The nation’s first federal chief information officer has transitioned to the private sector. Vivek Kundra has joined cloud provider salesforce.com as its executive vice president of emerging markets, the company announced Monday. Kundra will be responsible for raising awareness and adoption of cloud computing and work out of the company’s Herdon,Va., office. “Salesforce.com is an industry disruptor, helping organizations use the transformative power of technology for change,” Kundra said in the news release. “I am excited to join the most innovative company in the world that is pioneering social, mobile and open cloud computing technologies for the enterprise.” Last August, Kundra…
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Here is why President Obama’s plan to reorganize and streamline government doesn’t stand much of a chance in Congress: rice bowls. In this case: USTR. Just about every state in the Union has a deep vested interest in international trade and in the outcome of trade disputes. That’s why, as a legislator, it is about as plum as it gets if you sit on one of the committees that calls the shots at the obscure little agency across the street from the White House called the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). That little office sets and promotes U.S.…
A number of federal agencies are in the app-development business: NASA, Transportation Security Administration and Veterans Affairs Department to name a few. But mobile app development governmentwide is dispersed and done in silos, federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said from the CES Government conference inLas Vegas. Each agency and bureau identifies problems and creates solutions that are independent of each other. A federal mobile strategy due in March will address the government’s role in app development, VanRoekel said. Meantime, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, specifically the National Weather Service, officials are creating a draft policy about the…
Because we enjoyed it so much last year . . . . AP is reporting: Obama asks Congress for $1.2 trillion increase in the nation’s debt limit
As we all know, the Postal Service is responsible for delivering mail across the entire country. And its probably safe to assume that the invention of cars helped make that process quite a bit easier. But just in case you wanted a visual, here you go: From the Smithsonian: Dog sleds transported mail in some areas of the northern U.S. and the Alaskan Territory during winter months. Contract carriers used these sleds across Alaska from the late 19th century into the early 1920s. Isolated for much of the year, remote populations sometimes relied on dog sleds for contact with the…
Federal employees have taken a lot of heat over the last few years. They are called overpaid and underworked. The fight over their pay and benefits has been well documented. But some famous people have had not so famous careers within the federal government. Here are a few. 4. Abraham Lincoln Yes, yes, I know he was a member of Congress and one of our most famous presidents. But did you also know he was the Postmaster in New Salem, Ill, for almost three years? He became postmaster on May 7, 1833 and lost the position when the post office…
It’s that time of year again. Starting today, the Partnership for Public Service is accepting nominations through Jan. 18 for the annual public service awards, known as the Sammies. The awards recognize civilian federal employees who have shown commitment to service and have made significant contributions in their fields. Call to Service and Career Achievement are among the eight nomination categories. Last year’s winners included two National Institutes of Health scientists whose research led to new cervical cancer vaccines, and an IRS employee, who developed the eFile system that drastically reduced the time it takes to provide tax refunds.
#3 Job Title: Criminal Investigator Agency: National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives contains billions of documents and items that make up our nations cultural and political heritage. Presidential letters, military documents and even secret stuff regular folk like us cannot see (except perhaps Nicholas Cage). And sometimes people take documents from those archives and try to sell them. The investigators comb the Internet, follow up on tips and travel to places such as Gettysburg, Pa., to look for documents, gather tips and educate traders at antique shows. Civil War documents are a ripe area for people trying to…
The General Services Administration has recovered a 1936 sculpture of Honest Abe’s head, according to a press release. Artist A. William Mues originally created the sculpture as part of the Works Progress Administration for the government during the Great Depression. But the sculpture turned up at a New Jersey estate auction in November and identified by a GSA inspector general agent. After reviewing documents from the National Archives and confirming its origins, the sculpture was returned to GSA. The sculpture is valued at $2,600.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board meeting: -The number of participants with no contributions to their TSP accounts increased by about 3,000 last month, compared with a 25,000 increase on October. The number of active FERS employees contributing to the Thrift Savings Plan decreased by about 5,000 in November. -Renee Wilder, the board’s director of research and strategic planning said an increase in separations, financial hardship withdrawals and the fact that employees are hitting their contribution limits have contributed to a decrease in participation. Employees who take out a hardship withdrawal cannot contribute to their TSP accounts for 6 months. The…