Since Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Jan. 16 that he plans to step down at the end of March, federal government watchers have speculated that Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry may be in the running to replace him. When I asked Berry that day about the job, he wouldn’t even say whether he had talked to President Obama. “No comment,” Berry said. “At this point, I stand ready to serve the President in any capacity he desires.” But his old friend and former boss, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, is far less reticent about Berry’s possible…
Browsing: Steny Hoyer
Key congressional negotiators have just signed off on a conference report to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, and there’s an unexpected surprise in there. New members of Congress would no longer get a cushy pension, and would instead get the same annuity as rank-and-file federal employees, according to Ali Ahmad, who is a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Feds under the Federal Employees Retirement System have their pension calculated at either 1 percent or 1.1 percent, depending on their age. But lawmakers under FERS have their pension calculated at 1.7 percent. That, when combined with their…
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., sounds like he’s feeling a little unappreciated for helping pass a tax cut last year as part of the stimulus. From his comments today at a NARFE luncheon in Bowie, Md.: How many of you know that a third of the recovery act was a tax cut? $260 billion of the $780 [billion] was a tax cut. It was a tax cut that not many people really [said], “Oh, I got a tax cut!” The reason is because it was about $20, $25 a week extra in their take-home pay. The reason it was…
Should the taxman call to “tell you how it will be,” at least you’ll know it’s a fed. That’s because the Internal Revenue Service terminated its controversial outsourcing of tax collection Thursday. An agency program review found tax debt collection was cheaper and more lucrative when performed by federal employees. IRS commissioner Doug Shulman said: IRS employees have more options available to them to resolve difficult collection cases Contracts with two private debt collection firms expired March 6. The agency will hire 1,000 new tax collectors in fiscal 2009 to target collection on areas of greatest need. IRS will recruit displaced…
How will agencies spend stimulus money? Let me count the ways. According to Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., agencies have five different ways they can disburse their stimulus funds and meet tight spending deadlines in place under the bill: “By formula,†meaning agencies will use existing statutory requirements for programs like highway infrastructure investments or Medicaid to determine how much each state or municipality is entitled to. “By competition,†meaning states, localities or contractors will submit proposals for grants and contracts. “By demand†to programs with eligibility requirements, such as unemployment insurance, education grants, small business loans and food stamps. “By one-time…