Senate News 
Top News
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
- Furlough song: Laugh or you'll cry
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
- NASA engineer, 29, recognized for improving aeronautical testing
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- Wednesday federal headlines - June 19, 2013
OMB to begin planning for sequestration
Faced with congressional inaction in averting looming across-the-board cuts that take effect in January, the Office of Management and Budget will begin meeting with agency leaders to discuss how the cuts will be implemented. In a memo to agency heads, OMB Director Jeff Zients said his office will consult with agencies to determine which budget accounts and programs are exempt from sequestration.
Reid, Boehner announce stopgap spending deal
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.
House OKs bill allowing agencies to boot tax-delinquent feds
The House voted 263-116 to approve the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act and send it to the Senate. The measure would make those are who are seriously delinquent ineligible for federal employment, whether they're working for the government now or are applying for a job. The House will also vote on final passage of a bill Wednesday to curb misuse of government charge cards.
Lawmakers find ways to avoid another TSP cyber breach
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.
End of the world delayed?
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.
USPS: We will default on $5.5B payment due this week
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.
Bill demanding details on sequestration heads to President's desk
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.
U.S. sales to Russia poised for boost under WTO
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.
Senate panel backs bill to stem security leaks
The Senate Intelligence committee has approved legislation designed to clamp down on national security leaks as Republicans accuse the administration of intentionally disclosing classified information to burnish President Barack Obama's image in an election year.
Analyst calls Senate cybersecurity bill inadequate
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.
Ethics nominee asks Congress to change insider trading law
Walter Shaub Jr. said the STOCK Act could cause unintended consequences for federal employees' privacy and safety. Shaub said he favors revisions aimed at striking a balance between the need to protect personal information and the law's requirement to disclose stock trades.
Senators tell DoJ to fix its suspension, debarment databases
Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) want regular updates from Justice officials on the steps they are taking to better input and share information on vendors who have committed crimes. The DoJ IG found the agency's internal controls and training were lacking.
Senators try compromise to get cyber bill passed
The revised Cybersecurity Act of 2012 removes DHS from having sole oversight authority of critical infrastructure and shares the responsibility across an interagency council. The bill also would make the implementation of cyber standards by critical infrastructure operators voluntary. The legislation encourages an incentive-based program.
FERC goes back to Congress again for more cyber oversight
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it needs authority to enforce cybersecurity standards. The agency also wants Congress to expand its jurisdiction over electric grid operators.
Senate expected to vote on cybersecurity bill next week
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.
Sea Treaty all but dead, 34 GOP senators oppose
A treaty governing the high seas is all but dead in the Senate as two Republican senators announced their opposition Monday, giving conservative foes the necessary votes to scuttle the pact.
US government records $904.2B deficit through June
The U.S. budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, remaining on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year.
2 senators urge adoption of cybersecurity bill
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the United States is under cyber attack and that cybersecurity was a matter of national security.
Senators quiz defense companies on sequestration
Letter, sent to 15 large vendors, asks for estimated impacts of sequestration on defense contractors.
Agency performance reporting lags under wasteful spending initiative
A report by the Congressional Research Service finds it's not clear whether agencies are meeting performance goals set out a June 2011 executive order to make the federal government more efficient and accountable.
