The White House isn’t letting the two-year anniversary of the Open Government National Action Plan pass unnoticed. It is preparing for version 2.0 of the plan, and it is looking for input from agencies and citizens.

Philip Rosenfelt, the acting general counsel for the Education Department, is known as the mastermind of federal education funding. He helped orchestrate disaster response for schools in the path of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. And now he’s a finalist for a Service to America Medal in the Career Achievement Category.

Related Story: Partnership honors protector of student, teachers’ rights

To view a gallery of Sammies nominees, click here.

Your agency has five open data requirements to nail down by Nov. 1. New guidance from Project Open Data will help you do just that.

The Navy is investing more than $43 billion in a new class of aircraft carriers designed to run with smaller crews and increased capabilities. The first of the new line named after former President Gerald Ford is under construction and the Government Accountability Office is checking to see if the Navy’s acquisition strategies make sense.

The State Department is renewing its lease in Rosslyn, Va., after the General Services Administration couldn’t find anyplace else to go. GSA says no one else responded to a solicitation for the space a year and a half ago. Art Turowski is senior vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle and GSA’s former director of real estate.

Congress is back at work today after the summer recess. Most of the talk on Capitol Hill revolves around Syria. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee. In our Congressional Spotlight, he says Syria is important, but Congress has a lot of other important things to pay attention to.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy wants to make civilian agency workforce training plug-and-play. OFPP is mandating the use of the Federal Acquisition Institute Training Application System to standardize and streamline courses and certification tracking. Joe Jordan is the administrator of OFPP. He tells executive editor Jason Miller about the new committee to oversee many of these efforts.