Barack Obama

  • The Senate is considering a $60 billion that incorporates $30 billion for President Barack Obama\'s troop surge in Afghanistan with more than $5 billion to replenish disaster aid accounts, provide Haitian earthquake relief, and make a down payment on aid to flood-drenched Tennessee and Rhode Island. The Associate Press reports the must-pass legislation is the only appropriations bill likely to advance to Obama\'s desk until the fall and is a tempting target for Democrats seeking to add money for a summer jobs program or to help to local school district to retain teachers.

    May 17, 2010
  • Over a year ago, the U.S. Army, and other branches of the military, were experimenting with the use of the virtual worlds social media site \"Second Life\" as a recruitment tool. Since that time, the military has branched out into using virtual worlds technology as a tool for collaboration. Now, civilian branches of government are looking to do the same thing. Federal News Radio\'s Max Cacas has our exclusive coverage of the Third annual Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds Conference, which concludes today at the National Defense University here in D.C..

    May 14, 2010
  • President Barack Obama said Wednesday he was confident that U.S. troops could start to return home as planned from Afghanistan in July 2011 but he predicted a tough fight in the coming months. \"There is going to be some tough fighting,\" Obama said at a joint news conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai,

    May 13, 2010
  • The Obama Administration believes that one of the major planks of an open and transparent government is the ready access to public information by citizens. One of the top federal officials involved in managing the federal government\'s rules and regulations says those who maintain the government\'s paper and electronic records are the \"backbone of a transparent and open government.\"

    May 13, 2010
  • Assistance is coming for family members who have to leave their jobs to become caregivers for severely wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, courtesy of a bill signed Wednesday by President Barack Obama. The bill, estimated to cost $3.7 billion over five years, also expands veterans care for women, the homeless, and those who live in rural areas.

    May 06, 2010
  • The National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations miss a deadline to report to President Obama by at least 30 days. They need more time to figure out how to give managers and rank-and-file feds a place where they can sit down and discuss common problems.

    May 06, 2010
  • Tom Shoop, editor in chief of GovExec, has analysis of the President\'s weekend speech.

    May 04, 2010
  • President Obama has said publicly that he is a big fan of performance management, and wants to blend its practice into the day-to-day operation of the Federal Government. But what does that mean for feds who are tasked with actually making the wheels of government turn every day? The Association of Government Accountants convened a conference to discuss performance in government.

    April 29, 2010
  • The President also establishes a new task force on veterans small business development. New executive order on small business requires a new Web site to list agency small business contracting data. The order also creates a new interagency taskforce to make recommendations on improving federal progress in meeting governmentwide goals.

    April 27, 2010
  • President Obama has mandated that federal government service be \"cool\" again. In an effort to comply, OPM director John Berry says he\'s going to try to find room for cutting edge technology in the federal workplace. Even if it means going into the depths of the basement of the OPM Building at 19th and E Streets NW.

    April 20, 2010
  • Green technologies put green in the economy as well

    April 20, 2010
  • Agencies across the federal government are embracing the tools of social collaboration to become more accessible to citizens. An IT industry group that includes many federal IT officials heard from three of the top government experts in the field.

    April 16, 2010
  • Congress returns to work this week after the two-week Easter/Passover break. and one member of the House will be watching to see if he will be making a career move in the year to come. Rep. Todd Platts (R.-Pa.) is on a list of four names submitted by Congressional leaders to President Obama for the post of Comptroller General, a job which also includes running the Government Accountability Office. Recently, Federal News Radio spoke exclusively to Platts about his qualifications and expectations for the job.

    April 12, 2010
  • The Internet, and search engines, are helping to reduce barriers, particularly in e-commerce. The Export-Import Bank of the United States -the Ex-Im Bank - says it will start a partnership with Google to help American small and mid-sized businesses harness the power of the Internet to initiate or expand sales outside of the country. Bank officials say Google\'s tools can empower businesses to reach new customers all over the world, and that even small businesses can create a global presence. The Chairman and President of the Ex-Im Bank Fred Hochberg specifically points to use of the search engine in helping achieve President Obama\'s goal of doubling U.S. exports within the next five years, while at the same time putting more Americans to work producing them. Head of Acquisitions at US-Google Stuart Small says, there are now more than 1.2 billion people online worldwide, and many of them are ready and able to buy and research online.

    April 07, 2010