News
Panel to set hearing date for attorney general nominee
Letter suggests Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has abandoned efforts to obtain information from the White House before allowing a hearing.
Defense
Senate backs $3 billion border security add-on to Defense bill
Amendment includes funding to hire thousands of border security agents, build hundreds of miles of fences and other barriers, and buy surveillance equipment.
Defense
Homeland Security issues contract for presidential transition planning help
Nonprofit group will organize a bipartisan advisory panel and develop a plan to prepare for the next administration.
Oversight
Army to consolidate environmental contracts
Critics are concerned that the overhaul will make it more difficult to address local environmental concerns.
Defense
House backs stronger requirements for contract building guards
Measure would prohibit the Federal Protective Service from hiring companies owned or operated by convicted felons.
Pay & Benefits
Salary council finds widening pay gap
Panel uses refined data to determine that typical federal employees make 23 percent less than their private sector counterparts.
Pay & Benefits
TSP funds make strong gains in September
International investments continue to be the best overall performers.
Oversight
Game plans for spending bills become clearer
Democrats will use the pre-Thanksgiving period to send Bush domestic appropriations measures, saving emergency war funding for next year.
Oversight
Contractor tax provision forces agencies to change financial systems
USDA exec says implementing law passed last year will require “substantial modifications” to the agency’s systems.
Defense
House appropriator to apply pressure for Iraq changes
Committee chairman wants the White House to establish a goal to end U.S. military involvement, ensure that troops receive adequate rest between deployments and begin a "broad scale diplomatic offensive."
Oversight
NASA’s role revisited at 50-year mark
Former employee says the agency should look at novel ways to fund its activities and involve the public.
News
President recognizes hundreds of top-performing executives
Presidential Rank Award winners get bonuses of at least $22,000, with elite winners receiving double that.
Defense
Legislators explore gray areas in security contractor oversight
Panel members question Blackwater executive's claim that companies already are covered under a variety of statutes.
Oversight