Defense

Senators seek to make increase in Army troops permanent

The Army's plan to temporarily increase its force levels by 30,000 soldiers could become permanent if a handful of senators can garner support for new draft legislation likely to be included in the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, according to Senate aides.

Defense

Ridge defends Homeland Security budget request

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge defended the Bush administration’s budget request for state and local first responders Monday.

Management

GAO off the hook on job competition appeals precedent

A bid protest that had the potential to force a precedent on the appeal rights of federal employee teams losing work to contractors was dismissed by GAO on Friday.

Management

Administration says holding down pay raises helps agencies' budgets

The Bush administration wants to hold the 2005 civil servant pay raise at 1.5 percent because it does not want to saddle federal agencies with unfunded mandates, an administration official said Friday.

Defense

Pentagon scraps plan for online voting in 2004 elections

The Pentagon has canceled plans to allow military personnel to vote online in the November 2004 presidential elections, a Defense Department spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

Management

OMB should fine-tune program evaluation strategy, panelists say

The Bush administration should refine its strategy for evaluating the performance of federal programs, panelists testified at a congressional hearing Wednesday.