Ever get a cut and use cotton gauze to wipe it up? Cotton gauze is just cotton gauze, right? Not to my next guest. He developed new cotton fabrics that have proven more effective in trauma care and other medical requirements than the traditional ones. In fact, his invention is the first new medical gauze in 50 years.
The Federal Communications Commission has established a task force to deal with privacy and data protection, noting what it calls the era of always-on connectivity.
In today's Federal Newscast: Congress weighs-in on the process of how agencies are moving to the cloud. Mental-health struggles remain a concern for those seeking security clearances. And feds get a little boost in their reimbursable travel allowance.
When the Supreme Court ruled against race-based admissions at Harvard University, it opened the door to preference programs across the board. Recently a federal district court in Tennessee forced the Small Business Administration to suspend applications from small businesses to join the 8(a) program for disadvantaged companies.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees get their paychecks issued by the National Finance Center, which is operated out of New Orleans by the Agriculture Department. The whole place is in danger of meltdown because of staffing, budget, technology and even storm damage problems.
In today's Federal Newscast: The FBI is getting a new leader to take on insider threats. The Defense Department mobilizes resources to help in Hawaii. And the saga of the CIO-SP4 contract continues.
It doesn't have boiling flasks or people in white coats, but a lot happens in the Procurement Innovation Lab (PIL) operated by the Homeland Security Department.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is on the Government Accountability Office's High Risk List. It is there primarily because of its long-term fiscal uncertainty and questions about whether, in the long run, it can pay the benefits it owes retired Americans. But SSA also has an other internal management problem, stemming from its Office of Inspector General.