Category: Congress

Congress drives CIO authorities deeper down at USDA, Justice, State

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While the spotlight shines brightest on the fiscal 2023 omnibus bill around which agency got how much money and for which programs, federal employees can’t lose sight of the consolidated appropriations bill as a key policy document. Scattered throughout the 4,100 page bill, there are nuggets of new or ongoing requirements that impact every part of an agency’s mission. The Senate passed the omnibus bill Dec. 22 by a vote of 68 to 29. At the same time, the language lawmakers’ use provides insight into what they are paying attention…

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Omnibus silently endorses 4.6% pay raise for federal employees in 2023

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For federal employees, the most significant part of the $ 1.7 trillion omnibus spending package that Congress unveiled this week may not be contained in the text of the legislation itself, but rather found in what’s not said. The 4,155-page bill, which House and Senate lawmakers released in the early morning hours of Dec. 20, doesn’t make any reference to the 4.6% across-the-board federal pay raise, in effect silently endorsing the Biden administration’s proposal for 2023. The bill additionally supports a 4.6% pay raise for military members in 2023. But…

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NDAA backs State Dept efforts to build up workforce, modernize diplomatic mission

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Congress is backing many of the State Department’s plans to modernize its workforce and bring its diplomatic corps into the 21st century in the latest defense policy bill. The fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act lawmakers passed this week directs the department to keep the House and Senate up to date on its plans to stand up its Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, as well as provide updates on its hiring efforts. The NDAA specifically requires the department to inform lawmakers how well it’s meeting its long-term goal of…

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Defense authorization bill comes in for a landing

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Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne. It will have things to love and hate, but it looks like the National Defense Authorization Bill will make it to passage in the remainder of the 117th Congress. But what about Friday’s government funding deadline? The Federal Drive with Tom Temin gets the latest from Loren Duggan, Bloomberg Government deputy news director. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: There seemed to be last minute progress last week in the House side on NDAA. And…

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Defense officials say a year-long continuing resolution would be ‘The Bad Place’

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With no solid prospects for passage of the 2023 federal budget, the Department of Defense wants lawmakers to know just how bad life will be if they have to function for a full year on a continuing resolution (CR) instead of a real budget. “DoD has never lived with a year-long CR. So there’s probably some levels of badness we haven’t fully explored because we haven’t had to live it yet,” said Mike McCord, DoD undersecretary of defense and comptroller at the Professional Services Council Federal Market Forecast Conference on…

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Social Security Administration asks for billions more dollars to do its job

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Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne. The Social Security Administration said the $ 400 million that Congress gave the agency through December is not enough to fix many of its workforce problems. To make long-term improvements, SSA said it will need the White House’s $ 14.8 billion budget request. That’s a $ 1.4 billion increase over 2022. The funding would go in part toward hiring thousands of more employees and modernizing IT. The American Federation of Government Employees…

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