Congress | Voter.org

OMB pushes 1% discretionary sequestration requirement off

December 31, 2023 Sequestration, requirement, discretionary, Pushes0 comment

Agencies don’t have to worry about a 1% sequestration on discretionary funds kicking in for a few more months. The Office of Management and Budget says the requirement to reduce discretionary spending under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), signed into law in June, wouldn’t take effect until “after full year appropriations are enacted, or April 30, whichever comes first.” “OMB will take no action on Jan. 1, 2024, and no additional action should be taken by agencies to reduce impacted discretionary funding, even though a short-term continuing resolution will be…

Comments are closed. Will the FedRAMP program actually get updated?

December 27, 2023 Actually, Updated, Program, comments, closed, FedRAMP0 comment

An update to the long-running cloud-computing security program known as FedRAMP, has entered a new phase. Comments closed Friday, and now the authorities at the General Services Administration and Office of Management and Budget are percolating. For what the industry is hoping for, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Stephanie Kostro, the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Professional Services Council. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin And Stephanie, before we get to FedRAMP, I just want to get what is the contractor community thinking about the seemingly headlong rush…

Meet the new chief scientist at the government’s premier oversight agency

December 23, 2023 Chief, scientist', oversight, Government's, Agency, premier, Meet0 comment

The Government Accountability Office, the chief oversight arm of Congress , has a new chief scientist. He joins the agency after having been chief scientist at Noblis, a nonprofit research and consulting institute with many federal clients. For more, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Dr. Sterling Thomas. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin Well, first of all, why the jump from the private, nonprofit sector into government in the congressional branch? Sterling Thomas Yeah, it was a tough decision, actually. I’ve had a nice, long and very wonderful career at…

National Defense Authorization Act moves a lot of chess pieces

December 19, 2023 National, moves, pieces, Authorization, chess, Defense0 comment

The National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress finished just days ago, moves the marker on several matters peripherally connected to the armed forces. Covington and Burling attorneys Alex Hastings and Michelle Pearce dropped by the Federal News Network studios in Chevy Chase, Maryland to talk with the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin Let’s start with the big picture here because there’s a lot of specific provisions throughout this bill. But what fundamentally is Congress and the national security establishment, which informs much of what happens in…

Big pay raise for troops in defense bill sent to Biden. Conservatives stymied on cultural issues

December 15, 2023 Defense, issues, Conservatives, Bill, sent, Troops, “Cultural, stymied, raise, Biden0 comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a defense policy bill Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, overcoming objections from some conservatives concerned the measure did not do enough to restrict the Pentagon’s diversity initiatives, abortion travel policy and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. The $ 886 billion bill was approved by a vote of 310-118 and now goes to President Joe Biden after the Senate had overwhelmingly passed it Wednesday. It is likely the last piece of major legislation Congress…

Christmas cometh; whither the Defense Authorization bill?

December 11, 2023 Defense, Bill, Christmas, Authorization, cometh, whither0 comment

It’s down to the wire for the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, over which the House and Senate are still working out differences. This as Congress prepares to depart for the holidays. For the details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Interview transcript: Tom Temin So they just need to vote, or what’s left yet to do, so that they make their annual deadline of end of calendar year? Loren Duggan Yeah, this is all about getting the final product across the…