Browsing: Congress

The House adopted an amendment to the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act to allow TSA employees to voluntarily wear protective equipment during a public health emergency. The House passed the amendment by voice vote Thursday during floor debate on the bill, HR 2200. The House later passed the bill 397-25. The amendment, offered by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., would allow workers to wear surgical and N95 masks and gloves and use hand sanitizer during an emergency. The amendment was spurred by departmental reactions to the recent H1N1 flu outbreak. Unions pushed the Homeland Security Department to allow TSA and Customs…

More than 100,000 Social Security numbers as well as Secret Service and White House operating procedures are on a hard drive missing from the National Archives and Records Administration. NARA’s inspector general briefed members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tuesday about the national security information breach at the administration’s College Park, Md., facility. The drive contains one terabyte of data from Clinton administration records, according to a news release from the committee’s Republican staff, including: 100,000 Social Security numbers, including one of then-Vice President Al Gore’s daughters, Contact information, including addresses, for Clinton administration officials, Secret Service…

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…

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…

The House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday honoring the work of public servants, part of an annual tradition to mark Public Service Recognition Week. The week is celebrated May 4-10 as a way to draw attention to civil service workers and career opportunities. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., issued a statement Tuesday afternoon on the importance of the week’s designation. This week we honor the first responders, teachers, social workers, park rangers, and so many more federal, state, and local government employees who do so much for our nation each day, with little expectation of recognition or reward.…

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to vote on HR 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, tomorrow at 1 p.m. The bill would allow new parents to take four weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The committee’s ranking Republican, Darrell Issa of California, opposes the bill. Issa sent letters to the committee members last night saying that “it is simply not the right time” to create a new $850 million benefit for federal employees during the tough economy: While our committee contemplates enhancing federal benefits packages, the rest of working…

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…

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…

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