Category: Congress

The Capitol building looks like it always has, but it has a new architect

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More than any other building, the U.S. Capitol stands as the symbol of the republic. The building itself is just one of many in an historical collection encompassing 18 million square feet of building space over 570 acres. Overseeing it all, the architect of the Capitol. The current architect has held the job for just about a year. Thomas Austin joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: I don’t know where you begin to talk about what the Architect of the Capitol does these days, but let’s…

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This politician is still going strong at 75 years old

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Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) could be called a renaissance man of Congress. He’s been a successful businessman, ambassador, philanthropist, civic booster and elected official at the state and tfederal levels. A life-long learner, he’s also been a regular guest on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, and joined Tom for a final interview. Interview transcript: Tom Temin Congressman Beyer, good to have you back. Don Beyer Thank you, Tom, very much. And I get a lot of lifelong learning on your show. Tom Temin Well, I appreciate that very much.…

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How can DOGE fix federal IT? Lock out vendor lock-in

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In the midst of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s headline-making actions, it’s a good time to remember that DOGE’s mandate is to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity” by “modernizing federal technology and software.” Federal IT is a worthy target for Musk and his team of efficiency hackers. It’s overpriced, with various estimates pegging the government’s costs at two to four times the private sector’s. It underdelivers compared to what’s available outside of government, as anyone who has held positions in both sectors will attest. And it is difficult to…

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White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN, NATO and other groups

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said. The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the department’s leadership or Congress, which will…

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Federal benefits face possible cuts in House Republicans’ budget resolution

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Although the details of House Republicans’ narrowly approved budget framework are still up in the air, some initial proposals show the possibility of changes to federal benefits, mainly in retirement and health care. As part of the GOP budget resolution, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is looking at cuts of at least $ 50 billion from its mandatory spending, according to the framework that lawmakers approved in a vote of 216-214 on Thursday. That level of spending cuts would almost certainly dig into federal benefits, the National Active…

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Five years after congressional report, national service recommendations face test

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A bipartisan congressional commission released its recommendations to strengthen all forms of service to meet the country’s needs just as COVID shut down the country in 2020. Now, five years later, Congress received an update on progress and unfinished business. Federal News Network’s Terry Gerton spoke with Dr. Joe Heck, the former chair of the Commission on the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to get his take on how times have changed and why his recommendations still matter. Interview transcript: Joe…

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