2014 Budget Takes Center Stage in Congress – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

Happy Monday: It’s Telework Week here on the DorobekINSIDER. Each day we will follow one or two trendsetters in telework.

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• All week the DorobekINSIDER will be talking about telework. Last month Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer outlawed telework at her company. The reaction to the news was swift on both sides. With some opponents calling the decision an attack on working mothers. But John Sullivan says Mayer’s decision had nothing to do with an attack on working mothers, but was a clear push for innovation. Click here for the full recap.

• “Is the Government Still Hiring?” Most job seekers are worried that, with budget cuts and sequestration, the federal government isn’t even hiring. But that isn’t true. Insights from federal coach, Lily Whiteman.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. GovExec reports, the Democratic-controlled Senate early Saturday gave final approval to a budget resolution that differs starkly with the Republican-controlled House version.The Senate’s fiscal 2014 budget matches nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts with revenue hikes of equal value and protects federal workers’ pay levels and retirement benefits. Backers said it would achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction during the next decade.

2. The Pentagon is delaying furlough notices to nearly 800,000 employees for two weeks while it considers how the newly passed continuing resolution will affect its planned sequester budget cuts. Federal Times says the CR could allow the Defense Department to trim a few of the 22 planned furlough days.

3. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki says he’s committed to clearing the claims backlog by 2015. Federal News Radio reports some 600,000 veterans benefits claims are clogging the agency. Shinseki says 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have produced a bumper crop of claims on his watch. He said the agency is on track to replace its paper claims process.

4. Federal News Radio reports some federal defender offices have laid people off. Others are planning furloughs as long as six weeks. The courts pay for federal defenders out of a much smaller budget than the Justice Department’s. That’s why prosecutors seem to get a better shake. They may be furloughed for just two weeks. The law prohibits them from adjusting judges’ salaries.

5. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration is closing 149 air traffic control towers starting in April. Federal News Radio reports the towers are located throughout the United States. Most are at small airports. FAA must cut its 2013 spending by $637 million under sequestration. That means furlough days for 47,000 controllers. The affected airports will remain open. Pilots will have to coordinate among themselves on radio to land safely.

6. FCW reports, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski plans to leave the agency in the coming weeks. Genachowski has led the FCC since 2009.

7. And on GovLoop. You can now register for the April edition of DorobekINSIDER Live. We’ll be talking citizen engagement. Register for the free event here.

DorobekINSIDER Water-cooler Fodder:

• GovExec: 5 Management Tips for the Week.