Defense
Customs and border chief faces scrutiny over household staff
Alan Bersin did not maintain proper employment forms for employees, Senate investigators report.
Oversight
Lawmakers push potty parity
New legislation requires an equal number of male and female toilets in federal buildings.
News
From Nextgov.com: Federal contract spending to drop next year, but IT business should rise
Agencies will spend more on e-health records, performance management tools and consolidation, report finds.
Oversight
Senators call for sanctions against contractors doing business with Iran
GAO finds seven companies with U.S. contracts also worked in Iran’s energy sector.
Defense
Committee approves three veterans bills
Bills range from therapeutic companion dogs to chiropractors for injured or emotionally troubled vets.
Defense
House panel boosts military pay raise
Increase of half a percentage point over administration request comes just days after Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Congress to hold the line on raises.
Oversight
Senator concedes floor time for budget resolution hard to get
Other legislative priorities, including a war supplemental, could crowd out the spending blueprint.
Defense
Lawmakers call for more steps to thwart terrorist attacks
Possible measures include conducting faster no-fly list checks and devising a way to regulate informal money transfers.
Management
Defining Dashboards
Agencies are boosting transparency online, but making data meaningful is the real trick.
Oversight
From Nextgov.com: Treatment program agency shows how a dashboard can work
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tracks in near real time the results of state and local efforts to inform federal officials and Congress -- and soon the public.
Oversight
Private employees face barriers entering the federal workforce, observers say
Most external applicants don’t understand how to navigate the government’s complicated hiring process.
Defense
Hoyer: War supplemental ready soon
Majority leader says he would prefer the Senate to move the emergency funding bill first.
Oversight
Senators introduce earmark database bill
Proposal answers State of the Union request for a single website listing prospective directed spending so taxpayers can follow the money.
Oversight