The 2013 Multiple Award Government & Industry Conference (MAGIC) brings together top acquisition leaders, including those from the major government-wide acquisition contracts, multiple award contracts, as well as the General Services Administration and Veterans Affairs Schedules. Participants share best practices and hear updates on the most popular multiple award vehicles, such as NASA SEWP, Alliant and others. Tom Temin broadcasted live from the conference and interviewed attendees, including Jim Phillips, executive vice president of Centre Consulting, Rick Slifer, founder and principal of RASA Consulting, Stan Soloway, president and CEO of Professional Services Council, and Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of GSA’s Office of Integrated Technology Services. Click here to learn more and listen to their interviews.

The Department of Health and Human Services is adding some rigor to how it manages the billions of dollars it spends on technology. HHS is building on the initial success of the PortfolioStat process. Frank Baitman is the HHS chief information officer. On this week’s Ask the CIO, he tells Federal News Radio’s Executive Editor Jason Miller about how this new governance process laid the path for the latest agencywide technology program.

Defense and Veterans Affairs Department officials are reassuring House lawmakers that the two departments will continue to share electronic health records, despite developing separate electronic health systems. On Wednesday, officials attempted to differentiate for lawmakers the goals of sharing health records and having one electronic health system. Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller joined Jared to discuss whether VA and DoD cleared up the confusion.

Read Jason’s related article.

Officials at the Forest Service and the Interior Department recently warned Congress that budget cuts are taking a toll on firefighting efforts. They are hiring fewer seasonal firefighters in order to save money. The result is more pressure on the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, where representatives of eight federal departments and agencies oversee efforts nationwide. Spokeswoman Roberta D’Amico explained how the center shifts into gear when wildfires strike, as one recently did in Prescott, Arizona.

This is the first week of furloughs for Defense Department civilian workers. Thousands were forced to take Monday off (unpaid, of course) as part of a plan to save money under sequestration. Executing furloughs at a major institution is a bit of a chess game. As an administrator, make a wrong move and you’re facing work backlogs and possible lawsuits. For a closer look at how the Defense Department is orchestrating furloughs, Tom and Emily talked to Anthony Stamilio, the Army’s deputy assistant secretary for Civilian Personnel and Quality of Life.