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Grassley Says IRS To Pay $70M In Employee Bonuses Despite Spending Cuts

The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.

FBI Uses Drones for Domestic Surveillance

The FBI uses drones for domestic surveillance purposes, the head of the agency told Congress early Wednesday.

Taxpayers Pay Millions For Fed Workers’ Student Loans

Congress may let student loan interest rates double July 1, but some federal workers and congressional staff likely are protected from the impact by a taxpayer-funded benefit that provided more than $20 million last year for them to pay down their college debts.

Health Insurance Exchanges Falling Behind Schedule

Government officials have missed several deadlines in setting up new health-insurance exchanges for small businesses and consumers-a key part of the federal health overhaul-and there is a risk they won’t be ready to open on time in October, Congress’s watchdog arm said.

Sequester Furloughs Avoided For Customs And Border Protection

Congress has approved a plan to avoid furloughs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees during fiscal 2013, according to a Wednesday statement from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

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• What Impact Will the Health Care Ruling Have on Federal Employees?

Smooth Launch Uncertain for ObamaCare

There’s no guarantee that President Obama’s health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress.

Federal Employee Union President Slams Contractors’ Motives

“An uncounted and unaccountable shadow workforce.” That’s how the national president of a government employees’ union described federal contractors in congressional testimony that also slammed a proposal to establish a private sector commission that would make suggestions to improve government operations.

Fed to Continue Stimulus

The Federal Reserve gave no indication Wednesday that it plans to scale back its purchases of bonds and other assets, as it continues its efforts to boost the U.S. economy.

Federal Lawyers Overwhelmingly Contributed to Obama Campaign

Lawyers in federal agencies contributed more to Barack Obama than Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, a pattern that mirrored giving at every federal agency, a review of Federal Election Commission records by a Pepperdine University law professor reveals.

Google: ‘We’re Not In Cahoots’ with NSA

David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, on Wednesday beat back against allegations that the search company is “in cahoots with the NSA” and has allowed the spy agency to tap into its servers for user data.

Did State Department Officials Commit Perjury?

Two top officials at the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DS) — the federal law enforcement agency that protects American diplomats and investigates allegations of criminal misconduct by State Department employees — gave sworn testimony earlier this year that appears to be evasive at best, and untrue at worst

Hagel Approves Plan Allowing Women To Join Navy SEALS, Army Rangers

Women will have the chance to join the Navy SEALS, Army Rangers and other specialized combat outfits beginning in 2016 under plans approved Tuesday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

IRS Worker Claims Tea Party Scrutiny Originated In Ohio Office

A Democratic congressman has released the full transcript of congressional investigators’ interview with an Internal Revenue Service manager and self-described conservative Republican who said the close scrutiny of tea party groups’ tax forms originated in his Cincinnati IRS office, not in Washington.

Yahoo Reveals Government Made 13,000 Requests For User Data

Yahoo has become the latest tech company to reveal how many requests US law enforcement agencies have made for access to its customers’ data.

3 Things You Should Know About the Supreme Court and Voter ID

A legal expert says that the reports on the Supreme Court’s recent decision on proof of citizenship are off base.

Political Appointees Helped Bin Laden Filmmakers Over Objections Of Career Officials At Pentagon

Political appointees at the Defense Department, the CIA and the White House brushed aside concerns from career officials about helping two Hollywood filmmakers research their 2012 movie about the top-secret Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a report from the Pentagon’s inspector general.