The Senior Executive Service may be less than 1 percent of the entire federal workforce, but it is the backbone of the government because SES members ensure continuity in a changing environment. The Office of Personnel Management makes that case as it encourages agencies, even now, to invest in developing SES members' skills. The Internal Revenue Service has done executive development training for 40 years.

President Barack Obama has wined and dined Congressional Republicans. A GOP senator even gave a thumbs up after one of those fancy dinners. But after all that and lots of meetings on Capitol Hill, there are signs that Democrats and Republicans are as divided as ever on the federal budget. A measure to avoid a government shutdown and the fiscal 2014 spending plan hang in the balance. Molly Hooper writes for The Hill newspaper.

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