Congressional Spotlight 
Top News
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of ID theft
- DoD to pursue commercial alternative to VA's VistA system
- Obama to nominate Tangherlini as GSA administrator
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- OMB reworking financial system requirements to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- Retirement funds temporarily tapped to avoid debt limit default
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- SBA starting new lending program for veterans
- New Apple devices cleared to join DoD IT networks
- Bonuses under fire at GSA, other agencies
- Wednesday federal headlines - May 22, 2013
Virginia Senate candidate wants to pay feds for cost-cutting ideas
Former Virginia Governors George Allen and Tim Kaine offer contrasting ideas on issues affecting federal employees and contractors. In Maryland, former federal employee Dan Bongino is challenging incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin for his seat. Bongino and Cardin hold similar views on a number of employee issues.
Committee leadership changes likely after election
The election Tuesday could bring with it a number of changes to the makeup and leadership of key congressional committees with oversight of the federal workforce and management. The changes to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and others are expected from retirements, committee term limits and a few close races.
How will recent legislative proposals affect federal officers and agents?
Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, and Tony Vergnetti, president of Federal Employee Defense Services will update us on recent legislative work during lame duck session.
November 2, 2012
Postmaster General urges quick action in lame duck session
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says his number one priority is seeing legislation passed in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress that will help the U.S. Postal Service get out of debt. In an exclusive interview with Federal News Radio, Donahoe details the latest on the agency's financial situation, buyouts, the consolidation of mail processing centers, and its plan to cut window hours at half of its post offices across the country.
House Republicans blast OIRA over late regulations report
The chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees have written to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) demanding to know why the public release of a report on upcoming federal regulations is behind schedule. In a letter to the agency, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairmen of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees, respectively, say OIRA has not been forthcoming about the expected publication date of a report that should have been released months ago.
Panetta calls on lame duck Congress to resolve sequestration
Pentagon makes one more plea for a resolution to sequestration. A regular budget, an annual authorization bill and a resolution to the fight over cybersecurity laws would be helpful as well.
Column: Cyber dominance meaningless without skilled workforce
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), co-founder of the bipartisan Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, says the U.S. is falling short when it comes to a skilled cyber workforce capable of operating at the highest levels of its field. His column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Cybersecurity Rising.
Column: Cyber inaction may be our Achilles' heel
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the chairman of the House GOP Cybersecurity Task Force, argues that the country's national security cannot afford a stalemate on cyber legislation. His column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Cybersecurity Rising.
Arlington Cemetery debuts new interactive map
Arlington National Cemetery on Monday made available to the public a massive electronic database detailing the gravesites of the roughly 400,000 people buried there.
44 TSA workers at Newark face firing or suspension
The Transportation Security Administration on Friday moved to fire 25 employees at Newark Liberty International Airport and suspend 19 others for what it said was improper screening of checked luggage, the latest in a series of problems at one of the country's busiest airports.
And today's impending disaster is...
For the past dozen years, and up until about six months ago, federal workers were worried about the family jewels, especially their health insurance and retirement packages. Now that concern has shifted to fear of layoffs and furloughs, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
The Cybersecurity debate
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts will talk about cybersecurity and risk managment.
October 18, 2012
Unions, watchdog groups renew call for capping 'exorbitant' contractor salaries
A collection of federal unions and watchdogs groups wrote to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee urging support for a law capping taxpayer-funded contracting compensation costs at $230, 700 — the maximum salary earned by the highest-paid federal employees.
New federal oversight of subways, buses replaces state 'patchwork'
The Federal Transit Administration now has the authority to set safety standards under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act or MAP-21.
More than $18B spent on 'outdated and outlandish' projects, Coburn report says
Sen. Tom Coburn's report on government waste details spending on 100 government projects, programs and initiatives at a cost of $18 billion. The report also points to potentially systemic issues affecting federal management, such as the lack of strategic sourcing in federal acquisition and the General Services Administration's outdated contract schedules.
Issa seeks answers on layoff notices from defense companies
Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Darrel Issa (R-Calif.), wrote to the heads of 10 defense companies seeking information about the legal justification for not issuing notices of potential layoffs due to the across-the-board defense cuts set to go into effect Jan. 2. If contractors don't issue the notices and contracts are, in fact, terminated or modified, then agencies will pick up the contract-termination and employee compensation costs, the Office of Management and Budget stated in guidance issued late last month. But Republican lawmakers have argued the White House doesn't have the legal authority to ask companies to not comply with the law.
Swing states, tax code and the fiscal cliff
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts will examine the challenges facing the swing state of Virginia. Plus, what does Arizona Senator John McCain think about the U.S. tax code and other financial issues.
October 11, 2012
GOP lawmakers urge Obama to drop cyber executive order
Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate wrote to President Barack Obama urging him to not issue an executive order setting voluntary cybersecurity standards for private-sector operators of critical infrastructure.
FDA checking high-risk medical apps for safety
Last year, the FDA proposed a policy to test apps that included "very high-risk interventions" that did not cause any unintended consequences. The agency is now expected to release final policy by the end of this year on which apps it will oversee.
Intelligence community employees to gain whistleblower protections
Employees in the intelligence community (IC) who report waste, fraud and abuse have gained whistleblower protections, under a directive President Barack Obama issued Wednesday. The presidential policy directive aims to ensure intelligence and national security employees are able to legally report agency wrongdoing and be protected from retaliation for doing so.
