Reporters’ Roundup: nationwide broadband on the way, GAO exposes contracting excesses

These are the stories Federal News Radio reporters are working on today.

• Just because yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9-11 doesn’t mean people can just stop thinking and talking about their memories from that day. Federal News Radio Senior Correspondent Mike Causey is writing about some of them in his column today.
• The September 11 attacks were the first in a decade of challenging disasters for the Department of Health and Human Services’ preparedness and response team that coordinates emergency health workers. Federal News Radio’s Emily Kopp has the story.
• The Government Accountability Office exposes a dirty secret among agencies running government-wide multiple award contracts – profit. Four of six agencies report excess revenues between 2007 and 2010. The General Services Administration’s schedules program saw excess revenues – or profit as the private sector calls it – of 62 million dollars a year. Jason Miller, Federal News Radio’s Executive Editor, has reviewed the report and the numbers.
• Despite the urgings of the 9/11 commission and others, the United States still does not have a nationwide, interoperable communications network for first responders. But the National Institute of Standards and Technology is laying the foundation for what a future broadband public safety network would look like, and in a notice the agency sent out today, they’re looking for ideas from industry, academia and first responders. Dereck Orr is the program manager for NIST’s public safety communications research program. He talked with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu about what they hope to learn…and what NIST is already doing.

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