Social Security's growing costs must be curtailed. Slightly and slowly. So how will the proposals affect you? Check out Senior Correspondent Mike Causey's column.

    December 19, 2012
  • In the latest proposals traded back and forth between the White House and Boehner, the President proposed changing the formula the Labor Department uses to measure inflation — which would reduce annual COLAs for Social Security beneficiaries, including federal and military retirees. Federal-employee unions and groups remain worried the COLA proposals are still very much on the table.

    December 18, 2012
  • If a compromise does not take place by Jan. 2, sequestration will kick in potentially causing challenges for federal agencies and contractors. So do federal agencies and contractors have plans in place or are they crossing their fingers in the meantime?

    December 18, 2012
  • If Congress and the White House cut a last-minute deal to avoid sequestration and the fiscal cliff, some of the compromise may come out of your hide, whether you are active or retired, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    December 18, 2012