11:20 am, May 19, 2013
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Congressional Spotlight

Hagel: Job not to cut heart out of Pentagon

Hagel says Obama didn't instruct him to cut heart out of Pentagon, says budgets cuts were law

Friday - 04/12/2013, 09:02am EDT

DoD makes auditability a priority, but will likely miss 2014 deadline

The Defense Department's attitude toward the importance of auditability has undergone a marked change, but experts believe compliance with its next legal deadline will be a stretch.

Tuesday - 04/16/2013, 11:52am EDT
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Mica: 'Mismanagement of assets is shameful'

Congressman John Mica says his top priority as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations is to cut agency waste, fraud and abuse beyond just the low hanging fruit. Mica's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Rise of the Money People.

Friday - 04/12/2013, 04:25am EDT

House committee approves pro-business cyber bill

House panel approves pro-business cybersecurity bill over protests by civil liberties groups

Thursday - 04/11/2013, 02:16pm EDT

Obama budget: Spending cuts, higher smokers' taxes

Obama's budget: Trim Social Security benefits, raise smokers' taxes to trim federal deficits

Thursday - 04/11/2013, 02:52am EDT

Agency collaboration key to saving money

As the new chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce and government efficiency, Sen. Jon Tester says he will work to improve government services by pushing for better inter-agency collaboration and smarter investments that produce results.

Monday - 04/15/2013, 01:55pm EDT

Postal Service backs down on ending Saturday mail

The U.S. Postal Service has reversed its decision to end Saturday mail delivery service, saying Congress gave it no choice when it passed a 2013 appropriations bill last month that continued a ban on five-day delivery.

Wednesday - 04/10/2013, 12:06pm EDT

Federal budget cuts ground Air Force aircraft

Budget cuts ground 3rd of Air Force warplanes; those headed to Afghanistan to be mission ready

Wednesday - 04/10/2013, 05:42am EDT

Obama budget plan revisits small-bore budget cuts

Obama budget plan revisits small-bore budget cuts that have proven difficult to pass

Tuesday - 04/09/2013, 12:00pm EDT

House revives cyber bill that privacy groups hate

The House Intelligence Committee is trying to revive legislation that would let industry and the federal government swap information on the latest cyber threats.

Tuesday - 04/09/2013, 04:46am EDT

Senate confirms White to head SEC

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mary Jo White's nomination as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, making her the first former prosecutor to lead the federal agency that oversees Wall Street.

Tuesday - 04/09/2013, 04:48am EDT

Analysis: Pay, benefits, O&M will swallow entire DoD budget by 2024

Absent structural changes, the combination of 10-year budget caps Congress has already approved and rising growth in personnel costs mean DoD would be able to sign paychecks, administer healthcare benefits and not much more.

Monday - 04/08/2013, 06:00am EDT
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Timeline: The Evolution of Financial Management in the Federal Government

Building on the foundation of the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950, Congress has increased the oversight and transparency of government spending over the years.

Monday - 04/08/2013, 02:00am EDT

Changes to COLAs, retirement benefits included in Obama's 2014 budget

President Barack Obama is calling for the implementation of the "chained Consumer Price Index" to measure inflation. The change will reduce cost-of-living adjustments for retired federal employees and Social Security recipients. The 2014 budget is officially scheduled for release on Wednesday.

Wednesday - 04/10/2013, 10:32am EDT

Bill would tie Congressional pay to spending cuts

Democratic Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton says she'll introduce a bill next week that would subject Congressional salaries to any future automatic, across-the-board cuts like those that took effect last month.

Wednesday - 04/03/2013, 10:52am EDT

PRC to analyze impact of changing Saturday mail delivery

The U.S. Postal Service continues to insist changes are necessary to help deal with budget woes in the face of congressional resistance. The Postal Service also is accelerating the closure of 53 mail processing plants.

Tuesday - 04/02/2013, 04:28pm EDT

Veterans fight changes to disability payments

Veterans groups say disability payments, pensions should be kept out of budget negotiations

Monday - 04/01/2013, 09:34am EDT

Coburn calls on OPM to fire feds 'paid to do nothing'

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has written to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, saying the office should take steps to offload federal workers and contractors who don't show up for work, aren't performing official duties or "are simply not working at all." In the letter, Coburn, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said doing so could prevent the need to furlough critical employees under sequestration.

Friday - 03/29/2013, 01:50pm EDT

Obama to release 2014 budget proposal on April 10

Under the law, the President was supposed to submit a budget by Feb. 4. White House aides said deliberations over spending and sequestration in the past few months delayed the release of Obama's blueprint.

Thursday - 03/28/2013, 03:32pm EDT

Congress urged to drop online financial reporting for senior execs

A new report says a law requiring the online posting of senior federal executives' financial information would likely impinge on employees' privacy and wouldn't do much to deter conflicts of interest. The National Academy of Public Administration was tasked by Congress with studying the STOCK Act — short for "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge" — in response to concerns about privacy and identify theft.

Friday - 03/29/2013, 02:25pm EDT
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