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 delaying budget passback guidance, creating uncertainty
The White House typically gives agencies both funding and policy updates for the upcoming budget request by Thanksgiving. This year OMB decided to hold off on passback guidance because of the current fiscal negotiations with Congress. Several senior agency officials said this lag will compress the timeline to respond to the information and require them to prepare for something that may never happen.
OMB names finalists, opens voting for SAVE Award
The four ideas received the most votes over the last four months out of more than 10,000 ideas. This is the fourth year OMB has held the SAVE Awards. The winner presents their idea to President Obama and gets it included in the 2014 budget request.
OMB ratchets up accountability on high-priority goals
The administration updated Performance.gov with a variety of data to highlight progress against each agency's goals and the cross-agency goals. OMB's Shelley Metzenbaum said the depth of information now on the site puts pressure on agencies to meet or surpass their goals. Interior and Education provide examples of how the discipline that the high-priority goals demanded has positively impacted their agency.
Highest ranked agencies distinguished by strong leadership
NASA, the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation share a common trait that led them to the top ranking for their size class in the Partnership for Public Service's seventh annual Best Places to Work survey. Transportation, OMB and the National Credit Union Administration earn the most improved status by implementing the best practices of the leading agencies.
GOP decries looming 'regulatory cliff' in new term
While the "fiscal cliff" of looming tax increases and spending cuts dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" that they say could be just as damaging to the economy.
OMB increasing the tempo of strategic sourcing
A new memo from acting OMB Director Jeff Zients to agency leaders codifies an interagency council to oversee the promotion and implementation of bulk buying. Each agency also must name a senior official to oversee their efforts.
White House threatens to veto Senate Defense bill
The White House is threatening to veto the $631 billion annual Defense bill the Senate is debating this week unless Congress makes changes. The administration took issue with a number of provisions included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Bill, which Senate leaders hope to vote on by the end of the week.
Werfel: Gov't avoids $47B in overpayments
OMB Controller Danny Werfel announced Wednesday the federal government avoided paying out $47 billion in overpayments over the last three years. This missed President Barack Obama's goal of reducing improper payments by $50 billion by the end of FY2012.
Cyber experts envision updates for OMB's cyber rules
A group of former federal cybersecurity experts and professionals have made recommendations for improving federal cybersecurity guidance, such as the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-130.
Report: White House could blunt impact of sequestration - at least for a while
A new report from independent watchdog group OMB Watch suggests the White House has a few tools at its disposal to blunt the impact of the automatic, across-the-board cuts. The strategies include shifting funds around within agencies and the Office of Management and Budget and agencies, themselves, shifting funds and controlling the rate of federal spending, said Patrick Lester, the director of federal fiscal policy for OMB Watch.
Who will stay and who will go in Obama's second term?
President Barack Obama is gearing up for a second term in office, but some members of his Cabinet are on their way out, experts tell Federal News Radio. The legwork for these top- tier changes and others is already in motion behind-the-scenes.
Agencies initiate IT cut-and-invest strategy
Agencies have identified 98 opportunities where they can save real money by consolidating IT systems or by implementing better buying processes. In an exclusive interview, federal CIO Steven VanRoekel said most fall in the commodity IT areas of email, servers and other areas where agencies tend to spend a lot of money for IT.
House Republicans blast OIRA over late regulations report
The chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees have written to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) demanding to know why the public release of a report on upcoming federal regulations is behind schedule. In a letter to the agency, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairmen of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees, respectively, say OIRA has not been forthcoming about the expected publication date of a report that should have been released months ago.
Agencies to cut billions in commodity IT spending
The Office of Management and Budget said the PortfolioStat tool helped agencies find duplicative technology costs and opportunities to buy in bulk. Acting OMB Director Jeff Zients wrote in a blog post agencies listed 98 opportunities for savings.
Cyber progress fueled by agency brass recognition
Six years after the Veterans Affairs data breach, civilian agency networks and computers are more secure. Current and former federal officials and cyber experts say from secretaries on down, the threat of a cyber attack and the impact on mission is well understood.
Rewrite of cyber circular aims to 'break some china'
A group of experts released a white paper recommending changes to OMB Circular A-130. The suggestions center on continuous monitoring, the role of DHS in overseeing FISMA and the definitions of a major IT system and a national security system.
Top 10 cyber accomplishments since 2006
Federal News Radio polled current and former federal cybersecurity experts for their opinions on what were the most significant cybersecurity accomplishments since 2006 to secure federal networks and improve public- private partnerships. The accomplishments are in no particular order.
OMB to give CIOs IT hunting license through broadening of authorities
The administration wants chief information officers to take more control over spending on technology, especially in those areas in the "shadows." OMB acting Director Jeff Zients said the Interior Department's approach to giving its CIO control over almost all spending is a model for the rest of the government. Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel to release a report on expected savings from PortfolioStat in the coming months.
CFOs remain tepid on financial shared services
An exclusive Federal News Radio survey of federal CFOs and deputy CFOs finds 55 percent of the respondents rated spending money more wisely as their top priority. But at the same time, 36 percent rated moving to the Internet Payment Portal or other financial management shared services as their fourth highest priority. CFOs also say they are using data to make better decisions and budget reductions, not sequestration, is their biggest concern.
Industry seeks tweaks to DoD Better Buying Power
Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, is promising a Better Buying Power 2.0, an revision to earlier reforms. That's good news to many in the defense industry, who hope the changes provide more nuanced guidance — as opposed to strict blanket policies — to agency contracting officers. Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, In Depth with Francis Rosethe time is ripe for an update.
