Tag: Congress

Congress looks to require military drone corps, which Army leaders oppose

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The House Armed Services Committee’s draft defense policy bill would require the Army to establish a separate drone branch, but Army leaders continue to push against the idea. A provision in the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the defense bill would require the Army to establish a drone corps as a basic branch of the service. Gen. James Rainey, who leads the Army Futures Command, said it is too early for setting up a separate drone branch. One of the main priorities for the service right now is to…

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With foreign aid approved, Congress turns to federal agencies

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Now with the issue of giving money to U.S. allies in the rear-view mirror, Congress can return to the task of dishing out cash to federal agencies, as lawmakers are finally able to start work on appropriations for the 2025 fiscal year. However, there are still some rumblings from with the Republican Party that Speaker Mike Johnson may have to worry about down the line. To get an update from Capitol Hill, Federal News Network’s Eric White talked with Maeve Sheehey, Congressional Reporter with Bloomberg Government on the Federal Drive…

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Dysfunction in Congress spoils the work life of congressional staff

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Few workforces have been studied and dissected as much as that of the two million-strong executive branch of the federal government. There’s another smaller, if no less crucial workforce. It belongs to Congress. The latest research shows wide-and-deep dissatisfaction among congressional staff members. For details, the Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with the President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, Brad Fitch. Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin And you have surveyed members of the congressional staff. What is it? About 30,000 plus or minus. Tell us about the survey…

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How CDC Handled Congress’ Probe of China-Tied Lab in California

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Newly released records offer a glimpse of how federal public health officials reacted when questioned by Congress about an illegal, China-tied biolab in California. That lab contained labeled samples of the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The records cover last June, July, and August and include a message from a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning staff that “there is some congressional oversight heading our way.”  A total of 133 pages of documents make up the first installment…

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Amid safety concerns, AFGE urges Congress to increase Bureau of Prisons funding

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Union officials are urging Congress to provide more funding to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. BOP has spent years struggling with staff attrition, and safety and security issues. The American Federation of Government Employees said the fiscal 2024 budget for BOP, as part of the recent government funding deal, would only worsen the agency’s current 40% staffing shortage. And AFGE warned that a 38% cut to funding for facility maintenance would make federal prisons more dangerous environments for both employees and inmates. (BOP needs more funding, not Less, to address…

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What will happen now that Congress bought itself a week or two on the budget?

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It is not what contractors or most federal employees wanted, but Congress did manage to avoid a partial government shutdown last week. They only pushed the deadline out a week or two, in order to buy time to consider budget bills. For the outlook on the week ahead, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Interview Transcript:   Tom Temin  And, Loren, before all of this, of course, we have been going back and forth with the fact that the bills are out…

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