Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

President Barack Obama is expected to lay out broad goals for dealing with cyber threats this morning. Those goals include creating a “cyber czar” to oversee an enhanced security system for the nation’s computer networks. And they’ll stem from a long-awaited review he ordered shortly after taking office. The plan will not dictate how the government or private industry should tighten digital defenses. The announcement is expected at 10:55 this morning. You’ll be able to hear it live, online, on FederalNewsRadio.com.

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry is asking agencies to look at how and when they give out bonuses. Specifically, he wants them to review incentives for recruitment, relocation and retention. Berry says his request is to make sure the money’s being used effectively and that benefits are being weighed against the costs. In 2007, agencies spent $207-million dollars on bonuses for recruitment, relocation and retention.

Communication is essential to an effective government, and the Defense Department wants help from vendors to improve how it shares information. The Defense Information Systems Agency is looking for a scalable, on-demand communications system that can adjust to changing requirements. The system will need to work with DISA’s existing systems. And it should include the ability to work on both classified and unclassified networks. The agency has posted a request for information on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

Federal agencies are stalling on their credit card bills. A new report from the Congressional Research Service indicates that the government makes late payments on travel cards 20 percent of the time. A card is considered delinquent if a bill is outstanding for more than 60 days. The report was obtained by the Project on Government Oversight.

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