Category: Congress

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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Biden’s pick for Pentagon’s S&T position pledges to reduce barriers to entry for small businesses

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Aprille Ericsson, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the assistant secretary of defense for science and technology, told lawmakers that streamlining processes for small businesses to engage with the Pentagon will be her top priority if confirmed. “I understand that some of the problems that the Department of Defense has with their SBIR/STTR programs are very similar to what we’ve experienced in NASA. So bringing those lessons learned to this community would be an asset,” Ericsson told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing Tuesday. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) urged Ericsson to…

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Congressional repeal of Social Security’s ‘evil twins’ nears finish line

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The possibility of repealing Social Security’s so-called ‘evil twins” is closer than ever to the finish line. There are now 303 House cosponsors on the Social Security Fairness Act. It is the second highest number of cosponsors on any pending bill in all of Congress. If enacted, the legislation would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The two provisions reduce, and in some cases eliminate, Social Security benefits for certain federal retirees. The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) is urging the…

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Government shutdown can kicked down the road, again

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It’s not a snow day in the DMV today, but federal agencies in the Washington, D.C.-area are open under what the Office of Personnel Management calls a “two-hour delayed arrival.” OPM also said that feds have the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. Emergency employees, though, are expected to report to work on time. (Washington, DC Area, 1/19/24 – OPM) A government shutdown has been averted and Congress has another six weeks to get fiscal 2024 funding across the finish line. House and Senate lawmakers passed the third continuing…

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