People
Data expertise needed to map out Medicare reform
Is the Obama administration equipped to arbitrate the dispute over geographic disparities in Medicare spending?
People
Transparency in contracting remains opaque
Transparency is all the rage in government circles these days. But there might be a limit to its usefulness to the public and ability to facilitate greater accountability in key government services, such as federal contracting.
Digital Government
Obama Extends Same-Sex Benefits
The Obama administration on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to extend several benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees. In a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-extension-benefits-same-sex-domestic-partners-federal-emplo">memo</a> to agency heads, Obama identified several benefits that could be provided to same-sex partners under existing law and ordered the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations that would:
Cybersecurity
Cyber policy snared in legislative tangle
Cybersecurity remains a more pressing concern among experts than lawmakers, who have 35 cyber-related proposals and counting weaving their way through the legislative process.
Digital Government
HHS awards $84M for community EHR systems
The Health and Human Services Department will spend $84 million for health IT systems at community health centers.
Cybersecurity
A reader's guide to safer passwords
Readers of Federal Computer Week and Government Computer News share their secrets for creating foolproof passwords.
Digital Government
Industry team to monitor some VA IT programs
The Veterans Affairs Department has awarded a contract worth up to $115 million to HPTi and its team members to evaluate information technology programs.
Digital Government
Lawmakers question agencies' online contests and prizes
Two Republicans say the White House's push for competition and cash awards wastes taxpayer money, but the White House and a federal manager say the investments are worthwhile.
Digital Government
NOAA sends high-tech research ship into Gulf
Scientists will take water samples to determine if suspended oil plumes are traveling far below the surface, depleting oxygen and threatening marine life.
Digital Government
Cybersecurity moving up on Congress' to-do list, staffer says
A Senate staffer on Thursday told a Washington audience that momentum is growing in Congress for passage of comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. Meanwhile, DHS is readying new performance metrics for FISMA compliance.
Digital Government
FISMA reform would elevate White House's cyber authority
Government Computer Week
Ideas
Layering the Oil Spill Fall Out
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has generated lots of computer models, applications and Web sites. Here's another one: <a href=http://www.geoplatform.gov/erma.html#x=-90.42000&y=28.03000&z=6&layers=>Geoplatform.gov</a>, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration.
Digital Government