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Wednesday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Key Senate lawmakers want more federal control cyber securit...

Federal News Network Staff

April 1, 2009 8:31 am

2 min read

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Key Senate lawmakers want more federal control cyber security in the private sector. The Washington Post reports lawmakers will introduce a bill that would let the government set and enforce security standards for private industry. Under the bill, companies that control essential systems like water and electricity would fall under the umbrella of the government’s cybersecurity efforts. The Washington Post reports the bill would also include “regulatory teeth” to ensure private sector compliance.

Senate lawmakers have introduced a bill that would bring major changes to federal hiring. The measure, proposed by Ohio Republican George Voinovich and Hawaii Democrat Daniel Akaka, would rid federal job applications of essays on on knowledge, skills and abilities. It would also force agencies to make an offer within 80 days and remove jargon from job postings. Akaka and Voinovich are the chair and ranking member of a Senate subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce. They say the bill is needed to make government jobs more attractive.

The General Services Administration has sent its plan to Congress on how it will spend $5 and a half Billion stimulus dollars. GSA will spend most of the money greening federal buildings. It’ll also use a portion to renovate old buildings and build new ones. A smaller chunk goes to constructing land ports of entry.

Some new stimulus reporting requirements to tell you about. A series of draft rules published in Tuesdays Federal Register requires contractors to submit detailed public reports on their services and jobs created. Contracting officers would have to publish easy-to-read public information on contracts worth more than $25,000 dollars. They’d have to do that before the contracts are awarded. The rules are designed to beef up accountability and transparency under the stimulus bill. Final regulations will be published after a comment period ends on June first.

Defense contractor EDS will continue running the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, at least for the time-being. The contract for that project expires next year. But Federal Times reports the Navy will give EDS a contract to fill the gap until it finds someone to build a replacement. EDS has managed the intranet project for 10 years, since its inception.

The Treasury Department has launched financialstability.gov. The website is designed to work much like recovery.gov, only this one tracks what the administration is doing to fix the financial system. The site includes a state-by-state map of how much government money banks have received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It also includes a glossary to help you understand common financial terms.