Acquisition

  • The proper role and oversight of more than 40,000 private security contractors supporting U.S. operations were examined and debated in two days of hearings by the federal Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Michael Thibault, commission co-chair, explains the debate and tells us what\'s next.

    June 22, 2010
  • The Department of Health and Human Services has made it possible for vendors to certify that their electronic health records hardware and software meet the definition of meaningful use for health information technology. Dr. John Loonsk, former director of interoperability and standards in the Office of the National Coordinator, explains what this means.

    June 21, 2010
  • I had the pleasure of moderating a panel last week… ostensibly on green IT, but it ended up being about the larger issue of green government. The program was sponsored by the Java Team of…

    June 21, 2010
  • Amtower interviews Kevin Plexico, Senior VP for Research and Analysis Services at INPUT. June 21, 2010

    June 18, 2010
  • The FBI\'s new cyber-intelligence still needs a home.

    June 18, 2010
  • Telework\'s beginning as an emergency response has a happy ending.

    June 17, 2010
  • GovExec reports that the \"justification and approval\" documents must be made available on an as-yet-undetermined governmentwide website.

    June 17, 2010
  • GSA\'s Chief Greening Officer will be responsible for \'aggressively pursuing innovative sustainable practices within GSA\'s large portfolio of government-owned and leased buildings.\' Eleni Reed, CGO, explains.

    June 17, 2010
  • Antennas intended for US e-Passports were being manufactured in Thailand. Were. GPO\'s Steve LeBlanc explains.

    June 17, 2010
  • Administration will list agencies\' progress in meeting their high-priority goals detailed in the 2011 budget request. OMB wants quarterly updates to ensure agencies are on track to meet their plans of actions and milestones. Meanwhile, the House passes a bill to mandate a new type of performance management.

    June 17, 2010
  • The General Services Administration and Homeland Security Department have approved the first government-wide provider of cybersecurity services under the Networx telecommunications contract. AT&T has received authority to operate its Managed Trusted IP Services (or MTIPS) program, a move that took almost a year to approve. Qwest, Sprint and Verizon also received awards to be MTIPS providers, but have not received the authority to operate on a governmentwide basis.

    June 15, 2010
  • A new online platform from the General Services Administration is helping federal agencies generate creative ideas for improving government while also improving openness and transparency, a White House directive. GSA officials say the Innovation Challenges Platform provides agencies with a way to lower the barriers for government\'s use of prizes and challenges by providing a platform at no cost that simplifies the public engagement process for both agencies and the public. It allows the public to suggest and discuss solutions to government problems. The platform is currently being used for AppsforHealthyKids.com. Director of new media and citizen engagement at the agency Bev Godwin says, there are a lot of different benefits that agencies can derive from such challenges, one of the most important being that they only pay for the solution.

    June 15, 2010
  • We get update on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services\' responsibilities when it comes to health care reform from the director of the Office of Acquisition and Grants Management, Rod Benson.

    June 15, 2010
  • The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is recommending all agencies use only the definition of inherently governmental as defined in the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act, and create a test to determine whether other jobs should be done only by federal employees. OFPP\'s Dan Gordon has details.

    June 15, 2010