White House manufacturing czar Ron Bloom will be stepping down from his position, the administration announced Tuesday. Bloom spent the past two and a half years advising President Barack Obama on manufacturing policy. Recently, Bloom helped broker an agreement between the federal government and leading automakers to raise fuel economy standards to 54.5 miles per [...]
The State Department has developed a system for identifying and prioritizing information security risks but it does not paint a complete picture, a Government Accountability Office report said. The department developed iPost, a program providing continuous monitoring capabilities of information security risk. The department also developed a scoring system for iPost. GAO said the State [...]
The Social Security Administration needs a strong long-term plan for online customer self-services, the agency’s inspector general said. InformationWeek reports the SSA currently offers 21 citizen-to-government services via the Internet as part of its shift to the Web. In a report released July 29, the IG said customers filed 37% of retirement claims and 27% [...]
NASA has the edge over other federal agencies in encouraging innovation, says a report from the Partnership for Public Service. Government Executive reports the results came from the Office of Personnel Management’s annual survey of federal employee attitudes. OPM surveyed 260,000 workers from 32 large agencies in 2010. Respondents were asked if they constantly looked [...]
Congress starts its official August recess this week, but has a full slate of technology issues to deal with when it reconvenes after Labor Day. National Journal reports the main issue is legislation that would free up more spectrum to create a national public-safety broadband network that would improve communication between first responders. Senate Commerce [...]
The Defense Department announced Tuesday it has appointed Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Colt to lead the investigation into the Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed 30 U.S. soldiers and 8 Afghan soldiers. Colt, deputy commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, will start his duties immediately. Reuters reports the troops, from a NATO-led coalition, [...]
The famous House Page Program, where teenagers served as paid messengers on Capitol Hill for more than 200 years, is coming to an end. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the end of the program Monday, citing advanced technology that has reduced the need for messengers and the high [...]
The partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration ended last week, but the dispute that precipitated it is carrying on and could continue past the deadline. The Hill reports the temporary extension Congress passed to re-open FAA only funds the agency through Sept. 16. The House and Senate disagree on the length of a long-term [...]
The amount of space the federal government leases should be reduced, but the current lease-scoring system hinders such efforts, a Government Accountability Office report says. The Washington Business Journal reports a Senate subcommittee met Thursday to discuss the findings with GAO officials. The 1990 Budget Enforcement Act requires agencies to record the total acquisition price [...]
The Energy Department on Thursday relaunched its website as part of its comprehensive website reform. The new website was created through a complete overhaul of its front-end and back-end design. It now includes localized information, visualized information, interactive charts and interactive maps. “This next phase is part of our ongoing commitment to empower consumers and [...]