Budget News 
2013 Budget Resources
Top News
- IRS to pay $70M in bonuses, Grassley says
- Small companies won't feel effect of lowered contractor pay cap
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- As VA works to eliminate one backlog, one more might emerge
- BRAC-like commission proposed to hunt down government cost savings
- Sequestration claims another conference: DHS's GFirst cyber event
- Postal Service closing Capitol Hill post offices in 'symbolic' move
- Senators seek cost cuts for F-35 fighter jet
- Fed pens new furlough song
- Web guru Dorris brings new life to government websites
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- NSA leak case gives vendors reason to reevaluate personnel
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
OMB tells agencies to 'intensify' sequestration planning
Agencies across government should intensify their planning for across-the-board sequestration cuts, according to a Jan. 14 memo to the heads of executive department and agencies from Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. The memo comes on the heels of similar guidance issued last week by the Defense Department. Meanwhile, the Navy warned of the threat of reduced funding from a short-term spending measure.
Bernanke prods Congress to raise debt ceiling
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that it's important that Congress raise the nation's borrowing limit before the Treasury runs out of maneuvering room to avoid a potential default on U.S. debt.
Hitting the debt limit: What bills would be paid?
Reiterating a threat he first issued in the summer of 2011, President Barack Obama on Monday warned Republicans that older Americans might not get their Social Security checks and veterans won't get timely benefits if Congress fails to increase the government's borrowing authority.
Boehner: GOP will pass 'responsible' debt bill
Speaker John Boehner says the GOP-controlled House will "do its job" and pass legislation to lift the nation's borrowing cap and keep the government running, but will insist that Democrats accept new spending controls.
Pentagon orders planning for civilian furloughs, other cutbacks
Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter told DoD components Thursday to draw up plans for full-year continuing resolution, plus sequestration. The approach to deal with across-the-board cuts would be to freeze civilian hiring, cut training, travel and conferences and reduce business technology expenditures.
Pentagon moving to freeze hiring, delay contracts
The Pentagon will begin taking steps to freeze civilian hiring, delay some contract awards and curtail some maintenance to prepare for drastic budget cuts if Congress can't reach an agreement on a final spending plan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.
NASA's $1 billion opportunities and a preview of the 113th
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts examine NASA's acquisition forecast for this year, and the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.
January 10, 2013
Bowles: 'No easy way' to get books back in order
The co-chairman of the U.S. deficit commission calls failure to agree on a plan to reduce the national debt "the most disappointing thing in my life."
Sequestration 2.0 would mean furloughs for DoD's entire civilian workforce
New version of sequestration would reduce overall tab to DoD but compress across-the-board cuts into just seven months. A leading-think tank's "back of the envelope" calculations show the military would have to furlough almost every civilian.
Commerce's CFO, CIO collaboration paying off across the board
Scott Quehl, the CFO, and Simon Szykman, the CIO, work closely together on ensuring projects remain on track and are efficient as possible. Their relationship is making it easier for Commerce to deal with budget and oversight pressures.
Congress revises DoD's sequestration starting point
When lawmakers and the White House kicked sequestration two months down the road, they also made changes to how the cuts would be calculated. The Pentagon estimates the impact on the Defense budget would be gentler than before.
The top ten federal stories of 2012
Michael Keating, senior editor for Government Product News, joins host Mark Amtower to talk about the GSA scandal, and other big stories in 2012.
January 7, 2013
Federal jobs outlook for 2013
Host Derrick Dortch will discuss the latest federal hiring issues with Linda Rix, co-CEO of Avue Technologies.
January 4, 2013(Encore presentation January 18, 2013)
CBO: 'Cliff' deal leaves big deficits in place
Legislation passed this week to avert the "fiscal cliff" could still leave in place deficits averaging more than $900 billion a year over the coming decade if Congress fails to follow its tax increases up with further spending cuts or tax hikes, the nonpartisan scorekeeper for Congress said Friday.
Farm bill extension evidence of lost clout
A patchwork extension of federal farm programs passed as part of a larger "fiscal cliff" bill keeps the price of milk from rising but doesn't include many of the goodies that farm-state lawmakers are used to getting for their rural districts.
Fed minutes show some concerns on bond purchases
The Federal Reserve will keep buying bonds indefinitely to try to keep long-term borrowing costs low. It's just not clear how long indefinitely will be.
Cliff averted, it's on to the next fiscal crisis
Onward to the next fiscal crisis. Actually, several of them, potentially. The New Year's Day deal averting the "fiscal cliff" lays the groundwork for more combustible struggles in Washington over taxes, spending and debt in the next few months.
Obama signs cliff deal to boost taxes on wealthy
President Barack Obama has signed a bill that boosts taxes on the wealthiest Americans, while preserving tax cuts for most American households.
Analysis: Sequestration postponed? What does that mean?
Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government told The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp Congress' latest piece of legislation both delays sequestration and reduces its potential effect.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 2, 2013
Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government and Sterling Beard of The Hill newspaper talk about the new bill to delay sequestration and extend tax cuts. Alicia Cackley of the the Government Accountability Office discusses a new report on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cary Russell of the GAO outlines the logistical challenges of withdrawing from Afghanistan.
