Policy

Biden administration begins cautioning feds to prepare for a shutdown

Degree of organization varies across government as agencies note a funding lapse could still be avoided.

Policy

What does it take to end a government shutdown?

The end of past budget impasses have often played out as calculations of policy goals versus the political pain needed to achieve them, but when the goal is unclear how do you know who wins? 

Policy

Path to averting a shutdown remains elusive as Senate looks to pass first FY24 spending bills

The upper chamber has bipartisan support for many of its funding measures and will look to put pressure on the divided House.

Policy

The shutdown threat would be off the table, under newly proposed legislation

A bill from Virginia Democrats would automatically trigger a continuing resolution when there is a lapse in appropriations and restrict the Senate’s ability to consider non-spending legislation until funding is figured out.

Policy

OPM deputy defends administration's telework approach, touts ‘consensus-building’ in workforce policymaking

Rob Shriver argues the White House's calls to increase in-person work are consistent with the HR agency’s prior policies.

Policy

Biden formally announces 5.2% average pay raise for feds in 2024

The annual declaration of a national emergency preventing large automatic raises from taking effect solidifies that 0.5% of the total pay increase figure will go toward an average boost in locality pay.

Policy

GAO: USDA violated the Anti-Deficiency Act while planning its relocation of science agencies

House Democrats renewed calls to institute tighter regulation of agency relocations in light of the watchdog agency's findings.

Policy

Leaders in both parties agree to pursue a stopgap to avoid shutdown

The House and Senate remain significantly divided over spending for the rest of fiscal 2024.

Policy

Bill to alleviate federal pay compression introduced by House Dems

The Pay Compression Relief Act would effectively allow General Schedule employees to receive annual increases to both basic and locality pay, even if they have already hit the federal pay cap.

Policy

White House calls on agencies to 'aggressively' reduce telework this fall

Chief of Staff Jeff Zients instructed agencies to focus on executing plans to increase in-person work in September and October.

Policy

Cannabis users could become feds under bipartisan House bill

The legislation also would allow federal job applicants who were previously denied positions or security clearances over marijuana usage dating back to 2008 to have those decisions reviewed under the newly proposed policy.

Policy

Defense and Commerce team up to support semiconductor investments

The two federal agencies signed a memorandum of agreement to exchange information on programs outlined under the CHIPS for America Act.

Policy

The Senate is on a bipartisan glidepath toward avoiding a shutdown, Schumer says

The way forward is still complicated by the House, which is pushing partisan spending bills along party lines.

Policy

Semiconductor industry group warns against new limits on chip exports to China

A spokesperson for the National Security Council told Nextgov/FCW that the Biden administration’s export controls “have been carefully tailored to focus on technology with national security implications.”

Policy

Congress must use budget power to move tech firms out of Beijing’s orbit, former lawmaker says

Former congressman and Under Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy said lawmakers need to be focused “like a bulldog on a bone” when ensuring the U.S. is positioned to compete with China’s tech ambitions.

Policy

House, Senate China hawks concerned White House will let TikTok stay in the US

Key Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate warned that tweaked language in a new Commerce Department rule could lay the groundwork for TikTok’s proposal to store U.S. users’ data in the country.

Policy

Democrats call YouTube ‘extremely irresponsible’ for election misinformation rollback

YouTube’s decision to stop removing false content about previous U.S. elections “threatens to weaken our democracy,” several top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a letter to the platform’s leaders. 

Policy

CFPB looks to existing law to regulate workplace surveillance tech

After a high volume of complaints, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offered a response as to how the government can limit the use of sensitive employee information in hiring practices.