sequestration

Rethinking The Debt Ceiling: Fund Deficits, Not Accumulated Debt

By

Looking beyond the current debt crisis, the Obama Administration (and future presidents for that matter) should expect continued stiff resistance from the Congress whenever the ceiling needs to be increased. No one likes to vote for a debt ceiling increase; there’s no clear upside and plenty of down, particularly for members of Congress who were elected promising to hold the line on spending and taxes.

Moreover, the composition of our accumulated debt is incomprehensible; just seems to be a growing miasma of political toxicity – a debt blob. Notwithstanding imaginative, though apparently unworkable, short-term fixes like the platinum coin, there needs to be consideration of ideas beyond the binary choice of Congress either enacting a debt ceiling increase or failing to act and putting the nation into default. Keep reading →

Published January 15, 2013 at 2:00 PM

Hitting The Reset Button In Federal IT

By

For the fourth straight year, federal IT spending was about even with the prior year’s budget – and it seems very clear that trend will come to an abrupt halt in 2013. The Professional Services Council (PSC) stated the “Addressable IT Budgets” in Fiscal Year 2012 added up to $121.7 billion – a total the Council estimates will drop to $115.5 in FY13, with budgets for IT equipment expected to drop 19% in FY13.

With the so-called “fiscal cliff” looming, the new year began promptly with a deal that largely addressed the tax portion of the so-called “fiscal cliff” equation, but delayed measures addressing the spending portion of the “cliff” that include raising the debt ceiling and sequestration spending cuts. Keep reading →

Published January 14, 2013 at 7:00 AM

America’s Superpower Status Goes Over the Fiscal Cliff

By

This article, from American Enterprise Institute scholar and frequent AOL contributor MacKenzie Eaglen, looks at the increasingly likely consequences of the fiscal cliff. It originally appeared as part of an Breaking Defense series of 2013 forecasts. Keep reading →

Published December 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM

GSA Offers Help As Agencies Plan For Possible Sequestration

By

GSA Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini said Wednesday that the “supply” agency is working with other agencies to plan for possible sequestration budget reductions since that would mean cutting back on everything from supplies to real estate.

“Our planning is really responsive to the agencies we serve and to get a better sense of how they are thinking about it,” Tangherlini told reporters following a speech at George Washington University. “One of the things we are trying to do is establish a continual framework of communication and see if there are ways we can help [other agencies] manage their way through it.” Keep reading →

Published December 13, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Federal Contractors Split On Whether Sequestration Will Actually Happen

By

With the sequestration deadline looming, government contractors are split on whether the pending sequestration budget cuts will occur.

According to survey findings released today by Market Connections, Inc., a leading government market research firm, 36% of government contractors believe sequestration is unlikely to happen, while 34% believe the budget cuts are somewhat likely. Keep reading →

Published December 12, 2012 at 12:12 PM

U.S. Military Will Have To Do ‘Less With Less’: Hill Must Vote On Money

By

“We’re long past the point of doing more with less,” said the blunt-spoken Under Secretary of the Navy, Robert Work. “We are going to be doing less with less in the future.”

But with a continuing resolution, sequestration in three weeks, and to-be-determined defense cuts a likely part of any “grand bargain” to avert the fiscal cliff, how much less is maddeningly unclear. So it’s impossible to make intelligent plans or choices. Keep reading →

Published December 10, 2012 at 9:15 AM

Is Sequestration Deal DOA After Boehner Comments? Obama Invites Hill Leaders To White House

By

Hope springs eternal, even here in the nation’s capital. After the election, both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made nice noises. And many pundits hailed this, believing either that sequestration would get kicked down the road a fur piece or a Simpson-Bowles’ grand bargain was in the works.

The big sticking point — at least rhetorically — had been that the Democrats want higher taxes on those earning more than a quarter of a million dollars each year and the GOP does not. Then came the electorate’s rejection of Mitt Romney and the Democrat’s better than expected performance in the Senate. Add to that the defeat of several high profile Tea Party candidates and some argued that the stage was set for compromise. Keep reading →

Published November 9, 2012 at 4:10 PM

Federal LPTA Contracts: Acceptable Is The Antithesis Of Innovative

By

During this time of budget constraints, the federal government is seeking low-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) solutions to keep projects and innovation alive. In other words, agencies need to find ways to keep technological innovation moving forward, albeit with tighter purse strings.

As Lisa Mascolo, CEO of Optimos Inc., pointed out in her recent Washington Technology Op-Ed article on the topic of LPTA contracts, “When I hear ‘acceptable,’ I think adequate, good enough, not great but okay.” Keep reading →

Published November 6, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Staring Over Financial Cliff: Preparing For IT Budget Cuts Across The Board

By

With sequestration looming, and 2013 federal IT spending requests having have dropped $1 billion over fiscal year 2012 levels, contracting dollars especially for IT are expected to come under intense scrutiny, and in many cases get shuffled to meet changing needs next year.

Those who follow federal IT spending are already aware that the fiscal 2013 federal IT budget request is approximately $78.9 billion, down from the prior year’s $79.7 billion. However, Congress’ continuing resolution and potential sequestration are likely to lower IT spending to between $73 to $74 billion. Keep reading →

Published November 2, 2012 at 1:15 PM

Sequestration Threatens Air Travel Progress; Economic Impact Could Last Decades

By

Those of us in the airport business take pride in the community and job growth we contribute in good times and bad, so it’s not often we sound the alarm on behalf of more than 400 locally-run economic engines. But sequestration threatens to stall more of our future than many people realize.

Sequestration risks $500 billion in cuts to non-defense federal spending an outcome that is predicted to come down hard on funding for the Next Generation Air Transportation System known as NextGen, and the jobs and economic growth our airports provide. Keep reading →

Published October 22, 2012 at 1:20 PM
Page 1 of 212