Office of Management and Budget
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Federal agencies reported more than 48,000 cyber attacks in 2012 and continue to struggle to defend their networks, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Senators are now renewing their push for comprehensive cyber legislation, which would include an update to FISMA.
March 08, 2013 -
A report released by the White House to detail automatic budget cuts details reductions only down to the budget account level -- not to the more granular program, project and activity level and varies in the level of detail describing cuts to specific agency budgets.
March 04, 2013 -
Steven VanRoekel, the federal CIO, said the PortfolioStat approach will help agencies manage through these tough budget times. He said agency technology investments could take a hit as the automatic spending cuts become real.
March 01, 2013 -
The administration issued new guidance late Wednesday detailing specific steps agencies should take as sequestration now is one-day away. Danny Werfel, OMB's controller, told agency leaders to place "increased scrutiny" around several personnel issues, including new hires, training, travel and conferences.
February 28, 2013 -
The automatic budget cuts set to occur under sequestration will go into effect as a matter of law on Friday. But their full impact won't be felt until late this spring, long after lawmakers encounter the next budget showdown.
February 28, 2013 -
The Republican senator from Oklahoma is asking the Office of Management and Budget to require agencies to stop hiring for certain positions. Instead, he would like that funding put towards mission critical jobs that could be affected by sequestration cuts. Coburn, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, found 10 jobs listed on USAJobs.gov that he believes could be frozen. He says this would give agencies $1.4 million to spend on positions like border security officers and TSA screeners.
February 25, 2013 -
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is concerned new regulations may make whistleblowers even more reluctant to report tax fraud to the IRS. OMB Controller Danny Werfel says $85 billion in cuts under sequestration would hurt every state. Maj. Gen. Brett Williams says the U.S. Cyber Command is trying to figure how to normalize operations alongside air, land and sea capabilities. Lynn Singleton, director of environmental services at Lockheed Martin, talks about helping agencies move their email to the cloud. Dr. Milton Corn explains why The National Library of Medicine is monitoring social media.
February 25, 2013 -
The White House released its estimate on the impact of cuts from sequestration would have on each state and the District of Columbia. OMB's Danny Werfel said they still are obtaining clarity on the impact $85 billion in cuts would have on each agency.
February 25, 2013 -
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
February 22, 2013 -
Danny Werfel, the OMB controller, will issue a new policy in the coming weeks that will mandate agencies simplify their requirements before upgrading their general ledger systems. The policy also will require agencies to strongly consider one of the four federal shared service providers. OMB said it has learned lessons from the previous attempts to move agencies into these common financial management infrastructures.
February 22, 2013 -
GSA led a 12-member interagency working group to create a set of measures specifically aimed at defining the usefulness of social media for agencies. The agency also released an API that lets users create tools to bring together government social media feeds in one place. Both tools are called for in the Digital Government Strategy.
February 20, 2013 -
Obama administration officials are painting a bleak picture of how federal agencies would fare under sequestration, the automatic budget cuts slated to go into effect in two weeks. The Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from several Obama administration officials about the consequences of the cuts, which are set to take effect March 1. However, Danny Werfel, controller of the Office of Management and Budget, emphasized to the committee that employee furloughs would not be immediate.
February 14, 2013 -
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, and Federal Times reporter Stephen Losey will discuss sequestration and other issues affecting federal workers. February 13, 2013
February 13, 2013 -
Senior administration officials say the Executive Order is not a replacement for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, but the start of a new conversation for how best to protect the nation's critical infrastructure. NIST released an RFI Tuesday as part of its effort to create a voluntary, flexible framework. And DHS will expand the number of companies the government shares classified and unclassified cyber threat information with through the Defense Industrial Base pilot.
February 13, 2013 -
News and buzz from the last two weeks includes a new legislative proposal from Rep. Darrell Issa on suspension and debarment and round two of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program.
February 11, 2013