Cybersecurity

DHS official under investigation for visa aid

Alejandro Mayorkas under scrutiny for allegedly helping a Chinese investor get a visa at contractor's behest.

People

GAO questions Air Force budget shuffling

Air Force funding maneuvers that saved some employees from furloughs and other fiscal stresses may have a hard time expanding as auditors want to see more proof of its effectiveness.

Cybersecurity

TSA set to expand pre-check, biometrics

The Transportation Security Agency plans to dramatically expand its pre-screened passenger security program in the coming months, throwing open online enrollment and expanding the number of airports where travelers can go to provide biometric data.

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers push for smarter acquisition at TSA

'We don't have to look far to know the process is broken,' one House critic declares.

Acquisition

Bill would limit reverse auctions

Despite GSA's empbrace of the procurement technique, some lawmakers seek to restrict its use.

Acquisition

Multiprong support comes for strategic sourcing

Legislation and a new GSA contract could bolster practices intended to amplify federal buying power.

Acquisition

A show of support for strategic sourcing

Legislation to expand bulk buying expected on July 18, as FAS commissioner touts savings to date.

Acquisition

Some senators skeptical about strategic sourcing

Can GSA's bulk-buying strategy really save the big dollars its supporters promise?

People

Sisk becomes FAS head

Career GSA official had been in acting role since November.

Digital Government

NIST delivers long-sought standards for iris recognition

New guidelines for identity verification also cover on-card fingerprint recognition.

People

Industry nervous about SUSPEND Act

Bill to centralize the process for suspending or debarring contractors unneeded, could create new problems, critics warn.

Acquisition

Aiding small biz in the GWAC age

Conference speakers outline the challenges, solutions for small firms in the federal contracting market as budgets shrink and projects grow more complex.

People

The magic of acquisition

Acquisition leaders talk innovation, the role of the CIO, budget cuts and staff crunches at 'MAGIC.'

Acquisition

Contractor compensation: Just a giveaway?

A reader argues that contractor compensation should be done away with.

Cybersecurity

Agencies prepare new acquisitions

An online storefront for one agency, a re-competed IDIQ for another, will bring some new technology into the government.

Acquisition

Report tracks 'tail spend'

A new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government provides what it calls the first quantitative analysis of the federal government’s mostly overlooked "tail spend," which drains billions of dollars in a jumble of ill-defined products and services.

Digital Government

Tangherlini touts GSA's ability to boost efficiency

In a blog post, the newly-confirmed administrator says president's push for better management means new opportunities to help other agencies.

Acquisition

Deconstructing the contractor compensation debate

Agencies have been reimbursing companies for executive compensation since the Clinton administration. What started as an effort to persuade contractors to stick with the federal market during a time of private-sector economic boom has continued and the cap on the amount paid has risen inexorably, leading to an increasingly loud clamor for reform.

Digital Government

NASA turns off GALEX space telescope

Launched in 2003, the telescope was part of an effort to learn more about the evolution of the universe.