Digital Government
Senate funds system to speed processing of mine safety violations
Electronic filing would help stop mining companies' tactic of evading responsibility for problems by contesting federal penalties, an appeals process that averages nearly two years.
Modernization
Survey: Cloud computing to make huge strides by 2020
Mobile devices and ease of use must outpace concerns about security, privacy and access.
Modernization
Draft plans to consolidate data centers due this month
Finals submissions, due by the end of July, will include a detailed inventory and information on the types of servers and processes used in each center and how much power they consume.
Digital Government
Winners named in Veterans Health Affairs IT competition
Officials choose 26 entries from more than 6,500 submissions from VHA employees.
Digital Government
AT&T iPad data leak: Hack or hype?
Compromised data was limited to e-mail addresses, many of which are already publicly available, but authorities still plan to probe the incident.
Digital Government
Senate's Technophobia Infects Health IT
Nextgov Editor at Large Bob Brewin reported on Thursday that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is going ahead with a conference to talk to contractors about a new $9 million program that will rely on social media, virtual worlds and other online apps to help soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. The Senate and the House Armed Services committee don't like the idea. They say DARPA doesn't have the expertise in health privacy law to properly protect the information.
Digital Government
The EZer VA Disability Claim Form
I'm told sometime in the past month the Office of Management and Budget approved a six-page claim form that veterans use to apply for disability benefits, replacing a 23-page application that was so complex that only a bureaucrat could comprehend it.
Digital Government
Military, other fed iPad users compromised in AT&T hack
Military and civilian agency iPad users were among the thousands whose data was exposed in a recent successful hack of AT&T's Web site.
Ideas
Orszag Wants Innovation
Tom Shoop, the editor in chief and author of the FedBlog at Nextgov's sister site Government Executive, started a bit of a debate on Wednesday over the supposedly sorry state of the government's computing power -- or is that the government's sorry state of <em>leveraging</em> computing power to create interactive apps that the public can use?
Acquisition
Good news: Progress on strategic sourcing
The General Services Administration’s new strategic sourcing agreements for office supplies makes good business sense, writes blogger Steve Kelman.
Cybersecurity
DHS would be cyber power center under Lieberman/Collins proposal
Three senior senators have introduced legislation to bolster the Homeland Security Department's role in protecting the country's networks and systems from cyber threats.
Cybersecurity
Step Forward For Cyber Policy
The 2010 Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act came out of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management today, giving cybersecurity policy another push toward President Obama's desk.
Digital Government
Cyberattacks are biggest fear, survey shows
A survey of more than 250 government and industry IT professionals found that the majority of respondents believe cyberattacks are the top threat to U.S. national security. The findings differ from similar surveys of government and private-sector experts
Modernization
Obama orders sales of excess data centers
Agencies should immediately cap the number of data centers and reduce the count by 2015, the president says.
Digital Government
Transitioning Out of NSPS
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it will temporarily cut pay raises in half for more than 11,000 civilian workers transitioning out of the derailed National Security Personnel System.
Digital Government
House moves to protect grid from cyber threats
The House has passed a bill that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission additional powers to protect the U.S. power system from cyber-related threats.
Digital Government
More Jobs, Better Salaries for IT Pros
Nearly three-quarters of private sector technology recruiters and hiring managers expect to add more staff in the second half of 2010, with 30 percent saying salaries are increasing for new hires, according to a new report by Dice.com.
Cybersecurity