The Senate approved more than a dozen nominees Monday, including the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Margaret Hamburg to be FDA commissioner, Department of Health and Human Services. Roger Baker to be an assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs. Charles Blanchard to be general counsel of the Air Force. William Gunn to be general counsel of the VA. Thomas Lamont to be an assistant secretary of the Army. Raymond Mabus, Jr. to be secretary of the Navy. Daniel Poneman to be deputy Energy secretary. Jose Riojas to be an assistant secretary of the VA. David Sandalow to be an…
Browsing: Congress
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., announced Tuesday he’s lifted his hold on the nomination of W. Craig Fugate as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Vitter had put the hold on Fugate’s nomination as an effort to get answers from FEMA officials over rebuilding coastal areas, V-Zones, decimated during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He lifted the hold after recieving a letter from FEMA Acting Administration Nancy Ward promising to resolve the rebuilding issue quickly. He said he was pleased that FEMA responded to his concerns. Louisianans have gotten way too many easy spoken assurances from FEMA over the last four…
Rep. Stephen Lynch, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Postal Service, Postal Service and the District Columbia, wants to “green” the Postal Service. During a speech on the National Mall Thursday to celebrate Public Service Recognition Week, Lynch said he plans to hold a hearing this summer looking at making the Postal Service and other agencies more “green” and energy efficient. With the world’s largest fleet of vehicles, the Postal Service has already converted 20 percent of its fleet to alternate fuel capable vehicles. Our hearing will examine how best to increase that number and…
Industry is “deeply concerned” about a bill meant to bring work performed by contractors in house, Professional Services Council President Stan Soloway said in a May 5 letter to bill sponsor Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. Mikulski introduced the Correction of Longstanding Errors in Agencies Unsustainable Procurements (CLEAN UP) Act last week. The bill would ban the use of public-private competitions until agencies ensure inherently governmental work and work closely associated with inherently governmental functions is performed by federal employees. Agencies would also have to inventory contracts and give feds the opportunity to compete for outsourced work, even if the work can…
The House Appropriations Committee will consider this week allocating more than $2 billion for combating H1N1, also known as swine flu. President Barack Obama announced last week he wanted Congress to provide $1.5 billion to respond to the illness, which has sickened more than 1,000 worldwide. House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey, D-Wisc., said Monday he wants to add an additional $350 million for state and local aid. We have to be ready at the community level. There have been 11,000 public health layoffs at state and local public health departments in the last few years. That hurts our readiness status.”…
The Senate voted 65-31 Tuesday evening to confirm Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services, filling the last vacant Cabinet post in Barack Obama’s administration. Sebelius will take over the agency as it responds to worldwide panic over swine flu, which has sickened more than 60 in the United States and possibly more than 200 in Mexico. None of HHS’ 18 agencies has political leadership in place, with career employees and temporary leaders steering the agencies. Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas, faced considerable opposition from Republicans who were displeased with her pro-choice views. They also criticized her…
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is expected to introduce a bill tomorrow that will suspend government’s use of public-private competitions for federal work. If Mikulski’s Correction of Longstanding Errors in Agencies Unsustainable Procurements (CLEAN UP) Act becomes law, agencies will be barred from using competition rules set under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 until they implement the following provisions: Amend the A-76 process to include the full cost of conducting a competition, to charge in-house bidders only for actual overhead costs, to abolish automatic re-competition of work won by federal employees, and to impose a firm time limit on…
The Social Security Administration needs a new National Computer Center. The existing one near Baltimore is more than 30 years old and in perilous shape — so much so that the Social Security Advisory Board said it’s in danger of catastrophic failure, which could delay disability and seniors’ benefits from being paid on time. Now Congress wants to know why SSA only let them know last fall that the building needs replaced as soon as possible. And that explanation is a simple one, said Mary Glenn-Croft, deputy commissioner for budget, finance and management for SSA. By 2006, the SSA had…
CNN and the Washington Post are reporting that Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania plans to switch parties and become a Democrat. Assuming Al Franken is also seated as Minnesota’s newest senator, this would give the Democrats a 60 vote, potentially filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Specter is planning to hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss his decision. Had he remained a Republican, Specter would have faced a tough primary challenge from former Rep. Pat Toomey next year. UPDATE: In a statement, Specter said his vote for the stimulus “caused a schism” between himself and GOP party leaders and primary voters…
The Senate could vote this week on more of President Barack Obama’s nominees. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee approved two nominations by voice vote Monday: W. Craig Fugate for Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator and John Morton for assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Senate may vote this week on their nominations, which aren’t controversial. No vote has been scheduled. Meanwhile, senators are debating the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for secretary of Health and Human Services Tuesday, with a vote expected later in the day. The vote on her nomination has been delayed…