Management

No Easy Cure for VA’s Ailing Bureaucracy

The department has repeatedly struggled (and failed) to balance central control with field authority.

Pay & Benefits

A VA Fix That Goes Beyond Banning Bonuses

Lawmakers point to compensation for a quick scapegoat, but a long-term solution may be on the horizon.

Nextgov

Sending Astronauts to Space Is Worth It -- If the Goal Is Mars

But we’ll have to increase NASA’s budget and cooperate with China, report concludes.

Nextgov

TSA Plans to Profile Your Suitcase

New system will cross-check baggage tags with passenger information.

Pay & Benefits

Federal Employees Have Lost All Furlough Appeals So Far

MSPB judges have sided with the agency’s decision to furlough workers during sequestration in the 1,200 cases that they’ve adjudicated to date.

Oversight

Obama's HHS Pick Advances With Republican Support

The Senate voted Wednesday to end debate on Sylvia Mathews Burwell's nomination.

Nextgov

Cyber Workforce Honor Roll

Feds' achievements honored at info-sec leadership awards.

Defense One

Dunford Expects Nearly 14,000 Troops in Post-War Afghanistan

Gen. Joseph Dunford says NATO nations will contribute 4,000 troops to join President Obama's post-war mission in Afghanistan. By Kevin Baron

Nextgov

Judge Doubts NSA Program Is Constitutional—but Upholds It Anyway

An Idaho federal judge urges the Supreme Court to address the spying controversy.

Management

In Wake of Scandal, VA Nominees Stuck in Senate Limbo

Key jobs remain vacant as the Senate deals with treatment of veterans and a backlog of nominees.

Oversight

Congress Knew the White House Had Considered a Prisoner Swap

The administration floated an exchange for Bergdahl in 2011, and lawmakers pushed back.

Defense One

Congress Wants Answers on Bergdahl

After a closed-door briefing on the Hill, members of Congress have even more questions about the deal to exchange the American POW for five Taliban prisoners. By Molly O’Toole

Defense One

Obama, Hagel, Kerry on NATO Defense Blitz

With a $1 billion sweetener, U.S. leaders hope Russia’s Ukraine invasion sparks other NATO countries to pony up. By Kevin Baron