People
House panel told of abuses in VA set-aside program
Veterans Affairs Department officials failed to punish business owners who lied to them to get a contract set aside for service-disabled veterans.
People
Congress seeks insourcing through cataloging contracts
A spending bill headed for passage would require inventories of services contracts to show agencies’ reliance on the private sector and how agencies could save money by insourcing.
Cybersecurity
House passes bill to require data breach notifications
The House has passed a bill that would standardize how businesses must notify people put at risk after they improperly discloses personal data electronically.
Cybersecurity
New dashboard tracks cybersecurity programs
Software industry trade association's dashboard rates cybersecurity programs.
Acquisition
Gordon confirmed as OFPP chief
Gordon will be one of the key players in Obama’s plan to reform government contracting.
Acquisition
Fake firms rip off SBA set-aside program for $100M
Agencies that award contracts to service-disabled veterans don’t check on whether a company is eligible for the special set-aside and millions are lost, GAO official says.
Acquisition
Gordon gets Senate panel's nod for OFPP
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairman seems confident about Daniel Gordon getting the Senate’s approval to the the administator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Modernization
Bill would make P2P software a no-no for fed systems
Popular, commercially available file-sharing programs would be generally banned from federal systems under a bill proposed in the House.
People
Performance metrics useless without good management, OMB's Zients told
The government should not get lost in devising management reporting systems and forget that getting good managers is most important, a House committee chairman says.
Cybersecurity
Is it time for a national data breach notification law?
Lawmakers are again considering legislation that would create federal requirements for notifying people when their personal data is compromised.
Acquisition
Acquisition workforce has OFPP nominee's attention
Federal spending has increased by 163 percent since fiscal 2000, while the number of contracting officers hasn’t kept pace.
People
Federal procurement nominee outlines agenda
Gordon tells a Senate committee he would emphasize the acquisition workforce.
Modernization
NARA admits violating internal policy on personal info
NARA's policy required it to destroy hard drives, but in some cases agency personnel returned them to vendors instead, official says.
Cybersecurity
New cybersecurity role for NIST?
NIST would be responsible for developing a plan to coordinate the government's work with international organizations developing cybersecurity standards under a bill approved by the House Science and Technology’s Innovation Subcommittee.
Cybersecurity
Collins opposes White House cyber czar
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she opposes putting a cybersecurity coordinator in the White House.
Acquisition
Senators skeptical about Obama acquisition reform plan
The Obama administration expects agencies to save $40 billion by fiscal 2011 through better acquisitions.
Digital Government
Bill to expand geospatial imagery passes House
The House voted to provide $10 million per year through 2019 for a grant program to expand access to geospatial imagery.
People
Senate bill would kill DOD performance pay, curtail sole-source contracts
The act would end the government's pay-for-performance system used for about 200,000 federal employees.
Cybersecurity
Exit system for foreign travelers stands at a crossroads
The Obama administration is poised to decide whether to proceed with a program to use biometrics to keep track of foreign visitors' departures.
Cybersecurity