Search Tags:  Darrell Issa

Senate expands whistleblower protections for feds

The Senate unanimously approved a bill Tuesday expanding protections for federal whistleblowers. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, authored and introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chairman of a Senate subcommittee on the federal workforce, updates a 1989 law protecting government whistleblowers.

Tags: Congress , House , Senate , management , whistleblowers , whistleblower protection , whistleblower bill , Akaka , Susan Collins , Jack Moore

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Issa probing conferences that exceeded GSA price tag

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is probing more than 150 conferences hosted by 11 agencies since 2005 where wasteful spending or excessive spending may have have occurred, according to a committee release. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the oversight chairman, said the committee is using the lavish $823,000 regional conference hosted by the General Services Administration in 2010 as a "benchmark" to compare other agencies' conference spending. The committee found the Defense Department has held 64 such conferences.

Tags: Congress , House , oversight , GSA , Shakeup at GSA , conference spending , DoD , Jack Moore

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Agencies ignoring billions in savings from strategic sourcing

Agencies are missing out on billions of dollars in savings by not using strategic-sourcing contracts, particularly when buying services, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The report finds the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Energy spent less than 5 percent of their combined acquisition budgets through strategic sourcing and saved less than $2 billion.

Tags: acquisition , strategic sourcing , contracting , DoD , GAO , DHS , VA , Energy , OFPP , SmartBUY , federal strategic sourcing initiative , Jason Miller

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USPS defaults a second time as legislation stalls

For the second time in as many months, the cash- strapped U.S. Postal Service says it will default on a required payment to fund future postal retirees' health benefits. The announcement comes after the agency similarly missed a $5.5 billion payment last month, and as longterm legislative solutions languish in Congress.

Tags: USPS , Congress , budget , postal default , Tom Carper , House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

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House committee: Security requests denied in Libya

Despite two explosions and dozens of other security threats, U.S. officials in Washington turned down repeated pleas from American diplomats in Libya to increase security at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi where the U.S. ambassador was killed, Republican leaders of a House committee said Tuesday.

Tags: State Department , Hillary Rodham Clinton , Congress , House , Jason Chaffetz , House Oversight and Government Reform Committee , Libya

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House votes to expand whistleblower protections

The House voted Friday to significantly expand protections for federal employees who expose fraud, waste and abuse and make it easier to punish supervisors who try to retaliate against the whistleblowers.

Tags: House , Congress , whistleblower , Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act , workforce

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White House: No wrongdoing in prostitution scandal

Investigating the prostitution scandal at the Secret Service, the Homeland Security Department's inspector general uncovered a hotel record suggesting a member of President Barack Obama's team might have been involved, according to a summary of the case submitted to Congress.

Tags: DoD , Barack Obama , Martin Dempsey , Secret Service , Federal Drive , Sarah Palin

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Issa proposes major reforms to IT management

The Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act would codify much of the Obama administration's 25-point IT reform plan. The draft bill would go even further in attempting to address long-standing challenges for agency chief information officers.

Tags: technology , House Oversight and Government Reform Commitee , IT reform , OMB , GSA , strategic sourcing , Mike Hettinger , Software and Information Industry Association , TechAmerica , Trey Hodgkins , Jason Miller

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OSC, HHS's Sebelius at odds over Hatch Act violation

The Office of Special Counsel found the HHS Secretary's remarks in February at a gala violated the law prohibiting federal employees from engaging in partisan actions. Kathleen Sebelius contends she didn't break the law.

Tags: Hatch Act , Kathleen Sebelius , OSC , HHS , Carolyn Lerner , Barack Obama ,

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VA paid $52K for 'Patton' conference training video

A 15-minute training video that cost $52,000 to make joins the examples of excessive spending at two Veterans Affairs' conferences last year with a total pricetag of $5 million.

Tags: VA , House Veterans Affairs Committee , House Oversight and Government Reform , Jeff Miller , Eric Shinseki , conference , Shakeup at GSA , oversight , budget , Congress , George Patton

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