Federal Drive Show Blog – May 28, 2013

On the Federal Drive show blog, you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and...

This is the Federal Drive show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Today’s guests:

Todd Marks
president
Mindgrub

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Government at all levels is looking for ways to connect with citizens. More and more, state and local governments are turning to mobile game apps as a way of sharing data or walking constituents through processes. Todd Marks, president of Mindgrub of Baltimore, runs a game and mobile application development company he says is getting a stream of requests from government.

Joe Petrillo
procurement attorney
Petrillo and Powell

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A $23 billion contract to maintain and secure nuclear weapons may be up for grabs again. That’s because the Government Accountability Office has sustained a protest against the initial award. It says the National Nuclear Security Administration failed to reasonably evaluate all the bidders.

Eddie Eitches
president-elect, Local 476, and president
National Council 222 of HUD Locals

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The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to close dozens of field offices. Ten percent of staff or about 900 people could be affected. When officials made the announcement last month, it came as a surprise to most employees. That includes Eddie Eitches, president of the American Federation of Government Employees council that represents most HUD workers. Since then, Eitches has been meeting with agency officials when they aren’t all on furlough.

Related Story: HUD reorg plan violates furlough agreement, union says

John Palguta
vice president for policy
Partnership for Public Service

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President Barack Obama has nominated Katherine Archuleta to be the next director of the Office of Personnel Management. Archuleta has plenty of political experience. She was national political director for the president’s re-election campaign. And she served as chief of staff in two federal departments during the Clinton years. But is she up to the challenge of being the government’s HR chief?

Anthony Robbins
vice president for federal
Brocade

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Consolidation is a byword of federal management these days. Agencies are consolidating offices, systems, even missions in a few cases, but especially, data centers. The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative has been going on for nearly three years. But its goal line has been extended because agencies aren’t consolidating or closing fast enough.

From Our Reporters

Defense Department acquisition leaders are making the rounds in and outside Washington, explaining the latest iteration of their blueprint for improvement: Better Buying Power. As they do, they’re telling members of industry that they’re sensitive to concerns about a growing oversight bureaucracy. Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu provides the details.

MORE FROM THE FEDERAL DRIVE

U.S. Park Police cancels furloughs (Federal News Radio)

GSA softened some requirements for bulk wireless buying program (NextGov)

Interior Department to Hire Nearly 17,000 Young People to Work on Public Lands This Year (Interior)

Border entry fee study sparks northern opposition (Federal News Radio)

In time of sequesters, federal government posts 27,000 job openings (The Washington Times)

Panel rejects Pentagon’s request for base closings (Federal News Radio)

Senator: Fire commanders allowing sex assault (Federal News Radio)

In China, US official promotes military ties (Federal News Radio)

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Addresses the Georgetown Cybersecurity Law Institute (Department of Justice)

Obama to nation: Don’t take US troops for granted (Federal News Radio)

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