Information technology played a vital role in the Defense Department’s immediate response to the Japanese tsunami this spring. DoD military services relied heavily on data, video and voice technology to quickly exchange information with the Japanese about available fuel, food, water and radiological activity at the disaster cite. Without the proper IT in place, including a functioning network, it would have been impossible for the commander to do his job, whether disaster relief or humanitarian efforts, said United States Navy Capt. Craig Goodman, who is stationed at Yokota Air Base in Japan. The technology provided a common operational picture of…
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Despite the five-month freeze on mail processing plant closings announced this week, the U.S. Postal Service is pursuing the change in first-class mail delivery standards tied to that proposed downsizing. That planned change would slacken the existing delivery benchmark–now one to three days–to two to three days. As part of the the same initiative, the Postal Service wants to close more than half of its 461 processing facilities, with the goal of running the remaining plants more efficiently under the new standard. In a Federal Register notice published today, the mail carrier acknowledges that eliminating the overnight delivery standard for…
So, how big a deal is the U.S. Postal Service’s freeze on closings of post offices and mail processing plants? Less than you might think, perhaps. No doubt, today’s abruptly announced moratorium was made under mounting political pressure from Capitol Hill Democrats. “Cave-in” was how Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., described it in a news release. But the long-term consequences for the Postal Service’s downsizing plans won’t necessarily be that pronounced. Last week, for example, a USPS spokeswoman told Federal Times that processing plant closings would start in April at the earliest. The five-month freeze would push…
A cap on how much contractors can charge the government for their top execs would be extended to all defense contract employees as part of the agreement reached by House and Senate leaders for the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Currently, contractors can seek reimbursement for the compensation — wages, salary, bonuses and deferred compensation — of each of the company’s top five executives. Legislation now proposed for the 2012 NDAA would extend that cap, which is now at $693,951, to all employees that work on a contract or are included in the overhead costs of a contract. The Defense Department could…
If nothing else, the U.S. Postal Service is successfully drawing Congress’ attention to its financial plight–just not in the way that USPS leaders might prefer. The latest evidence: 20 senators today called for a six-month freeze on any closings of rural post offices or mail processing facilities. “While some of these changes may be needed, we believe that it is very important to give Congress the opportunity to reform the Postal Service in a way that protects universal service while ensuring its financial viability for decades to come,” the group wrote in a joint letter to Senate leaders. They are…
The U.S. Postal Service and two of its major unions will stay at the bargaining table for at least another week-and-a-half, all sides said today in separate news releases. An earlier extension of contract negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union was on track to expire today; that deadline is now midnight, Dec. 16. “We have been working in good faith to hammer out a new contract and we hope that this extension will lead to an agreement that our members can enthusiastically ratify,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. Previous contracts for both…
Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel is expected to make an announcement on Thursday detailing the administration’s long-awaited Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (Fedramp). VanRoekel will be joined by Dave McClure of the General Services Administration, Department of Homeland Security CIO Richard Spires and Charles Romine of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of Management and Budget said in a news release. They will provide an update about efforts to reform federal information technology and details about how Fedramp will allow the government to more easily purchase and use cloud technologies. The goal of Fedramp is to…
Farewell, first-class mail. The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t say it quite that bluntly, of course, but that’s the theme of a regulatory filing released this afternoon. By itself, the filing isn’t all that significant–simply a request for the Postal Regulatory Commission to render a legally required advisory opinion. It stands out, though, as a distillation of what USPS leaders have been saying for much of this year: Its most profitable line of business is melting away with no visible hope of return. “Unfortunately, the Postal Service does not expect first-class mail volume to reverse its decline in the foreseeable future,” USPS lawyers wrote. “While an economic…
John Farenish, former Defense Contract Audit Agency general counsel, has joined the Venable law firm’s government contracts group in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Friday. Farenish spent the last 13 years at DCAA, which audits the financial records of government contractors, litigates cases involving contractors and is also responsible for suspension and debarment proceedings against contractors. Prior to DCAA, Farenish served as counsel in the Navy’s Procurement Integrity Office, held criminal investigations posts for the Defense Department Inspector General and Army Criminal Investigation Command, and prosecuted cases during active duty with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps. “Our contractor clients will benefit…
Another day, another dashboard. One of the Obama administration’s hallmarks has been its fondness for such online tracking tools and a new one debuted this week to follow the status of major highway, housing and other “high priority infrastructure projects.” The site allows visitors to see where such projects stand in regard to federal permitting and environmental reviews. It follows a call from Obama this summer for agencies to handle those reviews more efficiently in the interest of putting people back to work. The site currently list 14 projects, ranging from a New York bridge replacement to the removal of…