OMB News 
Top News
- OMB reworking financial systems to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- OMB taps VanRoekel to lead management team
- Lew taps government retiree pension fund to avoid default
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown was leading factor in sexual assaults
- Former IRS commissioner faces questions about Tea Party
- SBA starting new lending program for veterans
- New Apple devices cleared to join DoD IT networks
- Army prioritizes access to data in fight over intelligence IT system
- DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
- Senior execs' bonuses under fire at agencies
- Gould moves the needle on many of VA's toughest challenges
- Tuesday federal headlines - May 21, 2013
OMB lays out 11 goals to give Section 508 some punch
Steven VanRoekel, the federal chief information officer, and Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan issued a memo detailing a new strategic plan after a recent Justice Department compliance survey found mixed results. This is the fourth memo since 2005 from the Office of Management and Budget trying to get agencies to meet the law's requirements. David Capozzi, executive director of the Access Board, said new 508 regulations could be to OMB for approval this spring.
Q & A with OMB's Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan, administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at OMB, joins host Roger Waldron to discuss a wide range of procurement issues.
January 29, 2013
VA moves mobile from concept to reality with veteran homelessness app
The Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development departments created a mobile app in two weeks to improve the process for counting homeless veterans. The successful development effort puts the notions detailed in the Digital Government Strategy into practice.
VanRoekel dismisses need for IT reform, calls for more flexibility
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held its first hearing on the steps needed to reform IT management across government. But federal CIO Steven VanRoekel said he has the authority needed to improve how agencies spend money on technology programs. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the committee's chairman, is developing legislation to update laws governing the management of IT.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 22, 2013
OPM's Angela Bailey discusses how agencies are struggling to fill critical skill gaps in the hard sciences. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo fills us in on what to expect with the new defense authorization law. Jacque Simon of AFGE says her union is frustrated with the lack of attention being paid to federal workers' concerns over sequestration. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service discusses possible changes agencies may face in President Obama's second term.
Patience running thin with White House open government efforts
The White House reaffirmed its commitment to an open and transparent government in President Barack Obama's second term. But government watchdog advocates say their frustration is growing with the slow and inconsistent progress agencies are making to make information more easily available.
Path to FDCCI Compliance
Agencies hope to consolidate 1200 data centers by the end of 2015. Consolidating data centers is more than moving hardware. It's an opportunity to modernize, reduce space requirements, improve performance, and cut energy consumption. The Path to FDCCI Compliance panel discusses technical, financial and operational challenges/successes with executives from NOAA, USDA, ThunderCat Technology and NetApp!
Unions frustrated by slow-roll of some labor-management forums
At the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations meeting, several employee representatives said the time has come for the committee to put more pressure on agencies to have more of the collaborative forums up and running well. During a time of budget reductions, possible furloughs and a government shutdown, the unions say the forums provide a way for agencies to better manage all of these fiscal challenges.
Agencies tackle cloud, mobile, big data convergence
OMB and NIST are seeking help from industry and academia on how to integrate cloud computing and the large amount of information that is created from mobile computing. The goal is not just to know what data agencies have, but the value the data brings. With all this focus on cloud and big data integration, could agencies be on the hook for a new "big data" strategy?
OMB tells agencies to 'intensify' sequestration planning
Agencies across government should intensify their planning for across-the-board sequestration cuts, according to a Jan. 14 memo to the heads of executive department and agencies from Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. The memo comes on the heels of similar guidance issued last week by the Defense Department. Meanwhile, the Navy warned of the threat of reduced funding from a short-term spending measure.
Inside the Reporter's Notebook: GSA FAS, shared services and DHS contract awards
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
Cloud is the next chapter in the government's identity management saga
The Postal Service issued a draft solicitation for the Federal Cloud Credential Exchange. The goal is to create a cloud-based service to perform identity authentication and verification. Agencies could plug into the service, integrating it with any application that adheres to the standards.
Warner seeks to 'clean house' on outdated agency reports
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he plans to introduce legislation allowing for the elimination or consolidation of outdated or redundant agency reports. Cutting back on unnecessary reporting requirements is part of the 2010 Government Performance and Results Modernization Act.
OMB proposes to eliminate, consolidate 376 reports
The White House submitted a report to Congress as part of the GPRA Modernization Act that details hundreds of unnecessary reports and studies. The report listed 70 DoD reports as well as the desire to streamline the report on duplicate reports.
White House to mandate machine-readable open data
The guidance is two months late, but OMB is expected to issue it in early 2013. Todd Park, the federal CTO, said the White House also is updating the Data.gov platform and expanding the approach to healthcare data to other sectors.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 3, 2013
John Kamensky from the IBM Center for The Business of Government talks about two decades of a results-oriented federal performance management system. Allan Holmes of Bloomberg Government discusses the top technology issues facing the government in 2013. Jeffrey Neal of ICF International sheds light on OPM's new guide to executive development. Jacque Simon of AFGE discusses legislation that could freeze federal pay to the end of the year.
Obama's 2nd inauguration to draw smaller crowds
Visitors coming to the nation's capital for President Barack Obama's second inauguration can't stay in the one place President Ronald Reagan's family once called an eight-star hotel. That spot is the White House, and it's booked for the next four years.
Mass transit idea wins SAVE award
The government will save money on mass transit for federal employees thanks to this year's SAVE award winner. Frederick Winter's idea to switch eligible feds from a regular transit fare to a reduced senior fare will lower the cost of those employees' travel by 50 percent.
OMB offers agencies sequestration guidance as deadline looms
The Obama administration offered agencies new guidance on sequestration, telling agency leaders and federal-employee unions that sequestration won't have an immediate impact on the federal workforce or government operations even if the automatic budget cuts go into effect Jan. 2.
New FAR rule would permanently require prompt payments to small subs
The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council's proposal would implement part of a July 2012 memo from the Office of Management and Budget. The memo directed agencies to take specific steps to ensure accelerated payments to small businesses.
