The Senate voted May 4 to block new rules on overtime that opponents say would take away extra pay from millions of people.

The legislation would ensure that the new rules would not deny overtime to any category of worker now eligible.

The vote was 52 to 47, with five Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the Bush administration proposal. The amendment offered by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was attached to a tax bill whose passage is uncertain.

The Labor Department’s rule is scheduled to take effect in August. It would make white-collar workers earning up to $100,000 eligible for overtime unless they meet certain qualifications as executive, professional, administrative, computer or outside sales employees.

The General Accounting Office recommended that agencies negotiate volume discounts with big retailers, covering items bought by employees with purchase cards.

GAO estimates the government could save $300 million a year by leveraging its buying power for even small purchases.

Several agencies are running pilot projects to demonstrate the savings, Federal Times reported. The Department of Health and Human Services negotiated discounts on office supplies bought from Office Depot and Corporate Express. The deal saved $430,000 in the first six months, the paper said.

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) has introduced legislation aimed at streamlining procurement of services.

The new bill, the Acquisition System Improvement Act, includes some proposals that Davis has offered before: giving agencies permanent authority to enter into share-in-savings contracts; establishing an exchange program for acquisition professionals in government and industry; and consolidating several agency boards of contract appeals into two boards, one for the Defense Department and one for all civilian agencies.

Those provisions were part of the Services Acquisition Reform Act that Davis introduced last year. Some portions of SARA were enacted as part of the 2004 Defense Authorization Act.

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) is a co-sponsor of the new bill.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi announced a restructuring of the VA health care system that calls for closing three hospitals, building two new ones and opening dozens of outpatient clinics.

VA plans to close hospitals in Pittsburgh; Gulfport, MS; and Brecksville, OH. New ones are planned for Las Vegas and Orlando. Principi said the plan reflects the movement of veterans to the South and West and would eliminate unused hospital space.

The department will ask Congress for money to open 156 new outpatient clinics by 2012. Principi said 80% of the care provided by VA is outpatient care.

The restructuring is expected to cost more than $6 billion.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans endorsed the plan, saying they had bee promised that no hospital would be closed until replacement clinics were open.