Chained CPI takes better account of consumer spending habits, report says
The chained consumer price index method of tracking price inflation takes consumer spending habits into account better than the standard consumer price index currently in place, a May 8 Congressional Research Service report (.pdf) says.
Nominee for OMB deputy director emphasizes quality workforce
OMB has a reputation for having "excellent professional staff," Brian Deese said. "It's also facing a lot of challenges today, and so I think that investing in making sure that the institution is able to continue to attract and recruit top-flight talent" will be key, he said.
VA opposes Veterans Health Equity Act, Jesse tells senators
The Veterans Affairs Department objects to legislation that would require it to have at least one full-service VA medical center in each of the 48 contiguous states because the VA has its own cost effective way of determining where hospitals should be located, VA Undersecretary for Health Robert L. Jesse said in a May 9 Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing.
State Department made no decision on furloughs, spokesperson says
Despite reports saying the State Department will not furlough employees due to sequestration cuts, a State Department spokesperson said no decision has been made on whether to furlough employees.
TOP HEADLINES
Federal courts ask OMB for $72.9 million in additional funds
The federal courts system needs $72.9 million in supplemental funding this year to prevent layoffs and other repercussions from sequester-related budget cuts, says the Judicial Conference of the United States. "The judiciary is confronting an unprecedented fiscal crisis that could seriously compromise the constitutional mission of the United States courts," the letter says.
Spotlight: Moniz in at DOE, Werfel to IRS
The Senate confirmed Ernest Moniz as energy secretary on May 16 by a 97-0 vote. Moniz, previously a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was nominated in March to replace Steven Chu, also a former physics professor.
GSA will pay $3M to more than 1,000 contractors kicked out of schedules program
The General Services Administration owes more than one thousand contractors more than $3 million because the agency failed to reimburse vendors after kicking them out of the schedules program.
Draft funding bill proposes $147.6 billion for Veterans Affairs
Under House Appropriations Committee spending bill for the coming fiscal year marked up in subcommittee May 15, the Veterans Affairs Department would be funded at a topline of $147.6 billion, with $63.1 billion of that being discretionary spending.
Army needs specific rules for building maintenance after base closures, GAO report says
Facilities at some closed Army installations were not maintained at a high enough level for reuse within communities surrounding the closed bases because the Army doesn't have specific guidelines for maintenance, a May 14 Government Accountability Office report (.pdf) says.
From Our Sister Sites
Training builds relationships between law enforcement agencies, and that's part of what made the response to the Boston Marathon bombings so effective--but it's also among the first things those agencies cut when budgets tighten, FBI Director Robert Mueller said May 16.
A federal judge in Arizona says the FBI can use evidence collected by a device that masquerades as a cellular base tower, triggering an automatic register response from nearby devices and routing communications from those devices through it.








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