Modernization

The Pentagon sees its future in the cloud

The Pentagon has numerous cloud services up and running, and systems planners are banking on software as a service, one of the cloud's most popular early forms, to deliver some major capabilities sooner rather than later.

Acquisition

Groups want clarity for insourcing jobs

An IT industry group said the Office of Federal Procurement Policy must clearly distinguish between the functions that only a federal employee should perform and the IT solutions the private sector offers to support agencies.

People

Army enlists bloggers to share their stories...

Army enlists bloggers to share stories; after the flood in Tajikistan; the disconnect in the Internet debate; and fear of vampire power.

Digital Government

Freezing Federal Hiring?

Freezing the 2010 pay raise for civilian federal workers is not the only target of several lawmakers in Congress. A bill <a href="http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2009/09/it_hiring_to_surge_by_2012.php?oref=search">unveiled</a> in the House late last month would stop agencies from hiring during any year the Office of Management and Budget projects a budget deficit for the federal government.

People

OMB tells agencies to standardize electronic regulatory dockets

The White House tells agencies to increase transparency in their electronic regulatory dockets.

People

HHS starts sharing health care data

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a program that makes raw health data from HHS available to the public to use in innovative applications.

Cybersecurity

TSA wants cyber forensics info

The Transportation Security Administration wants information on products it could use to deal with insider cyber threats, data leakage and misuse of IT assets.

Digital Government

OPM Broadens Long-Term Care Benefits

The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday released <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-13015.pdf">final regulations</a> that broaden the definition of "family member" for purposes of determining long-term care benefits. The final rules, published in the <em>Federal Register</em>, modify the definition of relatives qualified to participate in the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program to include the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees and retirees. The final rule is the same as a <a href="http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2009/09/opm_proposes_benefit_changes.php?oref=search">September 2009 draft version</a>.

Digital Government

Recruiting Federal Service Ambassadors

The Partnership for Public Service is recruiting federal interns to serve as ambassadors of federal service on college and university campuses. Those chosen to participate in the program will participate in events, networking sessions and meetings with key faculty and staff members, all with the goal of raising awareness of the opportunities and benefits of federal service, the Partnership announced Tuesday.

People

Bill would require small-business training for contracting officers

A Senate measure would require a training and certification program to teach the acquisition workforce about small business set-aside programs.

Digital Government

FISMA reform would elevate White House's cyber authority

The Federal Information Security Amendment passed as part of the House's 2011 Defense Authorization Bill would establish a White House office to oversee the government's IT security requirements.

Digital Government

Pay gap a thing of the past?

One reader response to our “Freezing out feds” post maintains that the “pay gap” between private-sector and federal jobs is an outdated notion—perhaps valid 10 years ago, but no longer true today—especially when factoring in the value of federal benefits.