Placing too many security restrictions on mobile devices can deter employees from teleworking and fully using laptops and Blackberries, said federal cybersecurity officials today. David Stender, assistant chief information officer for cybersecurity at the Internal Revenue Service, told FOSE convention attendees that restrictions can help protect your data but keep you from getting your money’s worth from mobile devices. IRS uses a series of protections, including HSPD-12 cards, to allow users to authenticate themselves and access the IRS’ network, but those protections come with a price, he said. They do decrease battery life, which is frustrating for officers and investigators…
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The House panel that oversees public buildings will convene tomorrow afternoon to examine whether the General Services Administration has enough money to properly manage and maintain federal buildings. The hearing, entitled “Capital Asset Crisis: Maintaining Federal Real Estate with the Dwindling Federal Building Fund,” follows up on a November interview I had with Bob Peck, commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service. In the interview, Peck acknowledged that GSA would be unable to pay for major building repairs or upgrades within six years because of shortfalls in the fund. A summary briefing on the hearing, issued today by the House panel, cites…
Not much news out of this morning’s confirmation hearing for Gen. Robert Harding, President Obama’s second nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, asked him whether he’d commit to pursuing collective bargaining rights for TSA employees. Harding said he hadn’t reached a decision, and said he would talk with “TSA employees and stakeholders” before deciding whether to press the issue. Obama’s first nominee, Erroll Southers, took a similar stance during his confirmation hearing in November, saying only that he would study the issue. But that noncommittal stance was enough to earn him a hold from…
Federal Times this week examines the growing concern in the ranks of federal employees over the rising anti-government rancor among many Americans. Some people say agencies need to better educate Americans on the many seen and unseen services the government performs to generate a better appreciation for all it does. Others say the animosity is the result of an increasingly bitter and polarizing national debate fanned by politicians and extreme partisans in the media. Still others say federal employees deserve criticism for being incapable of managing many programs that make effective and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. What do you…
If you haven’t seen it yet: We reported on Friday that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., proposed allowing the Postal Service to “pilot” 5-day mail delivery in a few areas around the country. Polls usually indicate that the public is okay with 5-day delivery; Durbin wants to see if those poll numbers hold up when the idea becomes a reality. One other item I wanted to highlight from that hearing (at which John Potter, the Postmaster General, was one of the witnesses). Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said several times that she’s worried 5-day delivery will reduce mail volume. At one point, she…
The General Services Administration is out to show that even a relatively new building can become more energy efficient. GSA is seeking a contractor to make a number of energy-savings improvements to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, which opened in 1997. GSA plans to install high-performance heating and air conditioning systems, tune up building system controls such as motors and sensors, and install more energy-efficient lighting. The GSA-owned facility already adheres to green building practices such as using sustainable landscaping, recycling, giving procurement preference to green products and encouraging employees to commute to work using public transportation or…
Last week, Jim Williams announced his plans to retire as head of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service on April 3. Today GSA Administrator Martha Johnson named his temporary replacement. Steve Kempf, the current deputy commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, will step into the leadership role in an acting capacity once Williams retires, Federal Times has learned. Kempf is an 18-year veteran of the Federal Acquisition Service, joining GSA in 1992. Before becoming deputy commissioner, Kempf was assistant commissioner for acquisition management and deputy assistant commissioner for integrated technology services.
Stephen Colbert has some fun with Census paranoia: [HTML1] This year’s Census strikes me as an odd — and as far as federal inquiries go, relatively benign — place to draw a line in the sand against the government. Census paranoia is nothing new, of course, but this decennial survey has the bad luck of falling in a year of lingering unemployment, economic troubles and widespread distrust of the government. At risk of playing amateur psychologist, it seems like a lot of people are displacing their anger onto something that’s really not that big of a deal.
It’s no April Fool’s Joke — Homeland Security Department’s undersecretary for management, Elaine Duke, will celebrate her last day at the agency April 1. Duke told the Federal Times that she has plenty of hobbies and interests to explore after devoting much of the past decade to DHS. She has served as undersecretary of management since August 2008 and has worked for the federal government for 28 years, much of it in contracting. I started with TSA in 2002, and work has really driven my time and energy. I’m looking forward to doing some discretionary things now.” Duke said she…
The New York Times posted a series of letters to the editor today offering suggestions as to how to solve the Postal Service’s financial crisis. The Postal Service wants to close some branches and end Saturday service, ideas that most members of Congress are reluctant to support. One reader, Jonathan Gyory of Winchester, Mass., suggested an intriguing solution: Rather than eliminate Saturday delivery, why not bite the bullet and reduce mail delivery to three days a week? Half of the postal routes would receive mail on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the other half on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each letter…