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By: FEDweek StaffThe Senate has passed S-272, which would require federal agencies to publish easily understandable justifications for their budget requests on a single, central website each year. The bill also would require OMB to keep an updated list of agencies that are expected to submit budget justifications, the date of submission to Congress, the date the justification is posted online, and a link to the materials online.
The bill now moves to the House, which passed a similar measure last year that fell short of enactment in the full Senate.
The Senate also has passed and sent to the House S-1828, to authorize compensation for CIA or State Department employees who have suffered brain injuries from probable directed energy attacks, which were first identified among diplomats in Cuba in 2016 and which sponsors say since have also been experienced by more than 100 federal employees in China and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, a newly introduced Senate bill (S-2135) would set certain standards for determining whether programs are wasteful or duplicative and require agencies to identify such programs and report them to the OMB. That agency then would consult with Congress to determine whether the program should continue and if necessary propose legislation to eliminate or consolidate the program.
Another newly offered Senate bill (S-2163) would direct the VA to establish and carry out a plan to meet requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, conduct an analysis of the root causes of its backlog of requests from veterans for medical and other VA military records, and identify technology needs and procedural changes that could speed up the fulfillment of requests.
Also newly offered is a House bill (HR-3924) to align pay and benefits for U.S. Park Police, which has what sponsors call severe recruitment and retention problems, with those of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service and the Capitol Police.
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