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One of the few remaining issues that enjoyed bipartisan support was finally broken up when Democrats used the annual “cost of living allowance” (COLA) increase to attack Republicans during the 2006 campaign.  Democrats also pledged not to pass a COLA until a new minimum wage bill was passed.

With the minimum wage bill being held up in the Senate and the February 15 COLA vote fast approaching, Democrats tried to reach an agreement to push back the COLA vote so they could still get the pay raise without breaking their campaign promise.  Republicans, miffed at the use of COLA during their losing campaign, blocked the congressional pay raise for the first time in almost a decade. 

The General Services Administration (GSA) is often called “the government’s landlord.”  It is responsible for the upkeep of the government’s 8,600 buildings.  The agency has a $66 billion budget and 12,000 employees, and its current administrator is Lurita Doan. 

While she has been making progress in reducing wasteful spending at GSA, Doan has dealt with several scandals.  Soon after taking over GSA in May, 2006, she gave a no-bid contract to a company owned by a longtime friend.  According to a January 19, 2007 article in The Washington Post, the $20,000 contract signed by Doan was cancelled in the summer of 2006, after senior GSA officials determined that it violated procurement rules.

According to a September 28, 2007 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, federal employees have been flying first and business classes more than they should.  The GAO reviewed credit card records for air travel purchases of federal employees between 2005 and 2006 and discovered that agencies spent $230 million on 53,000 premium-class tickets.  In more than two-thirds of the cases, the high-cost airfare was not sanctioned or justifiable, costing taxpayers $146 million annually.