Department of Energy News 
Top News
- 5 percent of federal workers to be furloughed Friday
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Katherine Archuleta chosen as next OPM director
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of identity theft
- DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health record system
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Accountability breakdown leading factor in DoD sexual assaults
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal finalists
- Thursday federal headlines - May 23, 2013
IGs push for greater whistleblower protections for contractors
Whistleblowers at government contractors need better protections against reprisal and need to know how to contact agency inspectors general. Two IGs and a whistleblower awaiting trial were among the witnesses at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. It is considering legislation to extend federal whistleblower protections to all contractors, subcontractors and local governments receiving federal funds.
OPM highlights hiring reform best practices
Agencies are measuring their progress towards hiring reforms and implementing technology to track applications and identify bottlenecks. Those are some of the best practices shared in a memo from the Office of Personnel Management. Overall, it said, agencies are progressing toward the governmentwide goal of filling vacancies in 80 days or less.
FERC works on FISMA compliance
Sanjay Sardar, FERC's CIO, joined to discuss the agency's FISMA stance.
Obama commits to $2B in energy upgrades to federal buildings
Agencies must look for projects to enter into Energy Savings Performance Contracts over the next two years. The effort will cost the government no upfront money. The contractors pay for the energy efficiencies and get paid by the utility savings the department receives. The Army, the Air Force and GSA already are using these contracts.
Savannah River making up for lost IT time
Phil Cirrulli, the chief information officer for the managing and operations contractor for the site, is improving the national lab's infrastructure to support widespread wireless access. He also is shutting down legacy mainframe systems after implementing a new ERP system.
December 1, 2011
Obama fills key posts in State, Energy
President Obama said he intends to nominate key posts in the departments of State and Energy, according to a White House release.
Top GOP aide for House panel has ties to Solyndra
The top GOP aide to a House committee investigating Solyndra Inc. once worked for a lobbying firm that helped the now-bankrupt solar company apply for a half-billion-dollar federal loan.
Energy lab's move to Google apps allows flexibility, scalability
Brent Stacey is chief information officer and information management director at the Idaho National Lab.
Facing cuts, Energy IG recommends sweeping changes
Facing likely budget cuts, the Energy Department's inspector general, Gregory Friedman, has issued a slew of recommendations, including cutting redundant staff, appointing a BRAC-like commission to study the department's facilities and federalizing the contractors that secure those facilities.
Did White House consider ousting Chu at Energy?
Top officials at the White House circulated a plan calling for the ouster of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and other top Energy Department officials as the administration braced for a political storm brewing over the failing solar energy company Solyndra
With improved cybersecurity, Los Alamos moves to cloud, wireless
Tom Harper, the lab's CIO, said the national laboratory created an infrastructure-on-demand platform for easy provisioning of cloud services. He said Los Alamos also introduced WiFi earlier this year for access to its unclassified network.
New Energy program helps agencies meet efficiency goals
Tim Unruh, program manager at the Energy Department's Federal Energy Management Program, shared tips on how agencies can become more energy efficient.
Correction: Nuke Bomb-Disassembly story
In an Oct. 15 story about nuclear weapons, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II was 1.5 kilotons. It was 15 kilotons.
Energy hit with $2M bill after four cyber attacks
Recent cyber attacks have left the Energy Department with a $2 million bill.
Unisys wins Energy contract for cloud e-mail transition
The Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory awarded a contract to Unisys Corporation to transition 5,000 users to Google's cloud-based email.
GAO studies alternative uses for Yucca Mountain
Frank Rusco, the director of Natural Resources and Environment Issues at GAO, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Amy Morris to discuss a recent GAO report.
DoD almost ready to hand out $30M in clean energy grants
The Pentagon will soon announce winners of its latest round of grant funding to try out new energy technologies at its U.S. bases. The response from industry and other government agencies has been overwhelming, officials said.
Clean energy loan program director leaving Obama admin
The head of the Energy Department's embattled clean energy loan program is leaving in what officials called a planned departure.
Program Analysis and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Jay Hoffman is the Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Energy's Solar Decathlon features green homes
This might not be the best weekend for it weather-wise, but the Energy Department's solar decathlon is running on the Mall this weekend.
