In a unanimous vote Friday, the Senate confirmed Ashton Carter as the next deputy defense secretary. Carter currently serves as undersecretary of defense, technology and logistics. Carter replaces William Lynn, who announced his departure in July. “Ash has a steady hand, a keen intellect, and an effective management style that will help this department keep [...]

Executive Mosaic, the parent company of ExecutiveGov and a stable of online news properties geared toward the government-contracting industry, has launched the fall issue of its quarterly print magazine, GovConExec. The latest issue focuses on growth opportunities for government contractors. This issue comes at a time where the nation is taking steps to get is [...]

As promised by Democratic leaders, the Senate has rejected a short-term funding bill that would keep the government running into November. The impasse gives Congress little time to resolve the matter before Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Along party lines, the House had approved a continuing resolution to fund the government [...]

The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to seek public comment on ways to enable the country’s 911 system to receive text messages, pictures and videos. The 911 system only supports voice calls, but text and multimedia messaging has become commonplace. During the open hearing, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski referenced the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, where [...]

The U.S. cannot break faith with soldiers and their families but also needs to handle unsustainable costs, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen spoke to midshipmen at the Naval Academy, saying the military will have to make difficult decisions on what type of force it will be [...]

Times may get tougher for federal workers down the road, but a new study shows spirits are still high in federal offices. On Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management released the results of its 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. OPM said it received a record 266,000 responses. Nearly 85 percent said they enjoyed doing their [...]

Executives from a failed solar power company that received large loans from the federal government remained silent before a House panel investigating the company. Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison and chief financial officer Bill Stover appeared before the House Energy Committee Friday, but lawyers advised both men to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege. Solyndra received more [...]

The Republican-controlled House approved a bill to fund the federal government Friday, but Democrats in the Senate have vowed to block it. Largely along party lines, the House voted 219-203 to keep the government running through Nov. 18. The bill also provides $3.65 billion for disaster relief, a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats. [...]

The House Science Committee has asked the White House to turn over all documents related to contact with telecommunications company LightSquared, who is seeking to build a national 4G wireless network. On Tuesday, Chairman Ralph Hall (R-Texas) and six Republican committee members sent a letter to the Office of Budget and Management and a letter [...]

The White House has ordered federal agencies to review their spending on conferences after a well-publicized report was released on the Justice Department’s conference-spending practices. An inspector general report said the DOJ spent $121 million on conferences in 2008 and 2009, exceeding its spending limit. The conferences included high-priced food and drinks, including $16 muffins [...]