Category: Congress

Lawmakers want answers about Pentagon’s increasing reliance on Microsoft

want, Lawmakers, Microsoft, Reliance, Answers, increasing, Pentagon's, about0 comment

Members of Congress sent a letter to the Pentagon on Wednesday asking about the department’s push to begin implementation of Microsoft’s most expensive licenses, known as E5, across all components starting next month. The Pentagon is considering mandating all department offices to implement the full suite of Microsoft 365 E5 licenses across their Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) within the next 12 months as part of its effort to achieve the target level of zero trust by 2027, according to a draft memo first obtained by Axios.  In a…

Read More...

Looking ahead to the no-surprise, likely-late 2025 federal spending bills

spending, ahead, federal, bills, looking, 2025, nosurprise, likelylate0 comment

It is budget season on Capitol Hill and agency leaders are busy defending their 2025 spending plans in front of the appropriations committees. And it’s possible the House could finish its appropriations bills this summer. But it’s still very unlikely we’ll have a full budget passed before the end of the fiscal year. For more on where things stand, Federal News Network’s Deputy Editor Jared Serbu spoke with longtime budget watcher Larry Allen on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin . He’s president of Allen Federal Business Partners. Interview Transcript:  Larry…

Read More...

OPM defends rule to hamper Schedule F’s return, backs telework amid return to office push

Push, defends, backs, Office, 'Return, hamper, rule, schedule, telework, F’s, Amid0 comment

The Office of Personnel Management is defending a recently finalized rule meant to prevent the return of Schedule F — a Trump-era policy that made it easier to fire career federal employees in policymaking positions. OPM’s acting director told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that the re-emergence of such a policy would undermine civil service protections, and return the federal workforce to a 19th-century “spoils system” with major turnover. Acting OPM Director Rob Shriver told lawmakers on Wednesday that the return of Schedule F would have a “chilling effect”…

Read More...

Spanberger demands VA clean up its act when awarding financial incentives

Financial, Demands, 'clean', incentives, awarding, Spanberger0 comment

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid out $ 11 million in bonuses to career executives not eligible to receive them. Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking answers. House lawmakers are asking VA how long it will take to claw back those bonuses and what steps it will take to hold department leaders accountable. The lawmakers also want to know what steps VA will take to ensure future financial incentives are awarded responsibly. (Spanberger demands answers, accountability from VA over nearly $ 11 million misspent on executive bonuses –…

Read More...

Senators delay federal telework bill to consider adding work-from-home supervision

telework, workfromhome, federal, Bill, senators, supervision', Delay, consider, Adding0 comment

A few senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are digging in their heels on a federal telework bill, calling for more “accountability” of teleworking employees governmentwide. On a list of bills HSGAC considered for advancement Wednesday morning, the Telework Transparency Act aims to paint a clearer picture of telework across agencies. But during the committee’s consideration of the legislation, more questions than answers came up among members. There appeared to be at least some agreement among committee members on the intent of the legislation, but pushback from several…

Read More...

Senate bill would require feds to increase the amount of time they spend in the office

Feds, amount, would, Senate, increase, they, Time, Bill, spend, Office, Require0 comment

A pair of senators is looking to get feds back to the office even more. If enacted, the Back to Work Act would require federal employees to spend 60% of their work hours in the office. It would mean a slight increase from the current in-person policy at many agencies, right now at about 50% in-the-office. Lawmakers say the bill is a way to address federal office space concerns, while still allowing for *some telework flexibility. Under the legislation, agencies would also have to monitor teleworking employees. They’d also have…

Read More...