Digital Government
Hill negotiators weigh uniform standard for spending reports
Aides are trying to reach consensus on House-passed language that would direct agencies to use the same format for financial data.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity bill first step in fixing controversial FISMA
Agencies would be required to monitor vulnerability of networks and consider the security capabilities of products and services before buying them.
Digital Government
Soundbytes: Facebook, Health Reform and Flying
A weekly roundup of the best in Nextgov comments. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
Modernization
GSA chief says agency will 'up its game' with technology
Administrator Martha Johnson says improving the flow of information and data, and more reliance on social media will provide better service to agencies and will be what drives growth.
Cybersecurity
FISMA 2.0 Picks Up Steam
A <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4900:">bill</a> that rewrites the 2002 Federal Information Security and Management Act (FISMA) was <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca33_watson/2010324.html">introduced</a> by Rep. Diane E. Watson, D-Calif., o n Wednesday. Vivek Kundra, federal chief information officer for the Obama administration, didn't state his approval for any specific measures in the bill but did reiterate his disdain for the ongoing paper-based compliance measures supported by current law.
Digital Government
Health Reform and Health IT
Making law is often compared to making sausage, but the crafting of health care reform that unfolded over the past year more resembled the intractable twisting and turning of a taffy puller. If nothing else, the epic process provided a ready-made excuse for reluctant readers: Why peruse today a bill that will change again tomorrow?
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is Hard
It's not going to be easy creating an overall strategy for protecting federal networks from hackers and insider threats. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, prepared the government for just that when talking about the 2009 Cybersecurity Act, which she co-sponsored with Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va.:
Ideas
House Passes File Sharing Bill
The House on Tuesday passed a <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.4098:">bill</a> that would mandate a policy banning the use of file sharing software on federal computers and networks, along with those used by contractors.
Digital Government
45 Pounds Sure is Heavier Nowadays
This Sunday, as my buddy Paul McCloskey, editor of <a href=http://govhealthit.com/>Government Health IT</a>, and I passed mile marker six on the <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/03/touched_by_history.php>Bataan Memorial Death March</a> we passed a young soldier toting an enormous rucksack, who was limping and favoring his left leg.
Digital Government
NIST Releases Testing Protocol
Seeking to ensure that the nation's burgeoning health IT infrastructure lives up to expectations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released <a href="http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2010_0316.htm#hit">the first phase</a> of "a new health IT test method and related software." Three additional installments are to follow.
Ideas
Stand Up and Be Counted
We're a little over a week into the 2010 decennial census -- most census forms were delivered between March 15 and 17 -- and it's time for a progress report, courtesy of the Census Bureau's new <a href=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/>Web mapping feature</a>.
Modernization
DOD enterprise service structure in the works, official says
the guidelines will define and coordinate governance and creation of capabilities, official says.
Ideas
USPS Takes to the Web to Explain
The U.S. Postal Service launched on Wednesday a <a href=http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery/>Web site</a> to explain their controversial proposal for five-day mail delivery.
Digital Government
SSA Faces Shortage of IT Pros
The Social Security Administration will need to boost its recruitment, hiring, training and retention efforts of information technology specialists in order to offset a wave of IT retirements over the next six years, Federal Computer Week <a href="http://fcw.com/articles/2010/03/23/ssa-bracing-for-it-worker-retirements.aspx">reports</a>.
People
GSA now on the fast track, top exec says
Martha Johnson, new administrator of the General Services Administration, outlines her priorities.
People
Audit reveals FDA not using performance data in management decisions
The Food and Drug Administration is not utilizing performance information effectively to help improve its management, according to the Government Accountability Management Office.
People
Does insourcing lead to 'theft' of contractor employees?
Federal agencies are expanding their in-house staffs at the expense of companies already struggling with an unstable economy, writes one reader.
Digital Government