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White House warns of 'deeply destructive' cuts in sequestration report
The across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, set to take effect Jan. 2 would be "deeply destructive" to national security and core civilian agency programs, according to a comprehensive report from the White House detailing the impact of the cuts on specific programs and accounts. The $109 billion in cuts coming next year — split evenly between Defense civilian agency budgets — would slash Defense discretionary spending by 9.4 percent and civilian agency spending by 8.2 percent.
Six-month CR makes extension of fed pay freeze official
The six-month stopgap spending bill unveiled by the House Appropriations Committee this week officially continues the federal pay freeze until at least March. The continuing resolution, which runs through March 27, gives lawmakers more time to make appropriations for the coming year and staves off the threat of a government shutdown. When a broad CR was first announced last month, the full Congress had not yet approved any fiscal 2013 spending bills. President Barack Obama proposed last month a 0.5 percent pay raise that would only take effect once Congress passed a 2013 budget — a de facto extension of the current two-year freeze. The CR makes the extension official.
Congress faces continuing resolution, sequestration and postal reform
Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week with a packed agenda. Topping the list of priorities is hammering out final details of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government running beyond the end of the fiscal year -- Sept. 30. Amid the election-year politicking, the list of unfinished business also includes legislation to restructure the financially ailing U.S. Postal Service and a cybersecurity bill that aims to safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure. Perhaps looming largest of all is what Congress plans to do about automatic, across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, set to take effect Jan. 2. Failure to avert the cuts could send the country over a "fiscal cliff," budget experts warn.
OMB's Zients hints at making strategic sourcing mandatory
The President's Management Advisory Board wants agencies to focus on reducing improper payments and making strategic sourcing mandatory.
White House misses deadline to deliver sequestration report, says plan coming next week
The White House plans to deliver a report to Congress late next week detailing how automatic, across-the-board cuts, set to take effect in January, will affect specific programs. The report is required under the Sequestration Transparency Act, which Congress overwhelmingly passed this summer and which the President signed on Aug. 7. The law directed the President to issue the detailed report within 30 days of signing it - a deadline that came this week and went unmet.
New Army Reserve chief prioritizes suicide prevention, calm message on budget
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley took over as Chief of the Army Reserve in June. He tells Federal News Radio there are only two issues that keep him up at night.
The GSA, sequestration, and more
Federal News Radio's Jason Miller will talk
about a recent confrontation between a GSA
official and an agent in the Inspector
General's office. Steve Losey and Andy Medici
from the Federal Times will discuss the pay
debate and other issues affecing federal
workers.
September 5, 2012
OMB touts $4B in efficiency savings
Acting Director Jeff Zients wrote in a blog post today that agencies have met half of President Obama's goal to save $8 billion by the end of 2013.
Management successes paving the way for One-DHS
Rafael Borras, the Homeland Security Department's undersecretary for management, said in an exclusive interview with Federal News Radio, improvements to back-office functions show how interdependent the agency has become over the last few years. DHS is managing its acquisition, financial management and human capital processes through a holistic approach.
What's ahead for feds with security clearances?
Evan Lesser, founder and director of ClearanceJobs.com, talks about how the job market is changing for federal workers with high security clearances.
August 31, 2012
Sequestration could spell $39B in cuts to civilian agency budgets
Civilian agencies may lose almost $40 billion dollars in top-line funding if sequestration goes into effect on Jan. 2, according to a new analysis by the Professional Services Council. Using fiscal 2012 as a baseline, PSC calculated civilian discretionary spending would decline by $39 billion and that individual agency budget would decline by 7.8 percent. More granular data are hard to come by until the Office of Management and Budget provides more details about specific about how the cuts will affect specific programs.
Republican convention, sequestration, and the real cause of the budget crisis
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital
Impact show, analysts will discuss the GOP convention in Tampa, preparations for sequestration, and what caused the budget crisis.
August 30, 2012
GSA expects $11M savings from travel, conference cuts
The General Services Administration projects it will save $11 million from April to September from reforms to employee travel and agency conferences. Since April, GSA canceled 47 conferences.
USPS offers early outs to 3,300 workers
To avoid lay-offs, this week the mail agency offered early retirements to more than 3,300 employees who will retire Dec. 31, 2012.
Lawmaker says fed pay, benefits used as 'piggybank' in deficit reduction
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), whose district in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is home to many federal employees, said he understands the frustration voiced by federal unions about a de facto extension of the federal pay freeze. Sarbanes said too often lawmakers used federal pay and benefits as a "piggybank" in deficit- reduction efforts.
Study: DoD sequestration cuts would slam federal workforce, delay pain to contractors
Most of the Pentagon's contract spending wouldn't take an immediate hit from sequestration. Conversely, civilian employees would likely be laid-off or furloughed in the few days or weeks after the automatic budget cuts kick in, according to a Washington think tank's analysis of the convoluted laws that govern the automatic cuts
Legislative roundup: What feds should expect when Congress returns to work
Jenny Mattingley hosts of roundtable discussion of legislation pending in Congress that affect federal workers.
August 24, 2012
Postal regulators OK shorter post office hours
Postal regulators agreed with a Postal Service plan to cut the window hours at 13,000 post offices. Operating hours will be cut to six, four or even two hours per weekday at these locations.
Making Dollars And Sense Out of Data Center Consolidation
So, how does data center consolidation open doors for mission improvements? How does data center consolidation change the way you have to buy and manage mission critical systems? And how can agencies move money from operating and maintaining a data center to developing, modernizing and enhancing mission-critical systems?
VA paid $52K for 'Patton' conference training video
A 15-minute training video that cost $52,000 to make joins the examples of excessive spending at two Veterans Affairs' conferences last year with a total pricetag of $5 million.




