Search Tags:  Barbara Mikulski

Shutdown averted, pay freeze extended as Congress passes 2013 funding bill

The House voted today to approve a measure to fund federal agencies through the remainder of fiscal 2013. The bill averts a government shutdown but extends the freeze on federal employees' pay through the end of 2013. The bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Tags: 2013 budget , sequestration , Congress , House , Senate , USPS , pay freeze , appropriations , Jack Moore

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Senate approves huge 2013 spending bill, averting shutdown

Tags: Congress , Senate , budget , CR , Harry Reid ,

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Senate Democrat unveils bill preventing shutdown

Tags: Senate , Congress , budget , Senate Appropriations Committee , sequestration ,

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OMB directs agencies to stop most discretionary bonuses under sequestration

The administration issued new guidance late Wednesday detailing specific steps agencies should take as sequestration now is one-day away. Danny Werfel, OMB's controller, told agency leaders to place "increased scrutiny" around several personnel issues, including new hires, training, travel and conferences.

Tags: management , workforce , contracting , OMB , Danny Werfel , Barack Obama , John Boehner , Congress , sequestration , furloughs , pay and benefits , Jason Miller

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OMB to Congress: Sequestration impact 'real,' but furloughs not immediate

Obama administration officials are painting a bleak picture of how federal agencies would fare under sequestration, the automatic budget cuts slated to go into effect in two weeks. The Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from several Obama administration officials about the consequences of the cuts, which are set to take effect March 1. However, Danny Werfel, controller of the Office of Management and Budget, emphasized to the committee that employee furloughs would not be immediate.

Tags: Congress , Senate , Senate Appropriations Committee , Danny Werfel , Ashton Carter , sequestration , OMB , furloughs , Jack Moore

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Mikulski becoming 1st woman to head Appropriations

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is set to become the first woman to chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, a position left open this week by the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Tags: Senate , Congress , Senate Appropriations Committee , Patrick Leahy , Daniel Inouye

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Sen. Leahy won't head Appropriations Committee

Sen. Patrick Leahy said Wednesday he would remain as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee rather than take over the top slot on the Appropriations Committee, which became vacant this week with the death of Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Leahy, a seven-term Democrat from Vermont, said in a statement that continuing to chair the Judiciary Committee while "maintaining my seniority on the Appropriations Committee will allow me to protect both the Constitution and Vermont."

Tags: Congress , Senate , Patrick Leahy , Daniel Inouye , Senate Appropriations Committee

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Postal bill amendment seeks to cut backlog ahead of USPS retirement 'deluge'

An amendment to a Senate bill aiming to restructure the U.S. Postal Service's financial framework would institute new agency reporting requirements for retiring federal workers in anticipation of a "deluge of retirees" from USPS. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), introduced an amendment last week that requires the Office of Personnel Management to take new steps to chip away at the longstanding backlog of federal retirement claims.

Tags: OPM , USPS , retirement , retirement backlog , Mark Warner , workforce , 21st Century Postal Service Act , Congress , Senate

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Carper: USPS can take page from auto industry in fixing finances

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on federal financial management, told In Depth with Francis Rose the comparison between the Postal Service and Detroit auto-makers may seem "unlikely." But the plan that turned around the bailed-out auto industry could prevent having to bail out the Postal Service in the first place.

Tags: Congress , Senate , Tom Carper , USPS , budget , In Depth , Francis Rose , Ben Cardin ,

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Senators ask OMB to intervene in retirement backlog

A new letter, signed by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), calls on the Office of Management and Budget to take on the "urgent matter" of processing federal retirements. The letter comes a week after a Senate subcommittee hearing in which the Office of Personnel Management was taken to task for its handling of the longstanding backlog.

Tags: workforce , retirement , OPM , Mark Warner , Ben Cardin , OMB , Jeffrey Zients , John Berry , Congress , Senate , retirement backlog

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