House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) has introduced a bill he says will protect help avoid defense cuts by sequestration for at least one year. According to McKeon, the Down Payment To Protect National Security Act is designed to avoid around $55 billion of defense spending cuts in 2013 by scaling back the [...]

The Postal Service is delaying the closing or consolidation of its offices or mail processing facilities to May 15, 2012. In a statement on its website, the agency said it is responding to requests from lawmakers as it waits for legislation to help fix its financial woes. “Given the Postal Service’s financial situation and the [...]

The White House is giving agencies until March of next year to submit plans to improve cross utilization of information technology services. In a 16 -age draft released Friday, the White House set forth a rough outline for its “Shared First” strategy, which is part of the Federal Information Technology Shared Services Strategy. Under the [...]

The Air Force will lift its civilian hiring freeze Thursday, it was announced Wednesday. The hiring freeze was implemented in August to bring the workforce down to 2010 levels, the Air Force said. Early retirements and buyouts were also offered and employees who accept the offers are expected to leave their jobs by the end [...]

Susan Chadick is the new general counsel for the Defense Contract Audit Agency according to a Pentagon announcement Tuesday. Chadick replaces John Farenish, who in December joined the government contracts practice at law firm Venable LLP after serving eight years as DCAA general counsel. Prior to her new assignment, Chadick had served as deputy general counsel [...]

Reports surfaced earlier this week that a possible deal was reached for government funding. Now, short-term spending seems to be a front-runner of solutions to keep the government up and running. A report by The Hill newspaper indicated that the White House has asked lawmakers to consider short-term measures in order to buy more time [...]

Leaders of the Armed Services Committees from both the House and Senate completed their conference on the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2012, Senate Committee Chairman Carl Levin‘s office (D-Mich.) announced Monday. The lawmakers said they hope to bring the bill before the full House and Senate Wednesday. According to the announcement from Levin’s [...]

In an effort to promote competition and diversity, the U.S. Navy‘s chief information officer said more small information technologies companies should compete for service contracts. In an interview with Federal News Radio, Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen said a “changing financial picture” is primarily responsible for the Navy’s outreach to smaller IT contractors, as it looks [...]

It looks as though lawmakers have gotten closer to a deal that would appropriate for government functions through next year, according to a Reuters report. The report indicated that the possible deal, proposed Monday, brought Congress closer to avoiding a shutdown, which would occur Friday if no funding is approved. Reuters reports the group had [...]

The highest-ranking woman in the history of the Pentagon is stepping down. Michèle Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, announced she will resign and return to private life according to a statement released Monday from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. “Michèle has been an invaluable advisor to me during my six months as secretary of defense, [...]