Management
As Congress looks to avert a shutdown, sequester cuts and furloughs loom
Lawmakers will resume negotiations in January with daunting prospects in front of them.
Pay & Benefits
That’s a wrap? Congress kicks it without passing fed pay bill, so White House’s 5.2% pay boost on deck
COMMENTARY | The lack of appropriations legislation before the Christmas recess means that federal employees could get their largest pay raise in decades.
Oversight
Senate committee wants VA to ensure providers work to prevent opioid abuse
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and other Senate Veterans Affairs Committee members sent a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough calling for action after audits found oversight lapses in opioid prescriptions from non-agency providers.
Oversight
House committee wants FBI headquarters documents outlining Greenbelt decision
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chairman called for more information from the FBI, General Services Administration and the former official charged with selecting the site of the Bureau’s proposed headquarters about how the decision came to pass.
Pay & Benefits
Expanded leave access for veteran feds makes it into defense policy bill
Under a provision of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, federal agencies would be required to incorporate veterans’ military service when determining eligibility for paid leave.
Management
GSA, FBI still at odds over headquarters selection, while House subcommittee smells ‘a rat’
Officials from the two agencies continued airing their dissenting positions over the Greenbelt site selection of the new FBI headquarters Tuesday, while subcommittee Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., found the site’s connection to WMATA incredulous.
Management
House approves bill adding more red tape to agency rulemaking process
The Biden administration opposes a measure requiring Senate-confirmed agency head approval of new regulations, arguing it would create a bureaucratic morass.
Workforce
House moves to save DHS office, and hundreds of jobs, from elimination
The Senate has just a few months to take action or the office will shutter.
Management
New bill seeks to codify Trump-era regulation cut rule
Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-Wisc.) legislation aims to make permanent the Trump executive order that sought to repeal two regulations for each one introduced.
Workforce
Bipartisan bill would let VA medical employees grieve compensation mistakes
Unlike most federal workers, medical professionals at the Veterans Affairs Department are unable to negotiate over compensation adjustments like payroll errors.
Defense
Tuberville says he'll drop his hold on most military promotions
Alabama senator says he will keep the brakes on some of the most senior officers’ nominations.
Workforce
Reports of agency’s toxic workplace and widespread harassment lead to bipartisan calls for investigations
Many women say they had to quit due to the workplace culture.
Management
Porter reintroduces a bill that would form a natural disaster safety board
The California congresswoman redrafted a bill with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to establish an agency to help investigate and mitigate the effects of natural disasters in the U.S.
Pay & Benefits
Democrats reintroduce bill to improve locality pay for some federal jobs
The Locality Pay Equity Act would ensure that locality pay determinations, currently bifurcated between the General Schedule and Federal Wage System pay scales, would be consistent for most federal employees.
Management
Congress averts shutdown after Senate approves two-tiered CR
President Biden is expected to sign the measure to keep agencies funded past Friday.
Defense
Tuberville's blockade of military nominees could be evaded after move by Senate panel
The Republican senator has been objecting to the time-saving unanimous consent process since the spring to display his opposition to a policy that grants members of the armed services time off and travel reimbursement when seeking an abortion in states where it remains unrestricted.
Management
House passes two-tiered stopgap bill days before shutdown
The novel approach to avert a funding lapse now heads to the Senate.
Management
VA officials reassigned following a House Committee's investigation into harassment allegations
Members of the office tasked with investigating harassment claims have been transferred following an investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee into sexual misconduct claims within that office.
Oversight
What are agencies doing with AI? A bipartisan Senate duo wants to know
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, sent letters to three federal agencies probing into their use of artificial intelligence systems.
Management