As you might expect, the information technology (IT) that supports one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world can be very expensive. In its fiscal year 2015 budget, the Department of Defense (DOD) requested more than $30 billion to operate, maintain, and modernize its IT systems. To put it in perspective, $30Read… Read more »
He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) The budget season of 2010 for local government was particularly brutal. Many localities were taking deep cuts and scaling back. DepartmentsRead… Read more »
Reformers have promoted the notion of performance budgeting since it was introduced by the 1949 Hoover Commission. Major initiatives have been attempted and incremental progress has been achieved. But not enough has happened. A Government Accountability Office survey last year reports that the percentage of federal managers saying they used performance information in allocating resourcesRead… Read more »
When Obama’s budget plan for fiscal 2015 was released, the plan had its fair share of supporters and naysayers. There are obviously many sections to the plan, but there is one specific portion that addresses the challenge that a plethora of articles have been written about and many agencies are challenged with lately…leadership, and specificallyRead… Read more »
When times are tight and states have effect performance budgeting processes, they are less likely to use across-the-board cuts. Are there lessons here for the federal government? New research findings by a team led Dr. Daniel Mullins at American University examine recent state-level trends in the use of performance budgeting or “budgeting for results” approaches.Read… Read more »
Congress has avoided going over yet another fiscal cliff, with the House passing a “clean” debt limit bill yesterday, and Senate passage happened today. This marks the fourth major piece of bipartisan legislation passed since last October’s 16-day government shutdown that includes the two-year Ryan-Murray budget agreement, the FY14 omnibus appropriations bill, and the extensionRead… Read more »
Federal employees have many concerns on their plate in terms of Congress and the federal budget, including: What will happen with federal pay in 2015 following the 1% increases in 2014? Will Congress pass a debt limit increase? How will the president’s State of the Union promise to use more Executive Orders play out? KenRead… Read more »
Here’s some good news for the federal family to start the New Year: at long last, the 3-year pay freeze has started to thaw! For the first time in over 36 months – or more than 1,000 days — hard-working and loyal federal employees will receive a scant 1% pay raise in Fiscal Year 2014.Read… Read more »
A joint survey by Grant Thornton and the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis shows agency budget managers are confident their organizations can meet federally-mandated budget caps in fiscal 2015, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. More than two-thirds of survey respondents show signs of optimism for the next fiscal year’s budget and have beenRead… Read more »
Defense Department Comptroller Robert Hale said Thursday he is cautiously optimistic that lawmakers will reach an agreement to limit cuts to defense spending under sequestration, Defense One reported Friday. Hale told an audience at the Defense One Summit in Washington he believes budget uncertainty harms the military’s ability to address national security challenges, according toRead… Read more »