Jason Miller covers civilian agencies in the federal government with a focus on technology and acquisition. He is also an executive editor at Federal News Radio. Jason's reports can be heard Monday - Friday on the Federal Drive and In Depth.

Interior email contract saga ends with Onix, Google winning

The agency announced it awarded Onix, the company which protested the 2010 contract, a $35 million deal to provide email-as-a-service to 92,000 employees. Under the terms of the deal, Onix must fully migrate Interior employees to the cloud by December.

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NIST altering view of technology to focus on customers

CIO Del Brockett said he's taking a two-pronged approach to provide better service to employees and the public. He said innovation through pilots with the labs show the value of emerging technologies.
April 26, 2012

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White House team tackles identity management in the cloud

A working group is developing common requirements for a federated cloud identity management shared service. NIH already showed how this could be done with its iTrust tools. The tiger team is expected to issue the common standards in the next few months.

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Performance improvement has 'turned the corner' in government

Shelley Metzenbaum said agencies are doing a better job in setting outcome-based goals and using data to measure their progress. OPM is finalizing guidance and training to use the competence models for performance improvement positions. Treasury and DHS are setting their own path to using data to meet their mission goals.

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House to add small business flavor to DoD authorization bill

The committee will focus on making it easier for small firms to do business with the Pentagon. The military missed three of five small business goals in 2010. The Panel on Business Challenges in the Defense Industry made several recommendations to improve the success of small firms that want to do business with DoD.

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The silver lining in the GSA scandal

Experts say all the focus on Capitol Hill and within agencies will lead to better management and give more respect to whistleblowers. Carolyn Lerner, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, said the attention on the misdeeds of the Public Buildings Service would bolster the need for stronger ethics and integrity.

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GSA cancels one of Oracle's IT schedule contracts

The software company received more than $357 million in sales from its schedule contract in 2011. GSA's decision affects Oracle's professional services offerings under the IT Schedule 70 Program.

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Sen. Brown wants the NOAA chief fired for agency misconduct

The Massachusetts Republican said in a letter to the President that the misconduct and violations at NOAA are much worse than those at GSA. He said the IG found unethical behavior and broken procurement rules.

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EXCLUSIVE: Energy CIO Locatis heads to DHS

Mike Locatis will become the new assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate. He replaces Greg Schaffer who left in March.

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Analysis: GSA's scandal pales in comparison to historical misdeeds

From Darleen Druyun to Jack Abramoff to wartime contracting, history shows the Public Buildings Service's lavish spending is small potatoes. Experts say the energy and time Congress has put into hearing on the GSA conference near Las Vegas could be better used to address bigger, most costly problems.

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McCaskill bill would add new rules for agency conferences

The Accountability in Government Act would require agency leaders to sign off on any conference costing more than $200,000.

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Online tool lets VA employees conceive career paths

John Sepulveda, the Veterans Affairs Department assistant secretary for human resources and administration, said the portal lets employees assess their skill gaps and create a plan to move up the career ladder. HUD and DLA also have initiatives to create high performing employees and organizations.

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GSA officials face tough questions, more investigations underway

Inspector General Brian Miller testified Monday that GSA's Region 9 remains under further investigation for potential bribery and kickbacks. Martha Johnson, the former chief of the General Services Administration, was hammered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee over what she knew about a 2010 Las Vegas conference and when she knew it. Johnson resigned her post after an inspector general report detailed excessive spending at the $822,000 event.

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Former GSA officials to appear before House committee, but not expected to say much

Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenas Jeff Neely, PBS region 9 commissioner, to appear. Along with Neely, PBS Deputy Commissioner David Foley and former Administrator Martha Johnson are on the witness list. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also is expected to hear from GSA Deputy Administrator Susan Brita, CFO Alison Doone and event planner Lisa Daniels.

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Agencies see potential of putting HR systems in cloud

VA will award a contract for human resources services to a private sector cloud provider later this year. GSA still is in the planning stages, while the Coast Guard is refreshing its HR system that has been in a private cloud since 2003. OMB listed HR systems as a possible function to move to a shared service provider in 2012.

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Agencies feel strain of balancing mobility, security

The Army and DISA will release a broad agency announcement this summer seeking third party software to secure smartphones and tablet computers. The Marine Corps is looking at host of different possibilities to secure mobile devices, including a process to verify the software code in apps.

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GSA presses employees for vigilance against waste, fraud, abuse

In a letter to employees, Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini and IG Brian Miller asked employees to be more vigilant to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. They said one of the most troubling aspects of the PBS conference incident was no one reported it or took action to stop it.

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Lawmakers model latest cyber bill after DoD information sharing pilot

Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) introduced legislation to make sharing of classified cyber threat information easier between the government and the private sector. The bill builds on DoD's Defense Industrial Base pilot to share data about vulnerabilities. DoD plans to expand the DIB pilot to more than 200 companies in the coming year.

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Agencies lay out plans for Open Gov 2.0

Every agency issued updated open government plans, updating progress and detailing new initiatives for the next two years. NASA will change the way it designs and builds its websites. SSA will focus on health IT and putting services online.

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DoD to use iris scans, fingerprints for building security

The Mark Center soon will require employees to provide a fingerprint or iris scan along with the CAC card to enter the facility. The Pentagon is next to implement biometric factors for physical access control. The Army also is looking at where biometrics could impact mission and business functions.

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