A provision in the omnibus spending bill could halt public-private job competitions for federal work. The provision introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., would temporarily suspended public-private competitions for federal employees’ jobs conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76. Other bill provisions indroduced by the lawmakers would: Require agencies insource work currently performed by contractors and to allow federal employees to perform new work. Require agencies determine the size of their contractor workforces. Prevent agencies from outsourcing functions performed by 10 or fewer employees without holding a competition. The American Federation of Government…
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Days before he presents his first budget, President Barack Obama Tuesday night pledged to restore accountability to the budgeting process and cut outdated programs. “This budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules — and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price,” Obama told a joint session of Congress. He added that his proposed 2010 budget will would end no-bid contracts in Iraq, as well as…
After weeks of delays, the Senate voted Tuesday afternoon 80-17 to confirm Hilda Solis as the secretary of Labor. Republicans were concerned about Solis’ public advocacy of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card-check legislation, a bill labor unions are pushing as a way for employees to more easily unionize. The bill is unpopular with Republicans and critics who say the bill takes away the secret ballot for unions. Solis, a Democratic representative from California, had also faced scruitiny after tax discrepancies showed up in her husband’s tax returns.
The House of Representatives may soon send a message to the United States Postal Service — you’d better deliver the mail six days a week. Facing falling revenues, the USPS has suggested a series of cutbacks, including eliminating Saturday mail service. That didn’t set well with four representatives, who introduced HRes 173 Friday: “A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service.” The resolution, sent to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is sponsored by Reps. Samuel…
The Senate is expected to vote later Friday on the conference report on the $787 billion economic stimulus package, sending the bill to President Barack Obama in the next few days. Earlier Friday, the House voted 246-183 to approve the conference report for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which merged the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. No Republicans voted for the report, while seven Democrats voted against. When the House voted on the bill last week, 11 Democrats voted against it. The Senate is discussing the stimulus package now on the floor, though a…
After weeks of delay, Rep. Hilda Solis is one step closer to being confirmed as labor secretary. Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee met quickly between floor votes Wednesday afternoon to vote to approve Solis’ nomination. In a statement after the vote, Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said, “Hilda Solis comes from a working family herself so she understands how the troubled economy is hurting average Americans. American workers deserve to have her voice and her leadership as their Secretary of Labor, and I’m pleased that our committee approved her.†Republicans were concerned about Solis’ public advocacy…
Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Bob Filner plan to introduce bills Thursday to provide advanced appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Filner, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, have long argued that advanced appropriations will help the VA provide better health care, make needed hires and operate more efficiently. The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 would provide the VA with funding one year in advance of the regular appropriations process, according to an Akaka news release. Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Filner, D-Calif., will announce details…
The Senate voted 93-4 Wednesday afternoon to confirm William Lynn as deputy defense secretary. During his January confirmation hearing, several senators questioned Lynn’s past as a senior lobbyist for Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Mass., a top Pentagon contractor. President Barack Obama had initially taken a hard line against lobbyists, saying they would have no place in his administration, but later softened his position.
House and Republican leaders have ironed out differences in the different versions of the economic stimulus bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Wednesday afternoon. “The bills were really quite similar, and I’m please to announce that we’ve been able to bridge those differences. Like any negotiation, this involved give and take, and if you don’t mind my saying so, that’s an understatement,” he said during a press conference. The full details of the changes in the now $789 billion bill haven’t been released, but Reid was joined by the three Senate Republicans who crossed party lines to back the…
We bring you House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s take on the new $1.5 trillion financial rescue program unveiled today by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “What an era in which we live where a serious question can be asked whether $1.5 trillion is enough,” he said Tuesday after a reporter asked if $1.5 trillion would solve our economic woes.