Category: Congress

How the administration is bringing much needed change to software license management

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Over the last 11 months, the General Services Administration has signed 11 enterprisewide software agreements under its OneGov strategy. The agreements bring both standard terms and conditions as well as significant discounts for a limited period of time to agencies. Ryan Triplette, the executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, said the Trump administration seems to be taking cues from what has been working, or not working, in the private sector around managing software licenses. Ryan Triplette is the executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing.…

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Tentative Senate deal reaffirms back pay, reverses RIFs for federal employees

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The Senate’s initial agreement toward ending the longest-ever government shutdown includes provisions that would secure back pay for all federal employees, as well as reverse the Trump administration’s recent reductions in force. Though much is still up in the air and subject to possible changes, the early steps in the process indicate that, if the Senate bill’s current language is maintained, both excepted and furloughed federal employees would receive back pay dating to Oct. 1, the day the shutdown began. Federal employees, regardless of whether they are furloughed or excepted,…

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Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of ICE oversight staff furloughs

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Democrats in Congress are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restore oversight staff who were furloughed at the start of the government shutdown. In a Nov. 6 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said that staff at the Office of Detention Oversight are crucial to ensuring safety at ICE detention centers. Staff at ODO were furloughed at the outset of the shutdown. “Without ODO staff actively performing these duties, there is a heightened risk that detention facilities fail to meet required standards, compromising detainee safety, access to…

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Republican leaders reject Trump’s demands to scrap the Senate filibuster to end the shutdown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Back from a week abroad, President Donald Trump threw himself into the shutdown debate, calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster and reopen the government, an idea swiftly rejected Friday by Republican leaders who have long opposed such a move. Trump pushed his Republican Party to get rid of the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to overcome objections and gives the minority Democrats a check on GOP power. In the chamber that’s currently split, 53-47, Democrats have had enough votes to keep the government closed…

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HHS IG nominee pledges to support Trump’s initiatives

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The nominee for inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services has pledged to support the Trump administration’s agenda, marking an unusual statement from a nominee for a role that is considered independent. “If confirmed as inspector general I will examine, evaluate, audit, and investigate to support the initiatives of President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Robert] Kennedy,” Thomas March Bell wrote as part of written testimony prepared for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today. Bell is a lawyer and former Senate staffer who also…

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Can DoD use private funds to pay troops during shutdown?

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The Defense Department has received an anonymous $ 130 million donation to fund military salaries amid the ongoing government shutdown, but legal experts warn the Pentagon cannot legally use the funds without congressional approval. President Donald Trump said Thursday that a “friend” offered to cover any shortfall in military pay and had given “a check for $ 130 million, which was sort of a shortfall.” The White House and the Defense Department did not respond to questions about how that $ 130 million figure was determined. On Friday, Chief Pentagon…

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