Congress

  • The House has approved a massive spending bill that would slash funding for the Internal Revenue Service by more than $1 billion next year. The agency, which has been under fire for the improper targeting of conservative groups, would see its current $11.3 billion budget decline by 13 percent under the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal 2015 passed by the House Wednesday. But that's just one of the the provisions of the bill drawing the ire of the Obama administration, which issued a notice earlier this week threatening to veto the legislation.

    July 16, 2014
  • Robert Work, the new deputy defense secretary, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department will experience a two-year trough in readiness as it resets its force,

    July 16, 2014
  • The General Services Administration needs to step up its leadership to take advantage of cost-saving real estate opportunities, according to House members participating in a recent round table discussion.

    July 16, 2014
  • Lawmakers and small business contractors are wondering why the Small Business Administration has not implemented the procurement reforms that President Obama signed into law 18 months ago.

    July 16, 2014
  • NOAA planes used for tracking and forecasting hurricanes -- known as the P-3 Orion -- are reaching the end of their lifespan, according to a report published by the Government Accountability Office.

    July 16, 2014
  • Back in the day, when the draft was still around, kids used to ask, "What did you do during the war, Daddy?" Today, in major federal centers, they want to know what you were up to this time nine months ago?

    July 16, 2014
  • Jon Etherton, president of Etherton and Associates, Inc., will give us an update on the procurement issues being discussed on Capitol Hill. July 15, 2014

    July 15, 2014
  • There's growing consensus on Capitol Hill and from the Obama administration that the pay and personnel system used by the federal government since 1949 and infrequently updated is showing its age — and due for a major facelift. Lawmakers probed the General Schedule system Tuesday during a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census.

    July 15, 2014
  • As Congress tries to piece together the big National Defense Authorization Act for 2015, it's also looking back to the version of the bill it passed two years ago and asking what ever happened with some of those provisions. The 2013 version of the NDAA included several provisions dealing with small business that made advocates happy. But several of those legal changes are still awaiting agency regulations to actually implement them. The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the matter earlier today. Larry Allen was among the witnesses. He's president of Allen Federal Business Partners. He shared his insights on the neglected proposals on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.

    July 15, 2014
  • The House of Representatives passed a bill that would modernize and digitize the Federal Register, allowing the Federal Register to say goodbye to its print legacy.

    July 15, 2014
  • The Smart Savings Act would make the Lifecycle Funds the default investment option in the Thrift Savings Plan for new federal employees.

    July 15, 2014
  • A top House overseer of federal law enforcement thinks that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) should be dissolved.

    July 15, 2014
  • President Barack Obama pledges to hit the accelerator on key policy goals, with or without Congress' help. The White House has released a report recounting more than 40 administrative actions taken this year and hinting at more to come. It's fodder for a lawsuit filed by House Republicans. But the administration makes no apologies. Ben Goad is a staff writer at the Hill Newspaper. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what's happened and what we can expect before year's end.

    July 15, 2014
  • The Defense Department is getting smarter about workforce planning — making sure it has the right people with the right skills in the right positions. But DoD's five-year strategic workforce plan, released last fall, is short on details in a few key areas, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

    July 14, 2014