Tag: Congress

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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Congress should protect competition, save Section 876

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When awarding government contracts, actual pricing will always beat hypothetical pricing. Yet most multiple award task and delivery order contracts are awarded based on hypothetical pricing. To change this, Section 876, Increasing Competition at the Task Order Level, was passed in 2018 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2019. As the then administrator of the General Services Administration, I know the agency worked closely with Congress to pass Section 876. Unfortunately, a recent Court of Federal Claims decision severely limited the applicability of Section 876, making…

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How about evidence-based policy making not just for you, but for Congress?

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A bipartisan resolution aims to bring more evidence-based policy making to Congress. It would establish a commission to, in the words of the sponsors, “facilitate the integration of robust data in the legislative process.” For more about what that would do, Federal Drive with Tom Temin talks with one of the main backers of the resolution, Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin And tell us exactly what you envisioned for a commission to establish evidence-based policymaking on the Hill. Derek Kilmer Let’s just start with the problem statement,…

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Congress aims to reauthorize Commerce telecom agency for first time in three decades

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Congress is considering reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration this year, with leading lawmakers casting the agency in a critical role overseeing issues ranging from federal spectrum management and broadband Internet expansion to emerging developments in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. NTIA was last reauthorized 30 years ago. During a House Energy and Commerce communications and technology subcommittee hearing last week, Chairman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) introduced a discussion draft of his “National Telecommunication and Information Administration Reauthorization Act of 2023.” The bill is among a raft of legislation the…

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Chairman McCaul threatens to hold Secretary of State Blinken in contempt of Congress

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The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is threatening to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for not turning over confidential messages from career diplomats. Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Blinken hasn’t complied with a subpoena demanding access to so-called dissent channel cables from State Department personnel during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The dissent channel serves as a forum for diplomats to critique department policy decisions. McCaul said a State Department briefing last month on the content of those cables fell short…

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