Tom Coburn

  • Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has filed a lawsuit against Katherine Archuleta, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, seeking to overturn an OPM regulation that allows lawmakers and their staffs to continue receiving government contribution toward their health insurance premiums. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, lawmakers and their staffs were booted from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), under which the government typically kicks in about three-fourths of the cost of federal employees' premiums, and required to purchase health insurance on the federal exchange.

    January 06, 2014
  • From super soldiers to stay-at-home feds, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) identified 100 programs that have generated almost $30 billion in wasteful spending by the federal government in 2013.

    December 16, 2013
  • The Homeland Security Department's Office of Inspector General took a look at DHS' information security program and practices and found them lacking.

    December 03, 2013
  • A new bill introduced by a trio of Republican senators would end the defined benefit portion of FERS coverage for new federal employees hired within six months of the bill's passage. Sponsors of the bill say the Public-Private Employee Retirement Parity Act would align federal retirement benefits more closely with those earned in the private sector.

    November 15, 2013
  • Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee laud Beth Cobert's private sector experience. But Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said Senate leaders do not plan to debate or vote on any nominations during the shutdown.

    October 02, 2013
  • OMB Director Sylvia Burwell received a letter from Sen. Tom Coburn earlier this month asking for the facts and figures on how agencies are spending acquisition funds in the fourth quarter.

    September 24, 2013
  • Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says a Senate bill aiming to overhaul the Postal Service's financial structure by providing the agency more flexibility to price its products is a good first step. Donahoe has been calling on Congress to approve comprehensive postal reform for much of the last two years. In that time, the cash-strapped agency has posted losses of $20 billion and defaulted on more than $11 billion in payments to prefund retiree health care costs. USPS is set to default on a $5.6 billion payment due Sept. 30 payment, Donahoe said.

    September 19, 2013
  • New legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) pushes the Pentagon toward being ready for a full financial audit by restricting spending on major weapons programs if DoD fails to get its books in order.

    September 18, 2013
  • House Democrats have crafted their own plan to temporarily fund federal agencies when the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee announced Thursday he plans to introduce a Democratic alternative to the GOP continuing resolution that would replace automatic budget constraints set to continue into fiscal 2014.

    September 12, 2013
  • Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have opened a new legislative salvo in the fight against improper payments: helping agencies stop payments to dead people. The new legislation, introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the committee would allow all federal agencies to access basic death data maintained by the Social Security Administration and require they use it to curb improper payments

    August 30, 2013
  • Congress and some congressional staff members will no longer be eligible for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, when The Affordable Care Act goes in to effect in January. OPM explains what that means.

    August 07, 2013
  • The Senate postal reform bill calls on the Office of Personnel Management to change the way it calculates how much the U.S. Postal Service must pay into the Federal Employees Retirement System and the Civil Service Retirement System. The change could result in a $6 billion surplus for the debt-burdened USPS.

    August 02, 2013
  • The White House says the Office of Personnel Management will issue the final rule on how the Affordable Care Act would apply to lawmakers and their staffs on Oct. 1. The Senate confirms the former OPM Director John Berry to be ambassador to Australia, the Census director, the CFO at Commerce and the Navy's comptroller and assistant secretary for energy, installations and the environment.

    August 02, 2013
  • The House passed the Stop Government Abuse Act Thursday by a vote of 239-176. The bill is part of a Republican legislative package aimed at slashing government waste and abuse.

    August 02, 2013