Susan Collins
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The Acquisitions Reform Bill would require more robust use of Federal Strategic Sourcing vehicles — which allow the government to consolidate its shopping lists and buy in bulk, rather than have each agency pursue its own procurements.
October 20, 2011 -
A new report highlights fewer CIOs are reporting to their agency\'s secretary today than in 2004. More of these senior technology managers wear more than one-hat and are responsible for many areas outside the 13 the statute originally called for.
October 18, 2011 -
Track recommendations on federal pay, benefits and retirement made to the supercommittee by top Congressional leaders and the White House.
October 17, 2011 -
A Senate committee is recommending the super committee consider one more year of a federal pay freeze, increases to retirement contributions and a 15 percent cut to contracting at agencies.
October 14, 2011 -
Molly Wilkinson, a 22-year federal employee, will take her first job in the private sector as head of government affairs for Regions Bank. She worked as the Republican general counsel for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the last two years.
October 04, 2011 -
Auditors find all 24 agencies it reviewed had weaknesses in security controls. GAO also found problems with training and oversight of contractor systems. It recommends OMB and DHS provide better performance metrics.
October 03, 2011 -
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced legislation in the Senate to overhaul the struggling Postal Service. It mirrors the GOP plan approved by a House subcommittee Wednesday. It would let an independent watchdog to seize control of the agency\'s finances if it were more than 30 days late in paying its bills.
September 23, 2011 -
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to hold the number of federal employees stable for the foreseeable future. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he also wants to look at the size of the agency\'s contractor workforce as well. The freeze was approved in the committee\'s first-ever DHS reauthorization bill.
September 22, 2011 -
Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins said the agency has not created an IT management and oversight plan. Without a comprehensive model on IT, the agency cannot fix the way it responds to disasters.
July 19, 2011 -
A new report found the courts have given presidents wide authority over federal contracting. But CRS finds plenty of examples where executive orders have violated existing law. The CRS study comes as the Senate passes an amendment in the defense authorization bill to prohibit DoD from collecting vendor information on political contributions.
June 21, 2011 -
Three members of the House and four members of the Senate introduce companion pieces of legislation to head off the White House\'s draft executive order requiring contractors to disclose political contributions.
May 27, 2011 -
One senator says the White House\'s new cyber policy plan could be a roadmap for an enemy attack.
May 25, 2011 -
A key senator has cautioned that part of a White House plan to strengthen cybersecurity at commercial networks by disclosing audits of security practices could expose vulnerable targets in major parts of the U.S. infrastructure such as power grids.
May 25, 2011 -
The White House\'s draft bill includes many similarities with the one sponsored by the Sens. Lieberman, Collins and Carper. The biggest issues are around the President\'s powers over the Internet during emergencies and whether there should be a Senate-confirmed cyber coordinator at DHS. Senate Majority Leader Reid is making comprehensive cyber legislation a priority this session.
May 23, 2011 -
Without action from Congress, the U.S. Postal Service will default on its obligations to future retirees\' health care accounts. Next up are payments to employees and vendors, the postmaster general told Congress Tuesday.
May 18, 2011