Digital Government
Verisign gets extension on .gov duties
GSA extended Verisign as the .gov top-level domain registrar for a year while it mulls how to bid out the work.
Digital Government
ONC launches tool for electronic health record research
The HHS unit tasked with advancing health IT is behind and effort to coordinate conversation and research around electronic health record interoperability.
People
Senator blocks vote on Cobert's OPM nomination
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is blocking Beth Cobert's nomination to lead the Office of Personnel Management because of unanswered questions about how Congress is covered by the Affordable Care Act.
Digital Government
High-level management failures doomed HealthCare.gov
A comprehensive inspector general report blames high-level government mismanagement for the failed launch of HealthCare.gov.
People
A new job for Darren Ash
Darren Ash, the longtime CIO of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is departing for the top tech job at the USDA's Farm Service Bureau.
Cybersecurity
New bill seeks to preempt state encryption rules
Two lawmakers want to head off efforts by states to write their own rules when it comes to encryption and law enforcement.
Cybersecurity
Obama bemoans obsolete tech in budget request
The president put the federal government's portfolio of aging IT systems front and center in his final budget request to Congress.
Digital Government
Four vendors lose appeals in $50M DOD health record follow-on
IBM, CSC, Amazon and General Dynamics failed to block a bid to sole-source data-hosting duties in the Pentagon's $4.3 billion electronic health record procurement.
People
Soltani exits White House after clearance denial
Ashkan Soltani is stepping down from his post as senior adviser to White House CTO Megan Smith after failing to obtain a security clearance.
People
Will 2016 be the year the government gets email under control?
Agencies have until the end of 2016 to manage email records in electronic format, and early reports suggest that success may be possible.
Modernization
Coming in 2016: Cloud legislation
The New Year will bring a bill designed to streamline the way agencies fund, acquire and approve the move to cloud computing.
People
VA hires second-ranking IT official
Ron Thompson, a senior IT official at the Department of Health and Human Services, is getting the number two post at the Office of Information and Technology at Veterans Affairs.
Digital Government
Congress grants the National Labs a FITARA exemption in omnibus
The $1.1 trillion spending bill includes a FITARA carve-out for the National Labs, some key appropriations for IT improvements and cybersecurity, and lumps of coal for a few problematic programs.
Modernization
Clapper memo outlines ICITE architecture
A document release reveals more details on the cloud-based Intelligence Community Information Technology Enterprise.
Digital Government
A-130 feedback urges more emphasis on commercial cloud in IT policy revisions
The long-awaited revisions to the federal government's key IT policy document don't include enough emphasis on commercial cloud, according to industry commentators.
Cybersecurity
Can Tony Scott get it all done?
The U.S. CIO has made a mantra of "land the planes" and pushed notable improvements in his first nine months. But the to-do list for 2016 is long indeed.
People
Groups want OMB to reconsider info policy revisions
A collection of public interest groups wants to preserve sections on the importance of public information in the key A-130 information policy document.
Digital Government
Pentagon and VA set to certify on health record interoperability
The 2014 defense bill required the VA and the Pentagon to get their acts together on sharing health data. The agencies' two giant health systems are about to certify that they have complied.
Digital Government
VA watchdog-in-waiting promises more whistleblower protections
The Inspector General nominee at the Department of Veterans Affairs told a Senate panel he could institute reform in the short time he'll have on the job.
Cybersecurity