I would like to see a proliferation of sites like VA Accountability across federal, state and local government agencies. The concept could be extended to include information (names, dates, summaries) about EEO complaints, grievances, and other administrative information exposing corrupt management to the world. This gets to the heart of corruption in government that isRead… Read more »
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing“ — Edmund Burke. America and our allies would be wise to heed Burke’s warning in regard to the ongoing slaughter in Syria by Bashar al-Assad, the megalomaniac of the Middle East. Appeasing Assad through military inaction only damages America’sRead… Read more »
August in Washington always reminds me of the proverbial calm before the storm. That is, the storm of political acrimony and legislative gridlock as the fiscal year draws to an end and appropriations bills pile up in Congress. But this year the stakes are much higher as some members of Congress are actively threatening aRead… Read more »
There has been too much fed-bashing these days by politicians and the media, much of which has tarnished the perception of the federal employee. We have found out which elected officials are our friends and which are using the feds as fodder for their political grandstanding and campaigning. Among the many ridiculous pieces of legislationRead… Read more »
Yes! I just returned from the Association of Government Accountant’s (AGA) annual Professional Development Conference (PDC). With all the scrutiny on conference spending, I thought it would be interesting to go through a quick run down of what’s new and what’s changed since the last AGA PDC in order to help address the question ofRead… Read more »
Here is a recent post from my co-worker, Mark Harkins, that lays out how law was passed that may cause Members of Congress and their staff to absorb the entire cost of their health insurance on January 1, 2014. This amendment started in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee — which wasRead… Read more »
Earlier this month the House passed two appropriations bills, Milcon/VA, and Homeland Security, both of which the president opposes. No appropriations bills have come to the floor in the Senate. As discussed in my article “Defense Cuts are on the Way: $100 billion, $300 billion, or $500 billion?“, with a $91 billion gap between theRead… Read more »
The U.S. Postal Service has asked Congress for $624 million to replace 11 percent of its automobiles, GovExec reported Tuesday. Mark Saunders, a USPS spokesman, told GovExec the request is preliminary at this juncture and must go through other prioritization processes before approval. Eric Katz reports the agency expects to spend $3 million for vehiclesRead… Read more »
I’ve been closely following the federal budget for more than two decades, and at no point have things been more confusing, not only to observers like myself, but more importantly to federal managers and executives who are trying to plan their department budgets. A grand bargain on the budget would be welcome news not onlyRead… Read more »
The partisan environment in Washington has resulted in a near paralysis of logical decision making. The sequestration is just the latest, perhaps most egregious, example. Is this the best our leaders can do? What will it take to change things for the better? How should CIOs and other Federal executives execute their missions under theseRead… Read more »