Budget News 
2013 Budget Resources
Top News
- DoD to pursue commercial alternative to VA's VistA
- Data breach puts DHS employees at risk of identity theft
- 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
- Today, everybody's an Oklahoma Sooner
- 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
- Army prioritizes access to data in fight over intelligence IT system
- Bonuses under fire at GSA, other agencies
- Wednesday federal headlines - May 22, 2013
Obama to campaign for gun proposals in Minnesota
The fate of his gun proposals on Capitol Hill uncertain, President Barack Obama is seeking to rally support from the public and law enforcement community for his calls to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.
By year's end, troops will be unable to respond to crises, Pentagon says
Shortfalls in operating accounts would mean military units would be undertrained, underequipped and unable to deploy by the end of fiscal 2013, senior DoD officials predict.
Obama seeks closed loopholes, 'smart' reductions
President Barack Obama says the U.S can reduce its budget deficit by closing tax loopholes and making "smart" reductions in spending.
Housing, jobs and CNG vehicles in 2013
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts examine the hurdles that remain for natural gas vehicles. Plus what does the future hold for housing, jobs and the debt limit in 2013?
January 31, 2013
Congress sends bill to Obama averting govt default
Congress sent President Barack Obama drama-free legislation on Thursday raising the debt ceiling, averting a government default and putting off the next tax-and-spending clash between the White House and Republicans until later in the year.
Joint Chiefs: Looming cuts would 'hollow' military
The military's top leaders are warning Congress that automatic spending cuts looming in March would force the Pentagon to slash operating budgets, weakening the armed forces and possibly forcing furloughs of 800,000 civilian employees.
Would furloughs slow recession recovery?
Much of the media is treating the threat of a 22-day federal furlough as if it were a sporting event, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. But this is big-time, heavy economic stuff. A revenue-choker for struggling state and local governments and a possible threat to economic recovery.
GOP lawmakers see automatic cuts as leverage
There's a growing sense of resignation that the country's political leaders will be unable or unwilling to find a way around looming automatic spending cuts despite fresh signs the cuts would threaten the recovering economy.
Navy details two rounds of budget cutbacks for 2013
Round one is already in effect and includes a civilian hiring freeze, cancellation of conferences, cutbacks on training, and a reduction in IT spending for the Navy. Round two would involve unpaid civilian furloughs, operational reductions for deployed ships, and cuts to tuition assistance for sailors.
Q & A with OMB's Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan, administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at OMB, joins host Roger Waldron to discuss a wide range of procurement issues.
January 29, 2013
Sequestration effects becoming clear for DoD
DoD's operations and maintenance accounts will likely be hit first if sequestration goes into effect. Unlike its procurement and research and development activities, which can continue to function on funds obligated in prior years, O&M dollars generally get spent right away. In preparation for sequestration, the Pentagon has already let go of tens of thousands of temporary hires and is drawing up a contingency plan for one-day-a-week furloughs. Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter says the unpaid furloughs would begin in April and continue through the remainder of the fiscal year if sequestration is not avoided.
DFAS halts hiring ahead of possible sequestration
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will implement significant cost-cutting measures next week to prepare for the possibility of automatic spending cuts due to hit government in March. DFAS plans to freeze most hiring, reduce travel and overtime, and temporarily halt new employee performance awards, according to DFAS Director Terri McKay.
Upcoming deadlines in debt limit, budget fights
Upcoming deadlines in this year's budget and debt limit fight between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans:
Biden's recent moves stoking chatter about 2016
Joe Biden is thanking Democratic supporters in the afterglow of President Barack Obama's second inauguration, dropping plenty of hints that he may try to cement Obama's legacy with his own presidential campaign in 2016.
Reid says Senate Dems will accept House debt bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Senate Democrats will support a House Republican bill extending the government's ability to borrow for four months.
Senate Democrats plan budget debate
Incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray says Democrats controlling the chamber will attempt to pass a budget for the first time since 2009.
House postpones federal pay freeze vote
The House has postponed a vote on a bill to extend the federal pay freeze through the rest of 2013. In its place, the House is set to vote on a measure withholding congressional pay unless lawmakers pass a budget — part of a broader deal to extend the debt limit.
Unions, industry groups spar over impact of sequestration
Guidance from the administration on what steps federal agencies should take to prepare for potential across-the-board budget cuts has set off a war of words between federal-employee unions and industry groups. The American Federation of Government Employees says guidance exempts contractors at the expense of federal employees, but industry groups say the criticism is misguided.
Army freezes civilian hiring, cuts base spending ahead of potential sequestration
The Army has put an immediate freeze on civilian hiring and will begin terminating some temporary employees to reduce spending ahead of potential across-the-board budget cuts later this year. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh also directed Army commanders and supervisors to reduce base-operations support spending.
Navy living out its 'heyday,' but rough seas ahead
Robert Work, the undersecretary of the Navy, says forget about the Reagan-era aspirations of a 600-ship fleet. Even with a smaller Navy, things are better than ever, he says, even if they're about to get worse due to smaller budgets and the threat of sequestration. "Yes, things might get worse. In fact, they probably will get worse. But this is the heyday of the U.S. Navy. And, if you're not excited, you ain't breathing," he said at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium this week.
