Senate expands whistleblower protections for feds
The Senate unanimously approved a bill Tuesday expanding protections for federal whistleblowers. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, authored and introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chairman of a Senate subcommittee on the federal workforce, updates a 1989 law protecting government whistleblowers.
Proposed cybersecurity funding less than DHS asked for
The Department of Homeland Security would receive 63 percent more money in fiscal 2013 under the bill. That would add roughly $300 million more dollars to the cyber budget, which is just $20 million shy of the agency's request.
Pray for political inertia
What if we elected a Congress that fought all the time, couldn't agree on anything and where Democrats could hardly stand to be in the same building as Republicans, and vice versa? Well, fortunately, for federal workers we may have done that, and it could save you from taking a major pay cut over the next five years, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
Bill calls for 'duplication score' to cut wasteful programs
Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) has cosponsored two pieces of legislation that target duplication of government services, both in the legislative and executive branches.
Federal Drive interviews - May 8, 2012
Dr. Sonja Batten, deputy chief for specialty mental health, Veterans Affairs Department, discusses the VA's plans to hire 2,000 mental health professionals and support staff. Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) talks about two bills aimed at reducing the number of duplicative government programs.
Amendment aims to speed up ship building plan
The Armed Services committee Seapower chairman is tired of waiting for the Navy's ship building plan to come in.
New legislation seeks to prevent hazing in military
Congressmen introduce the Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act of 2012, a bill aimed at preventing hazing in the military services.
White House promises veto of GOP spending bill
The White House on Monday vowed to veto a House spending bill for the Justice Department, NASA and several other agencies, charging its GOP authors with violating last summer's budget pact and cutting programs like legal aid to the poor too deeply.
Federal pension hike advances as part of House alternative to automatic cuts
A plan to avoid automatic cuts to discretionary federal spending, including the Defense Department's, advanced in the House, passing the budget committee and heading to the House floor for a vote later this week. Among the $300 billion in alternative cuts approved by the committee, in a 21-9 party-line vote, is a provision requiring federal employees to pay more for their retirement benefits.
Defense bill lets feds in national security jobs rotate between agencies
As part of the annual Defense authorization bill, House lawmakers will take up a provision designed to let federal employees gain experience and share expertise while working temporarily in other agencies.
AFGE Celebrates National Nurses Week - May 4th, 2012 and May 11th, 2012
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox, 8th District National Vice President Jane Nygaard and Legislative Representative Marilyn Park preview National Nurses Week May 6 - 12. The trio discusses challenges federal nurses face at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bureau of Prisons and Department of Defense and highlights the union's Nurses Steering Committee.
Senators ask USPS to delay post office closings
The four sponsors of postal reform legislation in the Senate are asking the Postal Service to delay closing post offices and mail processing facilities until the new law is in place.
Highway bill enters legislative homestretch
Defying expectations, Congress has reached the homestretch on a major overhaul of federal transportation programs that is critical if the nation is to avoid steep cutbacks in highway and transit aid.
Changes will 'burnish prestige' of Fellows program, OPM director says
OPM Director John Berry detailed changes coming to the Presidential Management Fellows Program in a recent letter to Congress, obtained by Federal News Radio. The program came under criticism earlier this year for mistakenly sending out 300 letters of acceptance to applicants who had not been chosen for the program.
House-backed cyber bills head to Senate
Despite a veto threat from the President, the House passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) Thursday , along with three other cybersecurity bills.
House Roll Call: Cybersecurity
The 248-168 roll call Thursday by which the House passed legislation encouraging companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists.
House-backed DATA Act, increases transparency, caps agency spending
On a voice vote, the House backed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, known as the DATA Act. The legislation would establish uniform standards for all recipients to report federal money and set up a single website where average Americans could search for information on how government agencies, departments and other recipients spend federal funds.
House committee OKs legislation to increase feds' pension contributions
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is marking up legislation today that would increase federal employees' contributions to their pension by 5 percent over five years.
The joys of divided government
Democrats control the White House and the Senate, while Republicans call the shots in the House. So what impact has divided government had on federal workers? Some people think things could be a whole lot worse if one party ran all three operations at the same time, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
OMB: No contingency plans yet for sequestration
A top official at the Office of Management and Budget said it's "premature" to begin planning for the automatic, across-the-board cuts that will go into effect Jan. 2, 2013, if Congress cannot reach a deal to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade.
After defending federal cuts, lawmaker responds to angry email comments
Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) is defending himself after responding to a op-ed piece in the Washington Post that claimed some members of Congress are attacking feds unfairly. Tom Shoop, the editor-in-chief of Government Executive, which orignally posted Ross' remarks, joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss the developments.




