Lacking the fireworks that have become a staple of many congressional hearings on federal workforce issues in recent years, last week a bipartisan cadre of Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hosted a conversation between lawmakers and representatives of federal executive, management, and labor-level employees.

Members on both sides of the aisle are seeking clarity from the new administration on how recent directives may impact federal employees and their perceptions of whistleblower rights.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took on a popular phrase from President Trump, outlining that “the greatest threat to America’s people, economy, and Constitution” is the federal bureaucracy.

One day after signing an across the board hiring freeze, with limited exemptions for military personnel and national security purposes, President Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was met with a sharp line of questioning from Democratic Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Last week, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to agency heads, stating the anticipated hiring freeze did not entitle them to accelerate the hiring process to fill current openings.

This week, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, spoke out about his intent to reform federal employees’ retirement benefits and job security.

Committees overseeing the Department of Veterans Affairs and related issues will come under new leadership in the 115th Congress.

In a report released by the Senate Finance Committee, Republicans touted the need for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to better follow federal guidelines and per diem rates.

Before heading home for the holidays, Congress finished out the year by passing a number of measures, including the necessary Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government up and running.

Last week, members of Congress held a hearing to further discuss the massive premium hikes for federal long-term care insurance enrollees, but little more was uncovered.

In his second annual “wastebook,“ entitled Federal Fumbles: 100 Ways the Government Dropped the Ball, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) outlines what he refers to as a “small fraction of the wasteful and duplicative spending from our government over the last few years.”

Congress has returned to Washington to finish out the lame-duck session, with the deadline for lawmakers’ top priority fast approaching.

The Professional Services Council, an Arlington, Virginia-based trade association that represents hundreds of tech companies, sent a letter last week to Senators on both sides of the aisle, urging the Senate to take up the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act of 2016.

Chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), criticized FBI Director James Comey’s decision to inform Congress of new information found in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Under the House of Representatives’ funding bill, the Social Security Administration (SSA) would receive $772 million less than the $11.1 billion requested by President Obama, and the Senate’s bill would allocate $582 million less for the agency.

Federal retirees, who did not receive a cost-of-living increase last year, will see a modest adjustment of 0.3 percent in 2017.

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) is the most recent member of Congress to introduce legislation in search of accountability for wayward government employees. The Promote Accountability and Government Efficiency Act would make all federal employees at-will, eliminating the due process protections currently afforded to them.

As the deadline to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) fast approaches, legislators are debating how to advance a spending bill and prevent another government shutdown.