Congress

Keep up with the House and Senate government oversight committees as they keep an eye on federal operations.

US Air Force moves to shield Wedgetail acquisition from continuing resolution

The Air Force says a continuing resolution could slow down its plans to award a contract for the E-7 Wedgetail in February.

5 hours ago

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy and Army ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in New York.

Congress should allow Pentagon to work with start-ups on needed innovation

The Pentagon and Silicon Valley need to team up. Ignoring the role of institutional venture capital in identifying, supporting, and scaling the most promising commercial technology firms is at best inefficient and at worst it is grossly irresponsible.

25 hours ago

Federal Oversight

Biden pick for Pentagon acquisitions role vows to cut weapons system costs

Radha Plumb, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the Pentagon’s No. 2 acquisitions and sustainment official, pledged to find ways to bring down the costs of sustaining the systems it buys.

Energy Department offices fail to spend over $14 billion in allocated funds

These massive rollovers happen because funds appropriated to EM and NNSA by Congress are available until they are expended. But will they get used?

2 weeks ago

Biden presses for chips legislation in meeting with Pentagon’s No. 2 and Lockheed

President Joe Biden met virtually on Monday with the chief executive of Lockheed Martin and other companies to spur forward a bill to boost semiconductor production in the United States.

2 weeks ago

Homeland Security, Justice officials urge Congress to expand counter-drone authority

Federal law enforcement agencies asked Congress for more authority to counter domestic drones.

4 weeks ago

Biden praises Guard response to Jan. 6 attack in fiery anniversary speech

The commander-in-chief's remarks came on the one-year anniversary of the attack.

7 months ago

Congress’ doctor wants ‘maximal telework’ amid virus surge

The seven-day average rate of infection at the Capitol's testing center has grown from less than 1% to more than 13%.

7 months ago

FY22 defense bill gives feds parental bereavement leave, makes changes at the Pentagon

Feds will receive two weeks of paid leave to grieve the death of a child, under the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

8 months ago

Congress passes defense policy bill with budget boost, military justice reforms

After months of debate and weeks of angst, the Senate has sent its annual defense bill to the president.

8 months ago

Collins joins push to send federal workers back to in-person

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined 43 Republican senators in calling for federal agencies to immediately transition to in-person work.

9 months ago

Federal labor nominees pass Senate committee

President Joe Biden's three nominees to the Federal Labor Relations Authority passed Senate committee vote by a slim margin.

9 months ago

Congress passes bill to protect feds serving abroad

The law solidifies U.S jurisdiction over instances where a federal employee is hurt or killed while working abroad.

10 months ago

Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near Capitol

A man sitting in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress told police on Thursday that he had a bomb, prompting a massive law enforcement response.

12 months ago

Senate approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

14 months ago

Leak of billionaires’ tax data draws GOP outcry over privacy

Republicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to the investigative news organization ProPublica.

14 months ago

Congress implores State Department leadership to tackle sexual harassment

The number of employees reporting sexual harassment and assault at the State Department have increased in recent years.

15 months ago

Slate of bills to protect feds and transparency considered in committee

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. led the House introduction of five of the six bills designed to protect whistleblowers and those that investigate their allegations and to increase transparency of government operations.

15 months ago

Lawsuits over how 2020 census was conducted near conclusions

Lawsuits that challenged Trump administration census orders violated the constitutional and civil rights of Latinos, Asian Americans and non-U.S. citizens.

16 months ago

Guard deploys immediate reaction force at Capitol after officer, suspect, killed in attack on police there

About 2,300 National Guard members are currently deployed to the region on security missions.

17 months ago

The ‘Fire Fauci Act’? Here’s what QAnon’s favorite Republican doesn’t understand about federal employment law

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has a position and pay level that is protected by federal employment law.

17 months ago

Congress seeks to guarantee safety of federal vehicles

Agencies would be prohibited from leasing or selling vehicles from the federal fleet that have active recalls.

17 months ago

Biden Cabinet near complete but hundreds of jobs still open

Biden has about 1,250 federal positions that require Senate confirmation, ranging from the head of the obscure Railroad Retirement Board to more urgent department positions such as assistant and deputy secretaries.

17 months ago

This April 5, 2020, photo shows an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident in Detroit.

Watchdog: Routes given to census takers were often confusing

Only 21.6 percent of area census office managers were satisfied with the accuracy and efficiency of how cases were assigned.

17 months ago

New bill aims to lift union restrictions at the VA

Medical staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs would have expanded union protections under legislation introduced in the House and Senate.

17 months ago

Federal employee protections included in new COVID relief bill

Federal employees exposed to or dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 will have more options under the just-passed legislation.

17 months ago

Senate confirms Ohio Rep. Fudge as housing secretary

Rep. Marcia Fudge's confirmation, 66-34, comes as the Senate is approving a slate of President Joe Biden’s nominees.

17 months ago

Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems

A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a triumph on a bill that marshals the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation.

17 months ago