Congress | Voter.org

Water water everywhere: EPA using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to make it safer to drink

August 6, 2022 drink, everywhere, funds, Bipartisan, safer, using, water, infrastructure0 comment

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes the single largest investment of water infrastructure ever in federal government, with more than $ 50 billion going to Environmental Protection Agency programs. More than $ 20 billion is intended for safe drinking water programs, $ 15 billion is dedicated to replace lead pipes and $ 1.8 billion is to protect regional waters, according to the agency. Karen Dettmer, managing director for Infrastructure Implementation at EPA, said it is also the first time the agency has dedicated funding for tackling emerging contaminants, through its State…

Senate appropriators propose to repeal Hyde, add tens of billions to Defense budget

August 2, 2022 Tens, Hyde, appropriators, Senate, budget, Defense, propose, repeal, Billions0 comment

Senate appropriators proposed last week an end to a four-decade-old provision that restricts the government from funding abortions and would expand reproductive care for military service members and federal employees. The proposal is part of a set of bills to fund the government through fiscal 2023, which includes $ 850 billion for national security when taking into account the Defense appropriations bill, military construction spending and some military-related Energy Department funds. That number is well over the Biden administration’s $ 813 billion request for national security and outpaces the House…

New bill would abolish MSPB, create ‘at-will’ federal employees

July 29, 2022 employees, abolish, MSPB, ‘atwill’, would, Create, federal, Bill0 comment

Republican lawmakers are once again making a push that would allow the government to fire bureaucrats more easily. For the third time since 2016, members of the House introduced a bill to make all federal employees “at-will” workers. That means agencies would be able to more quickly remove employees for underperforming or behaving in a manner that goes against federal rules. “My bill would make all federal bureaucrats at-will employees — just like private sector workers — and claw back the inordinate protections some federal employees grossly abuse while helping…

House shows love for some IT modernization funds, but not all of them

July 25, 2022 House, Some, shows, them, love, Modernization, funds0 comment

Two of the three governmentwide technology modernization funds received some extra love from House lawmakers in the fiscal 2023 budget. As part of a package of six bills passed by the House on July 20, the IT Oversight and Reform (ITOR) fund managed by the Office of Management and Budget received a $ 5.7 million plus up over its 2022 appropriation. Meanwhile, the General Services Administration’s Federal Citizen Services Fund received an even larger increase of $ 60.7 million over its 2022 budget. House lawmakers, however, didn’t strongly support the…

House advances some key agency spending provisions for 2023

July 21, 2022 House, spending, Some, Agency, provisions, advances, 20230 comment

The House cleared a funding package that included six bills, taking a few small steps forward for civilian agency spending in fiscal 2023. In a 220 to 207 vote on July 20, the House passed a “minibus” spending package with approximately $ 560 billion in government funding. In the full House vote, six out of 12 appropriations bills moved forward, supporting funding for the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior and Transportation, as well as the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs, and several other independent agencies. The…

Congress investigating whether companies are profiting off veterans disability claims backlog

July 17, 2022 Congress, Companies, Claims, veterans, disability, whether, Investigating, profiting, backlog0 comment

Members of Congress are investigating whether third-party records companies are profiting from a pandemic-induced backlog of veterans disability claims. The National Archives and Records Administration has been trying to speed up records requests to process the claims but to no avail, impeding veterans’ access to essential services like health care and housing. Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) and member Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) sent letters to veteran records retrieval companies including DD214 Direct, Aardvark Research Group and Angels Research. The letters state the committee…