Latest Policy & Business News : i360 Gov

Gov't taking new steps to combat food stamp fraud

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:29:40 -0400

Commercial Appeal: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is trying to crack down on food stamp recipients who are ripping off taxpayers by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash.

The Agriculture Department wants to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards and then ask for replacements.

More details emerge on GSA executive bonuses

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:29:08 -0400

Government Executive: News media inquiries have ferreted out more details on performance awards given to General Services Administration executives at a time when top GSA leaders already were aware of what would become an explosive inspector general’s report on lavish spending at a 2010 training conference in Las Vegas.

Senators to GSA: Focus on structural reforms to Public Buildings Service

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:28:20 -0400

Federal Times: The General Services Administration should focus on structural changes to its Public Buildings Service, a group of senators from both parties said in a May 21 letter to GSA’s acting administrator Dan Tangherlini.

Senators Tom Carper, D-Del., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said in the letter that GSA should also address “long-standing property management problems” in order to minimize wasteful spending.

Dodd-Frank is hard to understand, and that's why it has so many enemies

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:27:31 -0400

The Washington Post: While Mitt Romney was speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, chamber members from across the country descended on Capitol Hill to tell Congress to get the government off their backs.

Mitch Stebal, for one, was prepared to give Sen. Dick Durbin’s office an earful about overregulation. An employee of Busey Bank in Champaign, Ill., Stebal came to the U.S. Chamber’s annual confab for small businesses this week with a delegation from McLean County (“not Chicago,” he points out). Stebal said he mostly worried about the impact of Dodd-Frank on the industry, pointing out how the Durbin amendment had forced retail banks to limit debit-card swipe fees. But when pressed to explain how the law would affect his own work in commercial banking,

Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:26:33 -0400

USA Today: The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Under those accounting practices, the government ran red ink last year equal to $42,054 per household — nearly four times the official number reported under unique rules set by Congress.

Guessing game begins over next Treasury chief

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:11:01 -0400

Reuters: Wanted for the Treasury Department: a new boss who can fix trillion-dollar-plus budget deficits, overhaul the tax system and spur a reluctant Europe into fixing its debt crisis.

It's a tall order, especially when the new Treasury chief also must deal with a fractious Congress - and all for a salary lower than that paid to many junior Wall Street bankers.

Consumer agency to target prepaid cards

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:10:35 -0400

The Washington Post: The new federal consumer watchdog agency is considering drafting new rules governing transparency and safety in the rapidly growing market for prepaid cards.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said the cards have fewer regulatory protections than bank accounts and debit cards. The agency said it will focus rule-making on three key areas: disclosure of fees and terms, liability for unauthorized transactions and niche product features, such as overdrawing an account. The agency is holding a field hearing on the cards Wednesday in North Carolina.

Agencies told to assume the worst in budget requests

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:10:06 -0400

Government Executive: The Obama administration still holds out hope of avoiding the across-the-board budget cuts required under the 2011 Budget Control Act, but it is nonetheless instructing federal agencies to begin preparing their fiscal 2014 budget requests assuming a 5 percent cut in discretionary spending.

GSA gave bonuses to 5 execs now on leave over scandal

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:09:35 -0400

Federal Times: Five senior General Services Administration officials who were placed on administrative leave over an extravagant 2010 Las Vegas conference received between $9,100 and $11,690 in bonuses last year — even while an investigation into excessive conference spending was ongoing.

Public Buildings Service Deputy Commissioner David Foley received a $9,530 bonus effective Jan. 1, according to a document obtained by Washington, D.C., television station WUSA-TV, which like Federal Times is owned by Gannett. WUSA filed a Freedom of Information Act request with GSA for the data.

U.S. Said to Let China Buy Direct From Treasury

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:29:37 -0400

The New York Times: NEW YORK (Reuters) - China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters.

The relationship means the People's Bank of China buys U.S. debt using a different method than any other central bank in the world.

After scandal, GSA gets back to basics

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:29:08 -0400

Federal Times: SAN ANTONIO — In trying to redirect the General Services Administration onto a new path, Dan Tangherlini is telling employees to remember why they work at GSA.

"The General Services Administration helps agencies save money; we are the government savings agent," the new acting head of GSA said last week in an interview.

IRS extends taxpayer forgiveness program

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:28:38 -0400

MSNBC: WASHINGTON -- More middle-class Americans will be able to work out their debts to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service because of changes in a tax payment forgiveness program, the agency announced on Monday.

GSA looks to give away historic lighthouses

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:28:07 -0400

Federal Times: The General Services Administration announced Monday it wants to give away 12 historic lighthouses to state or local governments or historical groups – a move which would save the agency money on maintenance costs, according to GSA.

Linda Chero, the acting commissioner for GSA’s Public Buildings Service, said the agency hopes to find groups willing to preserve the lighthouses now that the Coast Guard no longer needs them.

2014 budget guidance: Cut another 5%, more for IT

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:27:34 -0400

Federal Times: Budget planning for 2014 is officially underway, and more cuts are in the works.

The White House budget office has directed agencies to plan discretionary spending cuts of 5 percent below the 2014 levels that the Obama administration has already outlined in its 2013 budget request.

Gregory Jaczko, chief of Nuclear Regulatory Commission, resigns

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:27:01 -0400

The Washington Post: The nation’s chief of nuclear safety announced his resignation Monday after a three-year tenure marked by debates over regulatory guidelines, praise for the U.S. response to the Japanese nuclear disaster and complaints that he had verbally abused women in the workplace.

The departure of Gregory B. Jaczko, an advocate of tough safety standards at nuclear reactor sites during eight years on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, caps almost a year of concerns about his leadership of the NRC, which he has chaired since 2009.

Boehner And Obama Are Being Pushed Into Another Ugly Barroom Brawl Over Debt Limit

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:44:45 -0400

Forbes: Listening to Barack Obama and John Boehner last week put me in mind of two testosterone-addled 22-year-olds preparing for a bar fight, rather than the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House discussing fiscal policy.

First, Boehner kicked off this high-level “who’s your mama” conversation by demanding that Democrats agree to massive spending cuts as the price for allowing the U.S. to continue to borrow from the bond markets. No tax increases allowed.

Agencies prodded to reduce postage costs

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:44:22 -0400

Federal Times: In the mood for a little irony? Even as Congress is laboring to rescue the U.S. Postal Service from a protracted financial crisis (proposed solutions include pumping billions of dollars into the mail carrier), federal agencies are now under orders to take steps that will reduce their spending on postage.

Among those steps: Using flat-rate boxes and envelopes whenever possible; taking more advantage of USPS discounts; and reducing hard-copy mailings between agencies, according to a recent General Services Administration bulletin to agency heads.

Obama sees ‘emerging consensus’ on economic fix

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:43:57 -0400

Boston Herald: CAMP DAVID, Md. — Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.

"There’s now an emerging consensus that more must be done to promote growth and job creation right now," Obama proclaimed after hosting unprecedented economic talks at Camp David, his secluded and highly secure mountaintop retreat. Seeking a second term amid hard economic times, Obama hailed a debate heading in the direction he likes, with nations now talking of ways to spark their economies instead of just slashing spending.

Federal bonuses down by $43 million

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:43:31 -0400

Federal Times: The federal government paid at least $439 million in bonuses to its employees in 2011, which represented a $43 million decline from the previous year, according to data obtained by the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press. Both publications are owned by Gannett.

The total amount of bonuses equates to 0.4 percent of the payroll for the surveyed employees, who represent about two-thirds of the government's 2.1 million-person executive branch workforce.

NAACP votes to support marriage equality

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:42:50 -0400

USA Today: The NAACP waded this weekend into the debate cracked wide open with President Obama's recent public support of gay marriage, as the group's national board voted on Saturday in support of same-sex unions.

According to a press release on the website of the Baltimore-based civil rights organization, the board of directors passed a resolution supporting marriage equality.

Congress pulls plug on Pell Grants; thousands of students affected

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:42:12 -0400

Mercury News: A mother of four who was laid off in 2008, Danielle Torno had planned on turning her life around next year with the help of a Cal State East Bay business degree.

Instead, the 36-year-old San Jose resident will be searching for another solution because of a little-noticed congressional decision to reduce or eliminate Pell Grants for hundreds of thousands of the poorest college students.

House Republicans call for overhaul of tax code in 2013

Fri, 18 May 2012 06:51:52 -0400

The Washington Post: As part of a year-end budget deal, House Republicans are urging adoption of “fast-track procedures” to force lawmakers to complete a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 2013.

House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said Thursday that he has two goals with respect to the tax code: “One, block massive, job-killing tax increases” at the end of the year, when the George W. Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire. “And two, enact — not just pass — comprehensive tax reform.”

Senate confirms 2 Federal Reserve board nominees

Fri, 18 May 2012 06:51:24 -0400

Miami Herald: WASHINGTON -- The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's two nominees to the Federal Reserve Board, bringing the seven-member board to full strength for the first time since April 2006.

Harvard economics professor Jeremy Stein, a Democrat, was confirmed Thursday on a 70-24 vote. Former private equity executive Jerome Powell, a Republican, was confirmed, 74-21.

White House Enlists 45 Companies to Invest in Food Production for the World’s Poor

Fri, 18 May 2012 06:49:09 -0400

The New York Times: The Obama administration has drafted some of the world’s largest food and finance companies to invest more than $3 billion in projects aimed at helping the world’s poorest farmers grow enough food to not only feed themselves and their families but to earn a livelihood as well.

President Obama and the leaders of four African countries will introduce the group of 45 companies, the Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, on Friday at a symposium on food security and agriculture that will begin the summit meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations this weekend at Camp David in Maryland.

The Fiscal Cliff Will Drive the U.S. Into Recession

Fri, 18 May 2012 06:48:45 -0400

Bloomberg Businessweek: Last summer, as part of its agreement to end the debt-ceiling debate (debacle?), Congress strapped a bomb to the economy and set the timer for January 2013. Into it they packed billions of dollars of mandatory discretionary spending cuts, timed to go off at exactly the same time a number of tax cuts were set to expire.

The congressional deficit supercommittee had a chance to disarm the bomb last fall, but of course it didn’t. And so the timer has kept ticking. The resulting double-whammy explosion of spending cuts and tax increases will likely send the economy careening off a $600 billion “fiscal cliff.”