Congressional Spotlight 
Top News
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- As VA works to eliminate one backlog, one more might emerge
- Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
- Furlough song: Laugh or you'll cry
- 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
- Does security clearance process need a makeover?
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
- NASA engineer, 29, recognized for improving aeronautical testing
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- Wednesday federal headlines - June 19, 2013
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.
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.
House committee approves pro-business cyber bill
House panel approves pro-business cybersecurity bill over protests by civil liberties groups
Obama budget: Spending cuts, higher smokers' taxes
Obama's budget: Trim Social Security benefits, raise smokers' taxes to trim federal deficits
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.
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.
Federal budget cuts ground Air Force aircraft
Budget cuts ground 3rd of Air Force warplanes; those headed to Afghanistan to be mission ready
Obama budget plan revisits small-bore budget cuts
Obama budget plan revisits small-bore budget cuts that have proven difficult to pass
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Veterans fight changes to disability payments
Veterans groups say disability payments, pensions should be kept out of budget negotiations
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.
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.
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.
Obama to release his budget outline April 10
White House says Obama will release his budget outline April 10, 2 months late
