Senate News 
Top News
- IRS to pay $70M in bonuses, Grassley says
- Small companies won't feel effect of lowered contractor pay cap
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- As VA works to eliminate one backlog, one more might emerge
- BRAC-like commission proposed to hunt down government cost savings
- Sequestration claims another conference: DHS's GFirst cyber event
- Postal Service closing Capitol Hill post offices in 'symbolic' move
- Senators seek cost cuts for F-35 fighter jet
- Fed pens new furlough song
- Web guru Dorris brings new life to government websites
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- 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
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
Federal Drive interviews - Nov. 19, 2012
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says that in spite of how it may seem, lawmakers understand the dangers of the fiscal cliff and Dr. Arjun Srinivasan talks about drug-resistant viruses known as superbugs that are on the rise.
Beef jerky, reality shows, beer: Coburn tells DoD to cut it all out
A new report, called the Department of Everything, says DoD spending over the next 10 years will total almost $68 billion on non- military goods and services. Some recent examples include a smartphone app to help military members manage their caffeine intake and the sponsorship of a workshop by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called the 100 Year Starship project, which included a session called, "Did Jesus die for Klingons too?"
McConnell breathes life back into Senate cyber bill
The Republican leader said today on the Senate floor that after the debates over the DoD and Intelligence authorization bills, lawmakers could address concerns about the Cybersecurity Act of 2012.
GOP senator outlines $68 billion in defense cuts
Defense spending could be slashed by $68 billion over 10 years if the military stopped spending millions on running grocery stores, operating its own schools and even developing a roll-up version of beef jerky, insists one of the Senate's leading fiscal conservatives. In a new report, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn dubs the Pentagon the "Department of Everything."
Senate cyber bill is 'dead'
The upper chamber fails to move cyber bill out of starting blocks by receiving 60 votes to end cloture. Lawmakers couldn't get past their concerns over the requirement for regulations and DHS' oversight role.
Senate passes bill boosting payments to veterans
The Senate sent the White House a bill on Tuesday giving nearly 4 million veterans and survivors a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly benefit payments next year.
Congress faces agenda of unfinished business
Averting sequestration sits atop the to-do as Congress returns Tuesday from a seven-week election break to a long list of unfinished business.
General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend
The Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen (pictured), is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an extramarital affair.
Changes coming to key congressional committees despite status-quo election
Following Tuesday's election, Democrats maintain control of the Senate and Republicans continue to hold sway in the House. Retirements, term limits and a few new lawmakers alter the leadership of some committees.
Barack Obama wins second term
President Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday night despite a fierce challenge from Republican Mitt Romney, prevailing in the face of a weak economy and high unemployment that encumbered his first term and crimped the middle class dreams of millions. "This happened because of you. Thank you" Obama tweeted to supporters as he secured four more years in the White House.
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.
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.
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.
Collins wants to know why VA conference planners received bonuses
In an Oct. 9 letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinskei, Sen. Susan Collins requested the agency disclose whether employees responsible for planning the two conferences held in Orlando, Fla., last summer, also worked on other conferences. In addition, Collins said she wants to know how much conference planners earned in bonuses and other awards for their work.
Republican lawmakers call for ouster of VA official who approved conferences
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the ranking member of the Senate committee, called on VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fire his chief of staff, John Gingrich after an inspector general report said he failed to ask the right questions before approving two training conferences. The conferences costs $6.1 million, with as much as $762,000 in questionable spending.
Lawmakers divided on counterterror effort
Stinging criticism from Congress about a counterterrorism effort that improperly collected information about innocent Americans is turning up the heat on the Obama administration to justify the program's continued existence and putting lawmakers who championed it on the defensive.
Congress posts member financial data on Internet
House Speaker John Boehner bought stock in two health care companies this year, while third-ranking House Republican Kevin McCarthy bought and sold Apple stock within a few days. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid bought two government bonds and sold two others.
US Postal Service to default on second $5B payment
The U.S. Postal Service, on the brink of default on a second multibillion-dollar payment it can't afford to pay, is sounding a new cautionary note that having squeezed out all the cost savings within its power, the mail agency's viability now lies almost entirely with Congress.
Presidential appointees face long, winding road to confirmation
No matter who wins the Presidential election, non-career officials who might one day serve in either an Obama or Romney administration will face a cumbersome appointment process that is just starting to be reformed. Linda Springer, who served as the head of the Office of Personnel Management during the George W. Bush administration told In Depth with Francis Rose the onerous Senate confirmation process for political appointees has been a longstanding issue.
