Monday Afternoon Federal Newscast

The Federal Register is going high-tech. Starting today, issues dating back to 2000 are available at Data.gov in an XML format. The Washington Post reports that this means you’ll be able to download the information, store it, organize it, and use it as you need to. Federal News Radio will be talking about it with Carl Malamud tomorrow – he’s with Public Resource.org — and was one of the strongest advocates of the federal register going digital.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the military will not hesitate in carrying out whatever mission President Barack Obama decides on in Afghanistan. Gates says the president’s military and civilian policy advisers need to give President Obama candid but private advice until that decision is made. Gates’ comments come as the Obama administration debates whether to continue fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan or shift focus to destroying al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan using unmanned drones and special forces.

Vendors wanting to get in on the $3.4 billion Homeland Security Department headquarters project should mark Oct. 26 on their calendars. The General Services Administration will hold an industry day for all types of vendors in Washington to find out about the project at St. Elizabeth’s. GSA says the event will provide an update on the project’s development schedule, overview of the prospectus, GSA and DHS strategies for small business inclusion as prime and subcontractors and networking. DHS last month broke ground on the Coast Guard’s new headquarters on St. Elizabeth’s campus. And in August, GSA awarded a $435 million contract to design the site’s first phase-the new, 1.18 million-square-foot Coast Guard headquarters facility-to Clark Design Build, LLC.

Companies and advertisers must let consumers know about any money or free products they give to bloggers as payment for their endorsement. That from the Federal Trade Commission today. Guidelines for endorsements which were last revised in 1980. In today’s update, the FTC pointedly told companies and advertisers who specialize in trying to convince bloggers to write about products that they had to be transparent about payments. (Reuters)

President Obama has ordered federal agencies to set a goal within 90 days for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The White House says the federal government should “lead by example” in fighting climate change. President Obama, noting the federal government was the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, signed an executive order that also mandated federal agencies to reduce petroleum consumption in their fleets. (Reuters)

Survey: Feds beat private sector on vision, lag on management (GovExec)

Senate bill would protect contractor whistleblowers (GovExec)

Navy chief sets intelligence reorganization (Congress Daily/GovExec)

Senate work on Defense bill will spill into next week (Congress Daily/GovExec)

Terrorists nearing ability to launch big cyberattacks against U.S. (NextGov)

State struggles to track contractor data: GAO (FCW)

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