Category: Congress

Are budget cuts the best way to fix troubled agencies?

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Washington’s ticker tape of controversy has wrapped around several agencies and departments. Republicans in Congress would fix things by cutting their budgets. But is that the best way to cause reform? Not according to the guest of Federal Drive with Tom Temin, former American University Professor Bob Tobias. Interview Transcripts:  Tom Temin And Bob, you’re concerned about what seems to be happening around two agencies, in particular, the IRS and the Office of Personnel Management. The IRS is having its tintinnabulation on Capitol Hill these days. But let’s talk about…

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A policy rider in Congress would mean the end of TSP’s mutual fund window

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Out of all the updates to the Thrift Savings Plan last June, and the massive pushback from participants that came along with them, there’s one change that has had perhaps a little less time in the spotlight. Along with rolling over to a new recordkeeper, updating the My Account platform, launching a TSP mobile app and much more last summer, participants also saw a massive uptick in their investment options with the launch of the TSP mutual fund window. The TSP’s entirely voluntary investment window contains about 5,000 different mutual…

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Sen. Grassley puts hold on Biden’s deputy VA pick

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The federal government is setting a new record for overall small business contract spending. More than a quarter of federal contracting dollars went to small businesses last year. That is well above a 23% goal set governmentwide. Ten agencies earned an A-plus on the Small Business Administration’s contracting scorecard, and another 10 received A’s. SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman said small business owners in the federal marketplace support over a million jobs, including jobs in manufacturing, construction, and research and development. (Agencies making ‘substantial progress’ toward higher small, disadvantaged contracting goal…

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House Republicans push through defense bill limiting abortion access and halting diversity efforts

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a sweeping defense bill Friday that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber. Democrats voted against the package, which had sailed out of the House Armed Services Committee on an almost unanimous vote weeks ago before being loaded with the GOP priorities during a heated late-night floor debate this week. The final vote was 219-210, with four…

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House GOP VA Committee members look to make firing of poor-performing VA employees easier

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House Republicans want to make it easier to fire employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Republicans on the House VA Committee are looking to advance the Restore VA Accountability Act. Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) is leading the bill and said the legislation will help the VA get rid of poor performers and those accused of serious misconduct more quickly. Federal employee unions and good-government groups say the bill will only make it harder for the VA to recruit employees. Lawmakers introduced this latest bill after the VA announced…

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Two GOP lawmakers look to defund armed regulatory officers at certain federal agencies

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Is that recording of your agency’s latest Zoom meeting a federal record? The National Archives said it probably is in many cases. A draft bulletin released by the National Archives and Records Administration this week said agencies must incorporate records management practices into their use of collaboration platforms. The use of those tools, like Zoom, Webex, Slack and Discord, has become a fixture in government over the last few years. The draft NARA bulletin said agencies should work with platform providers to ensure records can be exported with required metadata.…

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