Furlough Exemption for DoD Sex Assault Workers
Video: Stephen Colbert on the Census Bureau
Lawmaker: Don't Furlough Weather Service Now
Making Government 'Simpler'
OK Senators Leery of Unfunded Tornado Relief
Boldly Go Where No Fed's Gone Before
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Eric Katz
Editorial Fellow
Eric Katz joined Government Executive in the summer of 2012 after graduating from The George Washington University, where he studied journalism and political science. He has written for his college newspaper and an online political news website and worked in a public affairs office for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. Most recently, he worked for Financial Times, where he reported on national politics.
TSP Nixes Idea to Offer Extra Loan Assistance to Furloughed Feds
April 22, 2013 The Thrift Savings Plan has rejected proposals to allow federal employees to take two loans through their retirement packages, despite calls for assistance from cash-strapped workers facing pay cuts due to sequestration furloughs. Officials at a Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board meeting Monday also discussed changing the plan's default investment ...
Committee Wants Update on Postal Regulatory Commission Travel Spending
April 19, 2013 Leaders of a Senate oversight committee are requesting follow-up information on travel expenditures at the Postal Regulatory Commission. Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the request in a letter to PRC Chairwoman Ruth Goldway. ...
'High Probability' of Furloughs Signaled for Two USDA Agencies
April 18, 2013 Two agencies within the Agriculture Department are facing possible furloughs, according to testimony Secretary Tom Vilsack delivered to Congress this week. Employees at the Farm Service Agency and Rural Development division could be forced to take up to 10 furloughs days, Vilsack told members of the House Appropriations’ agriculture subcommittee. ...
Lawmakers Put Their Benefits -- And Yours -- At Risk
April 18, 2013 For Republican Rep. Ted Yoho, it is all about trust. “When members of Congress break the law, they break trust,” Yoho said. And for the Florida lawmaker, trust stands for Trust Returned to the United States Taxpayer, or the TRUST Act, which he recently proposed. Yoho’s bill would force any ...
Dramatic Workforce Reductions, Rate Hikes Likely for USPS
April 17, 2013 Lawmakers and U.S. Postal Service officials on Wednesday largely agreed on the need to reduce the agency’s workforce and increase rates where feasible in order for the agency to reach fiscal solvency. Witnesses and members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said during a hearing that USPS must ...
Bill Granting GAO More Power Clears House
April 16, 2013 A bill to strengthen the Government Accountability Office’s powers passed the House unanimously Monday evening. The GAO Improvement Act (H.R. 1162), which would increase the comptroller general’s investigative and audit authorities, did not face any opposition from the lower chamber, passing 408-0. The bill, which will now move to the ...
Opinions of the Federal Government Hit All-Time Low
April 15, 2013 More Americans than ever view the federal government negatively, with fewer than three in 10 holding a favorable opinion. Just 28 percent of respondents to a Pew Research Center poll expressed a favorable view of the federal government in a new survey, down five points from a year ago and ...
Postal Reform Still At Least Several Months Off
April 12, 2013 At least one lawmaker has set August as the target for passing comprehensive reform to the U.S. Postal service, according to reports. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told Bloomberg Thursday overhauling USPS is “eminently doable,” setting the goal of sending a bill ...
Bill Would Extend MSPB Appeal Rights to 7,500 Postal Employees
April 11, 2013 Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., has proposed a bill to grant thousands of Postal Service employees the right to appeal employment grievances to the executive branch’s quasi-judicial agency. The bill would allow USPS workers “in a supervisory, professional, technical, clerical, administrative, or managerial position covered by the Executive and Administrative Schedule” ...
OPM Proposes Extending Fed Health Benefits to Same Sex Partners
April 11, 2013 The Obama administration has proposed to expand the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to domestic partners -- including both opposite- and same-sex couples -- as part of sweeping changes to the program. The Office of Personnel Management announced its proposals at a congressional hearing Thursday, saying the initiatives would improve ...
