Monday-Friday, 3-7pmwith Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris.
Analysis: Snow, closings set historic record for federal government
02-09-10
By Dorothy Ramienski
Internet Editor
Federal News Radio
The federal government closed early on Friday, and was shut down on Monday and Tuesday.
Federal News Radio continues to await the decision from the Office of Personnel Management regarding operating status on Wed., Feb. 10.
Senior Correspondent Mike Causey brings us analysis on the historic implications of all of the snow hitting the D.C. Region, and explained why he would never want to be in OPM Director John Berry's shoes.
"It is probably the single toughest call any OPM Director makes, because it has nationwide and worldwide implications. Everybody says -- 'Washington is a wimp city. The bureaucrats are staying home. They can't take a little snow,' -- so it's a very hard call."
Historically, Causey explained that some directors have actually gotten into a lot of trouble for making certain decisions.
"One was out in the mid-west campaigning -- I believe it was during the Clinton administration -- and she was stuck out there and made the call late and there were huge cries because of the danger that it put people through. . . . There was one who did release people early, but Metro wasn't ready for it and it created a major traffic jam for everybody, and it left those of us in the private sector without buses and subways. It's a lose-lose proposition."
Causey said, however, that he feels that the decision to close this week was smart, given the amount of snow on the ground.
Another bonus, in Causey's opinion, is that Berry grew up in this area and knows the local 'snow culture' so to speak.
"He knows this town. He knows the people. It helps that he grew up here. He likes federal workers and he doesn't want them hurt."
While The Washington Post has reported that keeping the federal government closed costs money, Causey said it's not as bad as it used to be because of advances in teleworking.
"There are a lot of people who are teleworking from home. It's familiar to them. They know the process. Presumably there's somebody in the office to bounce things off of. This is the perfect storm in a lot of ways, but I think this could be a turning point for teleworking."
Causey said, irregardless of who is working from where, this storm has set records in the D.C. Metropolitant area.
"Just look outside. If you don't have to be on the roads, don't be on the roads. We may all think we're important or essential or emergency, but . . . Don't risk your life."
Stay in touch with Federal News Radio throughout the day on your radio at 1500 and 820AM, and online at FederalNewsRadio.com.
We will bring you the latest update on the government's operating plan for Wednesday as soon as it becomes available to us.
Read more: Federal government operating status for Wednesday up in air
Read more: Mike Causey's Federal Report
Census ad campaign causes controversy
02-09-10
The Census Bureau paid $2.5 million for an ad during the Super Bowl.
Their entire ad campaign runs about $130 million.
The whole idea is to raise awareness so people will return their Census forms.
But the campaign has turned out to be controversial, not just because of the cost.
Ed O'Keefe is the Federal Eye Blogger for the Washington Post.
OPM: Federal government closed Tuesday
02-08-10
By Andrew Mitchell
Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com
The Office of Personnel Management has closed the federal government in the D.C. region for Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.
Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time. Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers' compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status.
Telework employees may be expected to work from their telework sites, as specified in their telework agreements.
Employees on alternative work schedules are not entitled to another AWS day off in lieu of the workday on which the agency is closed.
Director John Berry told Federal News Radio Monday he relies on information from the Washington region's Council of Governments (COG) and updates from the National Weather Service in deciding when to shut down the federal government due to snowfall.
Berry says that he also relies on the advice of local transit agencies, such as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which runs Metrorail and Metrobus.
Another factor, Berry says, is whether schools are closed. So, even if the decision is made to open the federal government, "I'll always be careful when schools are closed to allow unscheduled leave," he explains.
Ultimately, Berry says, every such decision must weigh conflicting interests. He explains that he always asks himself this question: "Are we doing our best to protect safety of our employees and are we trying to keep the government open to the greatest extent that we can?"
The Washington region, which saw a crippling snowstorm over the weekend, is expecting another major snowfall Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, effective 12 p.m. Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday. Projected snowfalls now range from 10 to 20 inches.
Former OPM Director Linda Springer also joined Federal News Radio this afternoon to discuss the responsibility of making the snow-closing call. Click hear to listen to that interview.
Former OPM director weighs in on difficulty of snow closing call
02-08-10
The federal government closed today, given the Blizzard of 2010 over the weekend.
But the decision about whether to close federal offices is one of the most difficult and complex decisions for the director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Linda Springer is the Executive Director of Government and the Public Sector for Ernst and Young.
Prior to that, however, she served as the director of the Office of Personnel Management and had the task of making the close/no-close decision. She joined us on The Daily Debrief.
We also spoke to current OPM Director John Berry about his decision on the government's operating status for Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. Berry says a decision will be made after 6 p.m. Monday evening. Read more here.
How are you spending your "snow holiday?"
02-08-10
How are you enjoying your "snow day" holiday today?
Are you even enjoying it, with all that snow that needs to be shoveled?
Some questions posted on GovLoop.com today asked feds to share how they've spent their day off.
GovLoop.com founder Steve Ressler talks to us about his Web site's forum on this topic.
QHSR review complete
02-08-10
The very first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review is now history.
It's the first time since the founding of the Department of Homeland Security that officials have had an opportunity to thoroughly review the programs and priorities of DHS to see if they are effective and meet today's mandates.
Federal News Radio's Max Cacas reports that the review is also unique in the way it was written.
Senate to consider cybersecurity bill passed by House; Chinese crackdown on hackers engenders skepticism in the West
02-08-10
Cybersecurity Update - Tune in weekdays at 30 minutes past the hour for the latest cybersecurity news on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Jane Norris (6-10 a.m.) and The Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris (3-7 p.m.). Listen live at FederalNewsRadio.com or on the radio at 1500 and 820 AM in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
- The first major cybersecurity bill to be passed by either house in the 111th Congress now moves to the Senate. The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives late last week. The bill authorizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a cybersecurity education program to help consumers, businesses, and government workers keep their computers secure. It also creates cybersecurity scholarship programs for college students and research centers.
- Chinese authorities have arrested three people and seized money and equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in a crackdown on the country's biggest commercial operation to train computer hackers, the country's state media has reported. But The New York Times says that Western specialists in cybersecurity are skeptical that the arrests signify any broad commitment by China to halt the assaults on computer security that Google and other companies have suffered in recent months. Cybersecurity experts say that China has not shut down the well-known servers that have been used in these attacks or arrested their operators, so the detention of three people in central China is unlikely to make much of a difference. One expert called it merely "window dressing."
Monday Afternoon Federal Newscast
02-08-10
The Afternoon Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Daily
- Rep. John Murtha (D.-Penn.), a former Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq War, has died at 77 from complications following gall bladder surgery. He died this afternoon at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, according to a statement from his office.
- The Office of Personnel Management and our guest on the Daily Debrief this afternoon, its director John Berry, are still evaluating the ongoing snow removal situation in and around the Washington District before making a decision as to whether federal workers may have another day off tomorrow. Complicating matters is another winter storm watch, with the potential for eight or more inches of snow, in effect for the D.C. area from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.
- A top counterterrorism advisor to the White House says the U.S. faces "serious and significant" threats within cyberspace. John Brennen told NBC News Sunday that the threat is an issue of national security and that a cybersecurity board has been set up at the White House. Meanwhile, retired General Eugene Habiger tells Federal News Radio that he hopes recent attacks on Google and increased media attention will increase public and congressional awareness. In his white paper, "U.S. Strategy for Cyberwar and Cyberterrorism," Habiger comnes to a number of principal conclusions, including that the nation's vital public and private IT systems are so vulnerable that they invite attack.
- The Veterans Affairs Department is trying to answer ongoing concerns about waste, fraud and abuse in the veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned contracting program. The VA issued a final rule today that limits veteran-owned and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses to only one business in the federal contract set-aside program and to work in that business full time. That was one of the major changes the VA announced today in a Federal Register notice finalizing the rule governing the set-aside contracting program. The VA is asking for comments on the changes detailed in the final rule. It states that veteran-owned and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses must re-certify annually to VA that they meet the requirements to obtain set-aside contracts from agencies. The rule comes after the Government Accountability Office told the House Veterans Affairs Committee in December that the service-disabled veteran-owned business program is vulnerable to fraud and abuse.
Zients outlines areas of focus for high performing government
02-05-10
The Office of Management and Budget laid out their plans to change back-office agency functions in the fiscal 2011 budget request.
It focuses on many of the long-standing problems from the hiring process to improper payments to high-risk contracts.
OMB chief performance officer Jeff Zients says there are certain areas that must be focused on first to get to their end goal of a high performing government.
Federal News Radio's Jason Miller joins us with details
Security and privacy in the cloud; NIST gets cybersecurity funds
02-05-10
Cybersecurity Update - Tune in weekdays at 30 minutes past the hour for the latest cybersecurity news on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Jane Norris (6-10 a.m.) and The Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris (3-7 p.m.). Listen live at FederalNewsRadio.com or on the radio at 1500 and 820 AM in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
- Cloudbook.net is a place to learn more about what's going on with cloud computing. Security and privacy are always issues that come up whenever agencies consider their cloud options. Federal News Radio's Fed Cloud Blog talked with Vince Vasquez, one of Cloudbook's founders, who explains the relevance of having everyone on the same page when it comes to security in the cloud.
- $10 million for a new cybersecurity initiative at NIST sounds like a lot of money. It is actually less than one-hundred-thousandth of one percent of the proposed federal 2011 budget. GovInfoSecurity reports that OMB didn't break down how cybersecurity dollars would be spent in the budget, but it appears cybersecurity spending is definitely on the rise. It is hard to pin down because it is often baked into other IT programs and often it is considered classified information.
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