When he signed the 2013 Defense Authorization bill hammered out by Congress, President Obama was signing the Pentagon on to a whole new regime in cybersecurity. Information Week recently reported, the bill is chock full of provisions from how DoD guards its networks to how it develops software.

Now that the president has made his nomination official, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is about to be grilled by the Senate. Should he be confirmed, Hagel would immediately face a long roster of challenges. What should he or any new defense secretary deal with first?

They might have all the training and expertise in the world. But federal law enforcement agents have been hamstrung for years against crime-prevention activities while off duty. In fact, they’ve been subject to criminal prosecution for helping innocent crime victims. But that’s all changing, thanks to the Officer Safety Act. It became law as part of the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill signed into law last week by the president.

The Food and Drug Administration has laid out a road map for how it plans to make our food safer. On Friday, it issued new regulations two years in the making. The agency says the rules turn it into a pro-active force focused on preventing problems before they cause harm.

You have until Friday to nominate that outstanding federal employee for a Service to America medal. The Partnership for Public Service runs the awards program. Each year, SAMMIE finalists are honored at a dinner and with interviews on this station.

Fill out a Service to America Nomination form.

Plenty of federal managers know the name OMB Watch. The organization is one of the oldest watchdog groups in Washington. But it keeps an eye on more than just the Office of Management and Budget, so the new leaders thought a new name was in order.