Every so often there are petitions on the “We the People” section of Whitehouse.gov that deserve some attention, for good or for bad. Since 2011, people have been submitting their petitions, hoping to get the 100,000 required to get an official response from the administration. Here are a few petitions you all might be interested in: More than 37,000 people have signed a petition asking President Obama to award former (and legendary) baseball player Yogi Berra the Presidential Medal of freedom. The creator, C.S. from Colts Neck, N.J., cited Berra’s military service and continued support for the armed services. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/award-yogi-berra-presidential-medal-freedom-his-military-service-and-civil-rights-and-educational-activism…
The NFL announced April 28 that it would waive its tax exempt status for fiscal 2015 – and the members of Congress overseeing the league couldn’t be happier. Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a statement they were “extremely pleased” with the decision. “Congress has tried to tackle this issue before, but we made it one of our Committee’s priorities this year. It is rewarding to see such an important and positive step toward restoring basic fairness,” they said in a joint statement.…
I’d like to talk to just the children for a minute, ok? Are all the adults gone? It’s just us? Good. Now children, is your mom a federal employee? Is she a darn good one? The Harris Federal Law Firm invites children 12 and under to submit a video of about 30 seconds explaining why their mom is a “federal hero.” The videos have to be uploaded by April 24. People can then vote on their favorites. The mom who is the subject of the video with the most votes will win a $1,000 Amazon gift card, while two runners-up…
Last week Indiana passed a law that supporters say would prevent state and local governments from interfering in someone’s religion, while opponents say it would give private businesses a blank check to discriminate against LGBT people. Well, either way, you probably heard about it. Now, the American Federation of Government Employees has formed an opinion on the new law, denouncing it as an open door to state-sponsored discrimination. “Allowing businesses to discriminate against members of the LGBT community or anyone else is wrong, regardless of the reason. Our nation repudiated legal discrimination more than 50 years ago, and we’re not…
As the debate over funding DHS continues to drag on, former secretaries are starting to get in on the fight. Former DHS chiefs Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano are all pushing Congress to fund the agency through the end of the fiscal year. Here is Napolitano’s full statement below: During my more than five years as Secretary of Homeland Security, I saw firsthand the dedication and commitment of those who serve on the frontlines across the country, from the Border Patrol Agent in the Rio Grande Valley to the Transportation Security Officer at LaGuardia. In that time, we…
OASIS: A new era in professional services and IT procurement In September the General Services Administration declared its One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) multiple-award contract program “open for business.” OASIS and OASIS Small Business (OASIS SB), a small-business set-aside contract, are hybrid, governmentwide acquisition vehicles that offer an integrated approach to address both commercial and noncommercial requirements for professional services. Attend this webcast on Jan. 27 and hear directly from Jim Ghiloni on how OASIS will serve a critical role in federal procurement. http://bit.ly/1wUY9KM
John Hamilton is joining the FedRAMP Program Management Office as the new program manager for operations. Before coming to the public sector, Hamilton worked at Accenture and Booz Allen Hamilton and contributed to cybersecurity projects at the Department of Labor and Department of Defense. In the new role, Hamilton will focus on the future of FedRAMP and improving the program’s workflow processes, according to the January newsletter. John will oversee much of the development work of the FedRAMP PMO and facilitate full implementation of the FedRAMP Forward plan released in December. He’ll also work with [PM for Cybersecurity] Claudio [Belloli]…
Every so often the satirical website The Onion trains its eyes on a federal agency. This time, the target of hits humor is the Postal Service, and its tradition of creating and selling themed, specialty stamps honoring certain people, events or places. WASHINGTON—In an effort to highlight their longstanding contributions and loyalty to the agency, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new line of commemorative stamps Wednesday honoring those Americans who still use the U.S. Postal Service. “Our latest series of Forever stamps recognizes the remaining citizens who continue to support the USPS by physically sending their bills, rent checks,…
Federal agencies will no longer be able to forfeit items seized by state and local law enforcement agencies except under narrow exceptions, Attorney General Eric Holder said in an order Jan. 16. Under a number of programs and authorities, state, local and federal authorities can seize assets from people if the items are connected with a crime – and those items can then be sold or forfeited. The order – which takes effect immediately – applies to all local and state seizures of vehicles, valuables and cash and makes exceptions only for items such as ammunition, firearms, explosives and other public…
When Congress decides to create a compromise bill for sweeping legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act, it stands to reason that some items will be left on the cutting room floor. But apparently a proclamation calling for a moment of silence for veterans on Veterans Day did not make it in to the final version of the bill, which passed the House Dec.4. The original version of the bill that the House passed May required the president to issue a proclamation each year calling for two minutes of silence on Veterans Day. The Senate version of the NDAA did not…