Congressional Spotlight 
Top News
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Proposed commission would give teeth to cost-saving ideas but some lawmakers skeptical
- Feds outside the Beltway react to furloughs
- Contracting executives guilty of 8(a) program fraud
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- 29-year-old NASA engineer going where no one has gone before
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- ICE Director John Morton stepping down
- 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
- IRS official contradicts claims about reviews
- House presses VA for more details after cyber attacks
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition
Congress News
- Proposed commission would give teeth to cost-saving ideas but some lawmakers skeptical
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- FBI director gets another House grilling
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition from Congress
- Lawmakers, industry press OFPP not to make strategic sourcing mandatory
Senate panel plans Tuesday vote on Lew nomination
Senate committee plans Tuesday vote on Jack Lew, Obama's nominee to be treasury secretary
Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 25, 2013
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is concerned new regulations may make whistleblowers even more reluctant to report tax fraud to the IRS. OMB Controller Danny Werfel says $85 billion in cuts under sequestration would hurt every state. Maj. Gen. Brett Williams says the U.S. Cyber Command is trying to figure how to normalize operations alongside air, land and sea capabilities. Lynn Singleton, director of environmental services at Lockheed Martin, talks about helping agencies move their email to the cloud. Dr. Milton Corn explains why The National Library of Medicine is monitoring social media.
OMB, agencies still crunching sequestration-related furlough numbers for non-DoD civilians
The White House released its estimate on the impact of cuts from sequestration would have on each state and the District of Columbia. OMB's Danny Werfel said they still are obtaining clarity on the impact $85 billion in cuts would have on each agency.
Boehner says US veterans' claims system is broken
House speaker says system for veterans' disability claims is broken, cites 'shameful' failures
Cybersecurity executive order
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts will discuss the impact of the cybersecurity executive order signed by President Obama.
February 21, 2013
Hagel's GOP foes signal vote should go on
Hagel's GOP opponents say vote on his Pentagon nomination should go ahead despite concerns
Work time spent on union activities at a 7-year high for feds
OPM issued its fiscal 2011 Official Time report. The data shows employees, on average, spent 2.82 hours on union-related work during official hours. The cost of official time also increased by almost 12 percent.
House votes to extend pay freeze for fed workers
House votes to extend pay freeze for federal workers, White House opposes
Democrats to unveil bill to replace budget cuts
Senate Democrats to unveil bill to replace automatic budget cuts
OMB to Congress: Sequestration impact 'real,' but furloughs not immediate
Obama administration officials are painting a bleak picture of how federal agencies would fare under sequestration, the automatic budget cuts slated to go into effect in two weeks. The Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from several Obama administration officials about the consequences of the cuts, which are set to take effect March 1. However, Danny Werfel, controller of the Office of Management and Budget, emphasized to the committee that employee furloughs would not be immediate.
Boehner taking a you-first approach to proposals
Scarred from political skirmishes, Boehner content to let Democratic proposals come to him
Cyber information sharing bill gets new life in House
Despite a veto threat a year ago, House proponents of a cyber information sharing bill say productive talks now are underway with the Obama administration. Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger re-introduced the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) trying to address privacy and civil liberties concerns.
Boehner voices skepticism on budget prospects
House Speaker John Boehner expressed doubts Wednesday that the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate could reach agreement on a budget and avoid automatic spending cuts that could jeopardize economic growth.
Pay freeze bill heading for House vote
The House Rules Committee voted to fast-track legislation extending the pay freeze for federal employees through the end of the fiscal year. Federal workers are now slated to get a 0.5 percent pay increase in March when a stopgap continuing resolution expired. However, the measure approved by the House Rules Committee, introduced by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), would block that increase.
Sequestration, furloughs, federal pay raise, and more
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, and Federal Times reporter Stephen Losey will discuss sequestration and other issues affecting federal workers.
February 13, 2013
USPS makes case for ending Saturday delivery as postal reform push continues
The U.S. Postal Service's worsening financial situation led Postmaster General Pat Donahoe to announce last week the agency would end Saturday mail delivery beginning in August. But lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were divided over Donahoe's announcement. The postmaster general told the committee during a hearing Wednesday the decision was necessary to save $2 billion a year and to begin shoring up the service's funding shortfalls.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 13, 2013
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) talks about his plans as the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Greg Kutz of TIGTA discusses new progress being made by the IRS in recruitment and hiring. Jennifer Martinez, staff writer at The Hill newspaper, discusses the new Executive Order on cybersecurity. Don Kettl of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy offers insight on the State of the Union speech.
Text of Obama's State of the Union address
Text of Obama's State of the Union address
Military issues dire warnings of readiness crisis, decries political gridlock
Among the warnings the military's top uniformed officers delivered to the Senate Tuesday: Half of Marine Corps units will fall below readiness standards by the end of the year, the Army will have to curtail training for 80 percent of its ground forces and shipyards are already becoming short-staffed because of DoD's hiring freeze.
White House issues cyber order, giving NIST, DHS lead roles
Senior administration officials say the Executive Order is not a replacement for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, but the start of a new conversation for how best to protect the nation's critical infrastructure. NIST released an RFI Tuesday as part of its effort to create a voluntary, flexible framework. And DHS will expand the number of companies the government shares classified and unclassified cyber threat information with through the Defense Industrial Base pilot.
