A significant trickle of Republican House members are joining ranks with Democrats to oppose President Trump’s August 30 declaration that he will freeze Federal civilian pay for calendar-year 2019. […]

President Trump today announced his intention to freeze Federal civilian pay increases for calendar-year 2019.  That plan, contained in a letter to congressional leaders, reflects President Trump’s call for a civilian federal employee wage freeze in his FY19 budget proposal.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2019 will head into conference next week when legislators return from the Fourth of July recess. The $700+ billion must-pass defense spending bill has been approved in both the House and Senate, and now the two chambers must come together to reconcile differences in the legislation and re-vote the unified bill before it can land on President Trump’s desk for signing.

Robert Wilkie, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), affirmed that IT modernization and the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Program are among his top priorities during today’s Senate Veterans Affairs Committee nomination hearing.

Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk.

Changes are afoot at the Pentagon. President Trump selected Lt. Gen. Bradford “B.J.” Shwedo as the next CIO of the Joint Staff, Defense Secretary James Mattis announced Wednesday. Shwedo will replace Coast Guard Vice Adm. Marshall B. Lytle.

On Tuesday, President Trump released his management agenda, which focused heavily on his IT modernization goals. Top of mind for the administration? Improving the customer experience, helping agencies better deliver on their missions, and reducing costs to the taxpayer.