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The General Services Administration is spending nearly $70 million on a major effort to consolidate federal-agency office space nationwide, the agency announced Monday. GSA has plans to continue or start renovations on 19 federally owned buildings across the country.
GSA issued a RFQ that asks developers to restart the renovation of its stalled headquarters program and further DHS headquarters construction. The contractors wouldn't receive payment, but instead two buildings in Southwest Washington, D.C.
Sonny Hashmi, acting CIO at GSA, said his goal is to have at least half of all employees using VDI in 2014 and 75 percent by the end of 2015. VDI, along with application rationalization and other initiatives, is part of how GSA is looking to reduce IT spending further. April 3, 2014
GSA launched the digital government program, called 18F, with the goal of accelerating innovation among agencies and building on federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park's vision for the government to act as a lean start-up.
In the fiscal 2015 budget request to Congress, the White House detailed 15 cross-agency priority goals and almost 100 agency-specific goals. The goals and new strategic plans are laying the groundwork for agencies to continue to improve mission delivery and operations over the next two years.
The Challenge.gov platform Thursday received the prestigious Harvard Innovations in American Government award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. It beat out 600 other entrants to be the first federal winner of the award since 2003.
The General Services Administration says it will finally be able to begin digging out of a backlog of deferred maintenance of federal buildings thanks to a boost in funding from the recently passed bipartisan spending bill. The spending bill, passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last week, authorizes GSA to spend about $9.3 billion from the Federal Buildings Fund.
OMB reported agencies avoided spending $3 billion on travel and conferences in 2013 as compared to 2010. Senate lawmakers are concerned how to ensure agencies don't slide back into old habits of lavish spending on conferences.
Four high-ranking officials are leaving the General Services Administration. They are Deputy Administrator Susan Brita; CIO Casey Coleman; Kelly Olson, director of Strategic Initiatives; and Sheila Campbell, director of the Center for Excellence in the Digital Government Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies.
DHS, HHS, Interior and USDA all are on board to try out the Total Workplace initiative that focuses on open spaces, hotelling and mobile employees. GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said a new approach to office space will save money and improve how agencies meet their missions.
A roundtable sponsored by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee explored how public-private partnerships could work to get rid of federal property more quickly.
Top officials at the Treasury Department and the General Services Administration say budget cuts being considered by House lawmakers - and that have since adopted by the House Appropriations Committee - would erode their agencies' missions. In sharply divided vote mostly along partisan lines Wednesday, the committee approved the fiscal 2014 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.
A group of Democrats and Republicans, called the No Labels Caucus, plans to introduce nine bills this week focused on government effectiveness and efficiency. The strategic sourcing legislation would require agencies to save at least $10 billion a year. Senators say agencies need the right incentives to buy smarter.
The top spots at a few key federal agencies are now officially filled following Senate confirmation votes this week. The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve Dan Tangherlini to be the administrator of the General Services Administration and Howard Shelanski to serve as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. Senators also OK'd Brian Deese to serve as OMB deputy director for budget.