The administration’s top procurement policy official issued a memo Wednesday encouraging more constructive talks between government and industry, as part of a larger initiative to debunk myths about the acquisition process. In a 13-page memo to senior procurement executives and chief information and acquisition officers, Gordon stressed the importance of “early, frequent and constructive engagement with industry,” especially for high-risk procurements and large information technology projects. The government spends more than $500 billion on goods and services, and “our industry partners are often the best source” for the latest information on pricing and efficient technology, the memo said. Under the…
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When you’re an American institution saddled with a business model from the last century and hemorrhaging billions of dollars a year, it never hurts to get the high-altitude view of your challenges. That’s what the U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general aims to provide in a newly released report examining “fundamental questions” for the agency’s future. Those questions include whether the Postal Service ought to keep its letter and mailbox monopolies; whether it should be allowed to expand into non-postal lines of business; and whether it should be considered a profit-driven business or part of the national infrastructure. Particularly thought-provoking is…
The U.S. Postal Service has shelved a proposal that “would have expanded its ability to subcontract rural routes to contract delivery service,” according to an announcement this week by the National Rural Letters Carriers’ Association. The decision “came after extensive discussions” between the NRLCA and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, as well as other postal officials, according to the release on the union’s web site. “We have tabled the issue while we are in the process of resolving a labor contract,” Postal Service spokesman Mark Saunders said via email, when asked for confirmation of the union’s claim. Although Donahoe recently acknowledged…
Just as agencies are wrapping up security reviews launched after the latest WikiLeaks breach, a coalition of open government groups is warning of possible consequences for federal employee rights. Although improving safeguards for classified information is laudable, “we urge you not to craft policies that encourage agencies to unduly restrict free speech, or otherwise distract agencies from actually improving information security,” representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and eight other organizations wrote Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew in a letter dated Friday. Ordered by Lew early this month and due to be finished Jan. 28, the…
Consolidating data centers on the Department of Homeland Security’s St. Elizabeths campus won’t be a problem; there are none. There will, however, be a centralized location for servers in the campus’ information technology operations center, DHS official Mark Hamilton said during an industry day Thursday. Two off-campus data centers, DHS 1 and 2, will house the data. The General Services Administration hosted the event to field questions about the $2.63 billion contract to install, test and operate a secure network throughout the future DHS headquarters. Here are some other take-aways from the event: – Federal employees and contractors are really going to use HSPD12 identification cards to access…
So some of you readers might have seen a WUSA report in the D.C. area that took aim at federal workers leaving the lights on. Well, Andrea McCarren had noted that in many federal office buildings, the lights were being left on at night, which costs taxpayer dollars. So she filed a report on how much each agency pays in energy costs for each month and came away with some striking figures. The video package seems to have everything: Taxpayer dollars being wasted, federal employees behaving badly and federal agencies paying through the nose for electricity because they leave their…
Now here’s something you don’t hear every day from a leading organized labor figure: “We must shift the focus of the union away from acting as a grievance machine,” American Postal Workers Union President Cliff Guffey says today in a release on the organization’s web site. “Leaders at all levels of the organization must get more involved in legislative activities and other union efforts.” If labor-management relations at the U.S. Postal Service will likely never resemble a group hug, there’s an obvious reason for the APWU to re-prioritize: The world’s leading mail carrier is at risk of going broke and…
Back in July, the Office of Management and Budget announced that roughly $100 million had been allocated to 35 program evaluations and “evaluation capacity-building proposals” across the government. But allocated isn’t the same thing as appropriated. It turns out that agencies have yet to see a dime because Congress has yet to pass a fiscal 2011 budget. Instead, agencies are operating off a continuing resolution out that generally keeps spending frozen at 2010 levels. “We are very committed to evaluating what works and what doesn’t to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively, but these evaluations have not been funded yet…
“Since OPM refuses to exercise this authority, we urge you to use your authority as President to do so,” postal labor and management groups said in a letter to President Obama.
The Office of Personnel Management is conducting yet another workforce-related survey, this time with the CIO Council. Under the administration’s IT reform plan, OPM is taking the lead on creating a specialized career path for program managers. The survey, in part, will aid OPM in the process and provide strategies “to recruit, retain, develop, and manage a fully trained and qualified IT workforce,” according to information posted on CIO.gov. From Jan. 18 to Feb. 25, all federal civilian information technology workers will have access to the 2011 IT Workforce Capability Assessment via CIO.gov. Results will help agencies: – Identify the…