Category: Congress

Whistleblower protection legislation stalls amid congressional chaos

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Whistleblower protection legislation often has bipartisan support. Yet it seems to take forever. A bill to extend federal protections to contractors was supposed to get marked up in January in the House Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. But now it is sidelined. For more, the Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Joe Spielberger, the policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin And this new bill, then is pretty significant. Let’s talk about the bill itself. What does it purport to do…

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Congresswoman blasts GSA for purchasing Chinese tech

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Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro had a few choice words for contractors. The Department of the Navy is putting its contractors on notice to deliver ships, aircraft and submarines on time and on budget. Del Toro said it is time for contractors to spend more money on the future. “You can’t be asking for the American taxpayer to make even greater public investments while you continue, in some cases, to goose your stock prices through stock buybacks, deferring promised capital investments,” Del Toro said. Speaking yesterday in San Diego at…

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Congress ponders new discrimination protections for older employees

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A bill in the House would boost protections against discrimination of older workers, protections that were weakened by the Supreme Court back in 2009. It is called the Protecting Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act (POWADA). For specifics, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with Tully Rinckey attorney Michael Fallings. Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin Now, this law applies to everyone in the public and private sectors. This proposed bill. Correct? Michael Fallings Correct. Tom Temin And in your experience, I mean, what types of discrimination occur against older workers…

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Oregon senator urges Biden to fire Social Security IG

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President Joe Biden is getting calls to remove the top watchdog at the Social Security Administration. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he’s “lost confidence” in SSA Inspector General Gail Ennis, and he is calling on the president to fire her. Wyden said the IG office during her tenure has been hit with complaints of a hostile work environment, falling productivity and a drop in employee morale. The Merit Systems Protection Board recently found Ennis and her leadership team retaliated against an employee for blowing the whistle on…

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Congress has a lot to cram in this week before the House goes on recess.

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Immigration and what to do about the Southern border will occupy Congress this week. Lawmakers hope to actually read the purported bill and maybe get the issue off the dime. For a look ahead on Capitol Hill, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Interview Transcript:   Tom Temin  Is it going to be immigration, immigration, immigration this week because the House is on recess after this week? Fair to say? Loren Duggan Well, I think that’s going to be one of the…

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New cloud category sinks FITARA scores, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing

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Federal agency scores plummeted on the 17th Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard. The reason for the drop in grades: Continued struggles to implement best practices for moving workloads and services to the cloud. But oversight leaders say the decrease in grades is not only expected, but not indicative of the progress agencies have made over the last decade. The scorecard, released today by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), co-author of FITARA, showed double the amount of “C” grades with 10 “Cs” and three “Ds” for the first time since…

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