The House Budget Committee has released its proposed budget for FY 2012. Among other cuts to government, the proposed budget suggests a pay freeze for federal employees and an increase in the amount they have to pay for their pension benefits.
Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) has proposed legislation that would prevent members of the Congress and the President from taking a paycheck if the government shuts down.
The use of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines by the TSA in airports around the country has been a controversial issue. Security and health concerns have been expressed about the use of the machines, while others think the machines make flying safer. Two Congressmen are sponsoring legislation to restrict use of the machines in airports.
Air travel security has become time consuming and cumbersome with the TSA regulations for screening passengers. However, the TSA has begun considering a “trusted traveler” program recommended by the US Travel Association that would pre-screen passengers via background checks that would enable them to bypass a lot of the extra security screenings.
The Fiscal Commission was a bipartisan group created by President Obama to look for ways to reduce the growing federal deficit. A bipartisan group of Senators appears to be working on its own debt reduction plan and cites the Fiscal Commission as its plan’s basis.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced a bill on March 1 that would terminate the employment of federal employees and prohibit the hiring of future federal employees who have a seriously delinquent tax debt.
We recently asked readers in a non-scientific poll if they thought a government shutdown would take place. The results were generally not very upbeat.
The TSP is unveiling a new fund in its family of Lifecycle funds: the L 2050 fund. The fund is designed for participants who will begin to withdraw their holdings after 2045 and replaces the now obsolete L 2010 fund.
The Republican Study Committee released its recommendations for ways to cut government spending by up to $2.5 trillion over 10 years. Some of the proposed cuts, if enacted, would directly affect federal employees.
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