The federal government is big. That is something about which few people of whatever political stripe would disagree. Excluding members of the armed services (but including Postal Service workers), there are about 2.7 million federal employees—as…
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Obama’s FY 2016 Budget: Higher Wages, More Spending, Less Real Estate
There’s good news if you’re a federal employee, assuming that President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget is enacted intact: It will come with a 1.3 percent pay increase. Now, 1.3 percent isn’t a big hike, but it’s…
The Executive Order of January 30, 2015: A Flood of Costly Regulations?
The figures are still being calculated for the costs of Hurricane Sandy, which swept up the East Coast of the United States in the fall of 2012, but at the moment they stand at $68 billion.…
Spotlight: CIA
Thanks to extensive media coverage, both positive and negative, and to countless spy novels and movies, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the best-known intelligence unit within the U.S. government, virtually synonymous with intelligence generally. In…
Building Cybersecurity, Homeland Security, and the GAO
Think of the many ways in which computers control buildings, from HVAC systems to electronic door locks and the flow of gas, water, and electricity. Now think of the many ways in which those computers can…
Better Late Than Never: Congress Reauthorizes TRIA
On January 8th, as anticipated at the close of the 113th Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). In one of the first pieces of legislative…
Common Lease Expiration Dates
Did you sense a mild “thump” today? A slight disturbance in The Force? Today, December 31st, more GSA leases expire than any other day of the year. It got me thinking why that is, and whether there is any…
2015: The Year of Rising Interest Rates?
Over the last few months, many economists have been arguing that the U.S. economy has stabilized overall to the point that it would benefit from a hike in interest rates, allowing creditors to earn more while…
Net Demand Has Peaked (at least for now)
You may have to squint to see it in the graph above but the federal lease inventory controlled by GSA has declined by a little more than a million square feet over the past year. This should be…
Insuring Against Terrorism: With a Senator’s Parting Shot, a Bill Is Blocked
As of December 31, 2014, U.S. insurance companies will no long provide coverage against acts of terrorism, and neither will the U.S. government back them in doing so. Those are the likely immediate effects of Congress’s…