Senate

  • The $1.1 trillion Senate omnibus bill would authorize President Obama\'s pay freeze proposal. But it protects against furloughs or reductions-in-force. The Senate\'s bill would replace the House\'s version, which is a continuing resolution. Lawmakers must approve a bill before Dec. 19 when the current CR expires.

    December 14, 2010
  • With the new telework bill signed into law, federal employees will soon have more opportunities to telework, and agencies have more incentive to invest in or increase their telepresence options. After the Senate passed the bill in September, the House followed suit in November. It was signed into law last week, and encourages federal employees to telework. Currently, about 5 percent of federal employees participate in some sort of telework plan, and agencies will have to improve their existing technology capabilities and options to meet the increase in participating employees. \"We\'re talking about bringing the government into the 21st century from a technology point of view and every other point of view,\" said bill sponsor Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) in an interview with Federal News Radio last month. \"The technology is moving so aggressively there\'s no reason not to have a good telework policy,\" Wolf said. Video teleconferencing is already a component of telework programs at many agencies, and has in some cases enabled greater allowance for teleworking. At the Defense Information Systems Agency, the desktop- and laptop- based telepresence has \"enabled our telework program to thrive, allowing DISA employees to fully participate in meetings, no matter where they are located,\" Colonel Brian Hermann, chief of the Net-Centric Enterprise Services branch. \"It allows off-site employees to \"participate fully in small-group meetings, including the use of whiteboarding and sharing presentations,\" Hermann said. Will other agencies follow suit? Stay tuned. Navy adding telepresence at National Naval Medical Center The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda is looking to install a video teleconferencing room which will serve as the Admiral\'s Conference room. The conference room will be used for executive-level video teleconference and Board of Directors meetings, among others according to a solicitation posted to FedBizzOpps.gov.

    December 14, 2010
  • Sen. George Voinovich (R-Oh.) speaks to Jason Miller about ways agencies can improve federal management.

    November 22, 2010
  • The House passes the Telework Enhancement Act.

    November 18, 2010
  • The Defense authorization bill has been on the Senate calendar, and off the Senate calendar. Now it\'s on again. The Senate majority leader is now promising to bring a 2011 defense authorization bill to the floor for a vote.

    November 18, 2010
  • The bill now awaits House approval

    September 30, 2010
  • A bill by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) aims to save the Postal Service from mounting debt with the POST Act.

    September 24, 2010
  • The Delaware Senate race has attracted national media attention, mostly due to Tea Party candidate Christine O\'Donnell. CNN\'s Brian Todd has been following the story and spoke with DorobekINSIDER about the campaign.

    September 22, 2010
  • A week from today --the Senate Armed Services Committee is going to have a hearing about Pentagon\'s plans to close the Joint Forces Command headquarters in Norfolk to save money. Va. Sen. Jim Webb, who is a former Navy Secretary has pushed to get the hearing because they are concerned that the JFCOM closure will hit Virginia and the Tidewater region hard from an economic perspective. Webb and the rest of the Va. Congressional delegations are said to be exploring options to stop the shutdown.

    September 21, 2010
  • The Office of Management and Budget is throwing a lifeline, of sorts, to 15 agencies who have IT projects that are on its high-risk list. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra said the 26 projects on his new high priority list are mission critical. He said some extra attention now could reap dividends down the road when those projects finally realize their long-awaited potential.

    August 24, 2010
  • August 23rd and 25th RITA\'s mission is to promote transportation research, solid analysis, and education across the different operating agencies within the USDOT.

    August 23, 2010
  • A provision in the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill could give NIST a larger role in protecting federal and civilian computer networks. The plan is from one influential Maryland lawmaker, who believes the battle for cybersecurity needs to be fought in the Free State.

    July 28, 2010
  • Agency leaders say a commitment hiring and training contract oversight personnel is an important step towards balancing the federal budget and increasing efficiency. They highlight several creative cost-cutting measures being undertaken government-wide.

    July 16, 2010
  • Gen. David Petraeus is a little bit closer to becoming the next commander of the Afghanistan war. The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted in favor of the appointment. It now goes to the full Senate. He will replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal. He was fired last week for making disparaging remarks in an interview about administration officials. Petraeus could be confirmed by the weekend.

    July 01, 2010