Congress

• Federal IT officials shirk responsibility for HealthCare.gov problems

  The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee pressed federal Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel, federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, Department of Health and Human Services CIO Frank Baitman and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deputy CIO Henry Chao to acknowledge the oversight failings, and for someone to declare they were in charge of the program.

  Congress

  November 14, 2013
• Lawmakers raise cybersecurity concerns about HealthCare.gov

  The troubled HealthCare.gov website has been the subject of at least one attempted but unsuccessful cyber attack, according to one of the of the Homeland Security Department's top cyber officials. Lawmakers at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing said the consolidation of personal information and the glitch-prone website are cause for concern.

  Congress

  November 13, 2013
• More oversight needed to achieve billions of dollars in IT savings

  The Government Accountability Office looked at two initiatives that are supposed to help get information technology spending under control. GAO found that both initiatives are coming up short.

  Federal Drive

  November 12, 2013
• White House considering options after Issa subpoenaes federal CTO Park

  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is compelling federal CTO Todd Park show up Wednesday for a hearing before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the IT oversight problems of the HealthCare.gov website.

  Congress

  November 11, 2013
• DoD finalizing major rewrite of acquisition guidance

  Reworked guidance is the first update to key Defense Department instruction since 2008. Internal attempt to streamline the system is leading department officials to seek legislative changes to make the military acquisition process less complex.

  Budget

  November 11, 2013
• Lawmakers question DHS’ awards under the EAGLE II contract

  Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, wrote a letter to DHS Chief Procurement Officer Nick Nayak earlier this week questioning the agency's entire solicitation process.

  Congress

  November 11, 2013
• Mikulski seeks two-year sequestration solution

  Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor this week calling on House-Senate budget negotiators to look at replacing the across-the-board sequestration cuts for at least two years.

  Budget

  November 08, 2013
• Fed groups: Pay and benefits should be off the table in budget talks

  A coalition of more than two dozen federal-employee unions and advocacy groups is calling on budget negotiators to come up with a way to undo the across-the-board sequestration budget cuts that are poised to slash agency spending by billions more this year. But following three years of a pay freeze and the recent 16-day government shutdown, the groups are equally adamant that changes to federal employees' pay and benefits should be off the table.

  Budget

  November 08, 2013
• Government shutdown cost feds 6.6 million days of work

  The 16-day government shutdown forced federal employees to miss millions of days of work, agencies to forego millions of dollars in revenue and programs to grind to a halt. In a new report, the Office of Management and Budget estimates that federal workers missed 6.6 million days of work and the shutdown cost more than $2.5 billion in pay and benefits for employees, most of whom didn't work.

  Budget

  November 07, 2013
• Budget experts blame lawmaker ‘disengagement’ as source of DoD turmoil

  Former top staffers say current members of Congress no longer have a stake in any particular appropriation or authorization bill making its way through the legislative gauntlet — one reason why DoD and the rest of government continue to stumble from one continuing resolution to the next.

  Budget

  November 07, 2013
• Disability claims backlog, EHR efforts top VA nominee’s priorities

  At his nomination hearing before a Senate committee Tuesday, President Barack Obama's pick to serve in the Veterans Affairs Department's No. 2 management slot pledged to tackle a host of challenges plaguing the department. Sloan Gibson, the president and CEO of the nonprofit USO, told members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee if confirmed to be the VA's deputy director he would tackle the longstanding backlog of disability claims and will work to find common ground with the Defense Department on a new strategy for a joint electronic-health records system. The committee also considered the nominations of Linda Schwartz to be the assistant VA secretary for policy and planning and Constance Tobias to serve as the chair of VA's Board of Veterans' Appeals.

  Congress

  November 06, 2013
• House panel targets DoD acquisition reform, but will that be enough?

  The House Armed Services Committee created a panel to figure out a way to reform the defense acquisition processes. Experts say reform may be difficult but it's also necessary given tight budgets and sequestration.

  Federal Drive

  November 06, 2013
• DoD braces for a future of degraded military readiness

  Pentagon leaders have spent the past two years warning Congress that sequestration would severely hamper the ability to deploy military forces to contingencies around the world. With no apparent relief in sight from the cuts, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said it's time to start thinking about making the best of a bad situation.

  Budget

  November 06, 2013
• Paid vacation or nightmare tour?

  Did the 16-day-for-some furlough ruin your year or was it a welcome suprise vacation? It is getting mixed reviews from feds who had to work and those who were forced -- then paid -- to stay home, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  November 05, 2013