The agency did not mention how the services would be paid for, but they did suggest a public funding for “Digital Literacy Corps.” This would be a program designed to teach computer-illiterate individuals how to use the Internet and PCs in general.

This is not an entirely new idea for the FCC. Back in 2008, the former FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, made a similar proposition. Martin suggested the winner of an airwaves auction to offer free wireless service to all Americans.

Obviously, Martin’s plans fell through. Will Genachowski follow through with the idea in the National Broadband Plan? We will find out in less than a week.

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“I feel like I have been incredibly blessed and fortunate to have been able to serve our great nation for over thirty years and do so with so many people around the world that I like and respect. I also believe our country’s future is bright because of the dedicated and fantastic people that I have had the opportunity to serve with and to have been part of teams of people, many still serving government, that work hard to deliver positive results for the American people, our military and law enforcement personnel, and all other parts of government,” Williams said.

Williams had served as FAS commissioner since 2006 and filled in as acting administrator of the GSA at the end of the George W. Bush administration.

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Lantier’s career at GSA’s Public Buildings Service spans over three decades. He also has 14 years of experience at the acquisition policy office. During the past two years, Lantier has been chief of staff at the policy office and, most recently, was assistant deputy associate administrator for acquisition.

For three years, Lantier was program manager of the Federal Procurement Data System—Next Generation program. Among his other jobs, he has worked on developing GSA regulations, especially for the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

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In order to be eligible for the five percent of contracting dollars available, a particular firm must be at least 51 percent owned by one or more women and primarily managed by one or more women who are U.S. Citizens.  The firm in question must meet SBA’s size standards for that industry.

The owners must also be able to prove to the SBA that they are “economically disadvantaged,” in accordance with SBA standards.

According to the SBA: “The proposed rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs, where the anticipated contract price does not exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts and $3 million in the case of other contracts. Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.”

Also there is a requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.

For more, click here

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In the SBA press release announcing the new rule, SBA Administrator Karen Mills said, “Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be underrepresented when it comes to federal contracting.”

The rule entails setting aside 5 percent of federal contracting dollars for women-owned small businesses. This new rule stems from the identification that women-owned small businesses are underrepresented in 83 industries.

The public is allowed to submit comments to the rule until May 3 of this year. Comments may be submitted to www.regulations.gov. For details regarding the new rule, click here.

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The survey, which used to be the “Federal Human Capital Survey,” is now called the “Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.” Many employees will take the survey online and the results will be compiled by the end of June. Some of the major goals of the surveys are to measure job satisfaction and how well agencies are doing to motivate, as well as manage their personnel.

In regards to the new survey, OPM Director John Berry said, “With the cooperation of those taking the survey, we will better able to gauge what is and isn’t working to create a workplace that attracts the best and brightest.”

OPM plans to administer the survey each year instead of every two years like it had done in the past. The agency will address new areas, such as employee engagement and work-life balance. The survey will be distributed through mid-March to more than half a million federal government employees.

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During her speech Johnson made some vows to the agency. According to Washington Technology, she said, “As I’ve been preparing to join GSA, I’ve been thinking hard about how GSA could extend itself, deepen out operational performance and also become better known for innovation and customer intimacy.”

Some of her top priorities are to help the sustainability of the environment but creating more environmentally friendly agencies through innovation, increasing transparency, and lastly, taking performance the highest level possible.

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These errors occur because the reporting process is rather complicated. It involved more than 90 different elements and many times the job totals are overstated. The most common mistake was the number of jobs that were created by the various stimulus projects.

Usually the recipients of stimulus dollars only have 20 days to correct any mistakes in the reports. However, now there is a new policy in place, which allows recipients to correct mistakes electronically at any time on FederalReporting.gov.

Recipients are making an overwhelming number of corrections to the reports. The Department of Transportation made the most number of changes. The Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Housing and Urban Development departments had the next highest number of changes.

The state that received the highest amount of stimulus dollars also had the most changes to their reports: California. New York was the most accurate state. The data will be continually updated to the most accurate information every two weeks until March 17^th, 2010.

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There is a mind frame that domestic and foreign affairs are separate, when in fact, there is a need for more international responsibility and interaction. Moreover, there is a “lack of government training programs and resources devoted to help fill the void, and a tendency not to deal with the issue until problems arise.”

One agency in particular they mentioned was the FDA, which was originally created in order to be a national regulatory agency because of the massive amounts of drug manufacturing abroad.

The United States is directly impacted by foreign nations and need to be more pro-active in dealing with them. It is not one agency in particular that needs the international collaboration. Energy, climate, healthy, cybersecurity, and anti-terrorism are just a few types of issues that could use international input.

How do we move towards more global engagement in federal agencies? GovernmentExecutive calls for training and career development programs, international leadership skill training, and “in today’s interconnected world, this will require building a new generation of workers and leaders with international experience, a global outlook and the skills to match.”

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The goal of this Commerce Department decision is to improve economic development in parts of rural Virginia. It will also boost education, such as the introduction to concepts such as distance learning, in more remote areas of the state.

The stimulus dollars will create jobs by the actual work of putting in the fibers and high speed Internet, but also by creating opportunities for future growth by allowing schools and business and homes have access to broadband.

The $21.5 million is composed of two different grants. One of the grants is $16 million awarded to the Mid-Atlanta Broadband Cooperative that will be an expansion of the existing broadband network in southern Virginia. Also, Virginia Tech Foundation Inc. received a $5.5 million grant.

Chopra stated that this is a celebration for those in Virginia. There is much long-term growth to be expected from this announcement.

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