People
IT oversight bill fails, despite White House interest
As the Obama administration moves to reform the government’s management of IT spending, one piece of bipartisan legislation with similar aims failed to pass in the 111th Congress.
Digital Government
Higginbottom picked as deputy director at OMB
More executive changes: Heather Higginbottom to be named deputy director at OMB, and GSA's Teresa Nasif moves to head senior executive service initiatives.
People
Deputy CTO leaving White House
Beth Noveck has been director of the White House Open Government Initiative and will return to academia.
Digital Government
Is an unhappy employee likely to spill your secrets?
In the wake of the WikiLeaks incident, national security officials are asking agencies if they've thought about employee mental health and job satisfaction as indicators of trustworthiness.
Acquisition
Officials urge vendor-neutral IT purchases
Officials have reminded agency purchasers about value-neutral IT purchases after a federal judge ruled that the Interior Department decided to buy software from Microsoft while other capable companies were interested in the work.
Digital Government
JFK Library to start largest converted digital archive
Listeners will be able to hear President John F. Kennedy's speeches in his own voice in online podcasts that will go live this month as part of the Kennedy presidential digital archive.
People
Hiring reforms beginning to spread through agencies
In a memo to chief human capital officers, OPM Director John Berry detailed last month’s executive order on the consolidation of student and recent graduate programs into a new Pathways Programs framework.
Digital Government
Feds have mixed view of security, survey finds
A recent survey found federal executives generally take good security precautions on the job, even when working remotely, but have a mixture of opinions on the need to strengthen measures for remote workers.
People
Agency performance reform becomes law
President Barack Obama has signed into law a bipartisan bill intended to streamline federal agency performance by strengthening coordination governmentwide and reducing duplicative agency programs.
Cybersecurity
OMB says post-WikiLeaks assessments due Jan. 28
White House and national security officials want federal agencies to complete their post-WikiLeaks assessments of how they are handling classified information by Jan. 28.
People
Pay freeze won't stop all increases
The two year federal employee pay freeze won't affect several kinds of pay increases, the Office of Personnel Management says.
People
Fed employee pay freeze becomes law
A new law funds the government through March and freezes civilian federal employees' pay for the next two fiscal years.
People
White House steps up federal recruiting efforts
The Obama administration will start programs to establish clear paths for the recruitment and hiring of students and recent graduates for entry-level federal jobs.
Digital Government
Dodaro is new comptroller general
Gene Dodaro was sworn in Dec. 30 as the comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office.
People
Obama issues pay freeze order
President Barack Obama issued an executive order late Dec. 22 to carry out the two-year federal employee pay freeze that was signed into law that day.
Digital Government
White House deputy CTO leaves, will target state and local collaboration
Andrew McLaughlin is resigning from his job as deputy White House chief technology officer to start two companies, one of them to develop collaboration tools for state and local governments.
Digital Government
Air Force blocks sites that provide WikiLeaks information
The Air Force blocks its personnel from accessing media sites publishing WikiLeaks material.
People
Public experts could become on-demand resources
GSA wants feedback on ExpertNet, a draft concept for soliciting and collecting advice on specific topics from experts in the public.
Digital Government
No, not death panel … DEBT panel
Well, it doesn’t look like the president’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility ventured too far from the recommendations released last month by the two chairmen of the panel.
Digital Government