Federal Drive

Friday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: If you’re in the Thrift Savings Plan, you made money l...

Federal News Network Staff

April 3, 2009 8:12 am

2 min read

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

If you’re in the Thrift Savings Plan, you made money last month. Government Executive reports that every fund was in the black. The C fund saw the largest gains: almost 9 percent. But that wasn’t enough to erase earlier losses. The G fund had the smallest increase at just two-tenths of one percent.

Congress has passed two slightly different 2010 budget blueprints. The Senate version calls for $3.5 trillion dollars in spending, while the House version calls for $3.6 trillion. The resolutions are non-binding and contain little detail, but they pave the way for more specific action on how the money should be spent.

Recovery.gov gets a cool reception from a handful of Senators. Members of a Senate oversight committee criticize the site for not being user-friendly and difficult to search. NextGov reports the Recovery and Accountability Transparency Board that runs the site says it’s working on the problem. It plans to conduct online town hall meetings and hire outside help to revamp the site.

President Obama has chosen survey expert Robert Groves as his nominee to lead the Census Bureau. Groves led the agency’s statistical design program in the early 90’s. And he’s spent decades looking at ways to improve survey response rates. Right now, he’s a professor at the University of Michigan.

The White House releases new reporting guidelines for stimulus spending today. Government Executive reports that agencies will need to track Recovery Act contracts at the prime and sub-prime levels. The White House says the rules will improve transparency.