Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of ICE oversight staff furloughs

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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Rep. Hoyer warns of ‘freezes, furloughs, layoffs’

The spending bill to support the funding for the rest of the government is facing a 25% cut. House appropriators passed the Financial Services and General Government 2025 spending bill yesterday and it is 20% below the administration’s request and 10% below this year’s enacted levels. But Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the reductions, especially those to the IRS of some $ 2 billion, will have a much bigger effect than any one agency’s budget. “This bill funds every other bill you are going to consider or it funds paying…

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Biden signs continuing resolution into law averting government shutdown, FDA furloughs

President Joe Biden signed a short-term continuing resolution bill into law on Friday, averting a partial government shutdown. The House passed the bill earlier in the afternoon. The Senate passed the CR on Thursday after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) agreed to drop a provision in an earlier version of the CR that would streamline the permitting process for energy projects. The bill funds the federal government through Dec. 16 and gives Congress more time to work out a comprehensive spending package for the rest of fiscal 2023. The continuing resolution…

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