federal spending

Congress To Federal Workers: ‘The Party’s Over’

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In an effort to ensure taxpayers won’t be footing any more big bills for lavish Las Vegas parties, lawmakers have approved the first of what could be several new rules governing events for federal workers.

The House voted Wednesday to approve the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) to set new standards for federal agencies planning outings. It includes a $500,000 spending cap on conferences held by individual agencies and would require every agency to disclose what they are spending on contracts on a single public website. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 26, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Rethinking Infrastructure Funding

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COMMENTARY: For quite some time now, Americans have been hearing about the dire state of infrastructure in the US. It’s clear that traditional sources of funding new projects and repairs are struggling to keep the nation’s infrastructure from falling apart, let alone thrive. What isn’t as clear is how to fix it.

Formula grants distributed through the Highway Trust Fund have long been the preferred way to fund infrastructure. But the inefficiency of earmarks and the decrease in revenues from the gas tax are posing significant challenges for this funding model. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 20, 2012 at 4:50 PM

DHS Agents Will Trade Radios For Smart Phones

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The Homeland Security Department plans to migrating to mobile devices and advance information sharing as part of updates to law enforcement technology, Federal Computer Week has reported.

CIO Richard Spires said the department has set up a joint program office for law enforcement agents to swap tactical radios (such as the one pictured above) for modern smart phones within five years. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 19, 2012 at 2:20 PM

‘Do Not Pay’ Site: Value Will Depend On Changing Behavior

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COMMENTARY:

It’s hard to fault the Administration for wanting to make a big splash with it’s new “Do Not Pay” website, aimed at trying to reduce the federal government’s decades old challenge in reducing duplicative and improper payments. Keep reading →

Post a comment  /   /  Published April 16, 2012 at 11:10 AM

Innovation At IRS: Technology Boosts Efficiency, Customer Service

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When unusual activity shows up on a credit card, the company calls the holder – generally the same day. That kind of time frame will soon apply to routine Internal Revenue Service audits – which now happen years after you file your taxes.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman imagines a day in the not-too-distant future when, on the same day a tax return is filed electronically, IRS software can detect missing income or stock dividends. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 13, 2012 at 10:05 AM

White House Launches ‘Do Not Pay’ Database To Curb Improper Payments

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The Obama Administration is launching a new aggregated database and online tool intended to help federal agencies identify and prevent duplicate or improper payments.

Called Do Not Pay, the new tool will attempt to make it easier for agencies to avoid sending funds out to dead people or entering into contracts with companies who have attempted to defraud the government. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 12, 2012 at 4:19 PM

GSA Officials Created Made-Up Awards To Justify Expenses

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General Services Administration officials used the pretense of fake awards programs as a way around federal travel expense rules in order to hold dinner events at taxpayers’ expense, according to a report today by Roll Call, citing an interview transcript it had obtained.

The transcript of the interviews, conducted by GSA’s Office of Inspector General, show that the problem of abusive spending practices may run deeper than first reported when GSA’s inspector general released a critical April 2 report that the agency spent almost $823,000 on an October 2010 Las Vegas conference for about 300 people. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 12, 2012 at 3:48 PM

‘Hidden Spending’ Makes Government Bigger

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Which costs the federal government more: a $2,100 check from Uncle Sam or a tax break worth $2,100?

The answer is they cost the same. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2012 at 12:17 PM

VA To Unplug Employees Who Skip Cybersecurity Training

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The Department of Veterans Affairs will lock employees out of its networks if they fail to take the required yearly cybersecurity and privacy training on time – 365 days after their last refresher course.

VA CIO Roger Baker announced the policy last week to button down security and privacy on the VA’s internal and external internet sites that have been hit by security breaches and privacy violations – both internal and external – on a regular basis. An employee who doesn’t meet the yearly deadline will be blocked out on Day 366. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Why The National Debt Didn’t Matter Then, But Does Matter Now

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Democrats and Republicans take turns condemning and piling up debt. For example, while Franklin Roosevelt was president, Democratic Party platforms were mostly silent about government debt, while Republicans regularly condemned it. In 1960 Democrats criticized President Eisenhower for failing to reduce the national debt, but avoided the issue during the 1960s and 1970s.

When President Reagan increased the national debt during the 1980s, Democrats launched the strongest anti-debt campaign in U.S. history, but Republicans stopped talking about it. Democrats criticized a reported comment by Vice President Cheney that debt doesn’t matter, but now that a Democratic president is presiding over debt increases, Republicans are raising the volume, while Democrats downplay the issue. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 23, 2012 at 9:01 AM
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