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GovExec.com Today
August 23, 2004
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Did you know there's a Federal agency that exists solely to handle a portion of your
procurement workload? GovWorks is an organization of
Contracting Officers established by Congress to help Federal agencies acquire products
and services as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We have the knowledge and expertise to get the job done on your timetable. To learn
more, visit { Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10251733;5622871;a?http://www.govworks.gov }
www.govworks.gov.
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In this issue:
* Senior Defense contracting officer, 3 others, indicted for corruption
* Forest Service catches breath on competitive sourcing
* Navy personnel question customer satisfaction survey results
* Lawmaker questions demise of government technology task force
* Tech companies procure federal experts for board slots
* Panel queries officials about intelligence oversight, privacy
* Border officials say they are unprepared to protect nation
* Today's column: Outlook
* The Earlybird: Today's headlines
* Quote of the day
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1. Senior Defense contracting officer, 3 others, indicted for corruption
By Katherine McIntire Peters
The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Defense Department on Friday announced that Kevin
Marlow, a senior contracting officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency was
among four people indicted in a contracting scam.
Thirty-four of 68 counts in the public corruption indictment focused on Marlow, who
allegedly had a secret financial interest in Vector Systems Inc., a small firm based
in Harrisburg, Pa. Marlow used a government purchase card to award over $11 million in
contracts to the company between 1998 and 2002, according to a statement released by
the Defense Department.
Also indicted in the scam were Frederick and Stephanie Marlow, relatives of Kevin
Marlow, and Vector Systems owner James Kloss, who allegedly paid the Marlows $500,000
in cash and provided other benefits to the family.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004kp1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004kp1.htm
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2. Forest Service catches breath on competitive sourcing
By Amelia Gruber
Now that the Forest Service has completed a public-private competition involving
more than 800 technology jobs, it plans to slow down on opening work to contractors,
at least for the next fiscal year.
The Forest Service, which got off to a rough start on President Bush's competitive
sourcing initiative by running several flawed contests, will not initiate any
competitions before the close of this fiscal year, and will only begin one next year,
said David Heerwagen, the agency's associate deputy chief for business operations.
Next year's contest likely will encompass roughly 100 communications jobs, he said.
Forest Service officials also are working to complete two large "business process
reengineering" studies, one entailing about 900 human resources jobs and the other
involving about 1,000 financial management positions. Business process reengineering
reviews help agencies find ways of reorganizing to improve efficiency without
necessarily considering outsourcing.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004a1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004a1.htm
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3. Navy personnel question customer satisfaction survey results
By David McGlinchey
In early August, Navy technology officials announced that customer satisfaction
levels for the Navy Marine Corps Intranet were near 80 percent and rising. That
declaration has unleashed a wave of anger from Navy and Marine Corps personnel who say
they have yet to meet a person, military or civilian, who is pleased with the massive
new intranet system.
The NMCI program, which is designed to implement a secure network connecting all Navy
and Marine Corps personnel, could end up costing more than $8 billion. According to
Navy officials, NMCI soon will have 700,000 connected users - making it the world's
largest intranet. Service officials and representatives from Texas-based prime
contractor EDS have said that some problems are to be expected as the program is being
developed and delivered. Program officials insist the majority of Navy users are happy
with NMCI.
A casual sampling of Navy personnel, however, failed to uncover a single satisfied
user. Many were sharply critical of the program.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004d1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004d1.htm
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4. Lawmaker questions demise of government technology task force
By Chris Strohm
A senior Democratic lawmaker on Friday questioned why the Homeland Security
Department shut down an independent task force before it finished examining several
government technology programs, including the nation's biometric border security
system.
Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee,
sent DHS Secretary Tom Ridge a letter this week expressing concerns about the
cancellation of the Data Management Improvement Act Task Force, which was created by
Congress in 2000 and authorized to operate until 2008.
The task force was disbanded in January despite having a lengthy research agenda,
dedicated staff and budget to carry its work through 2004, according to Turner. On
Friday, a DHS spokeswoman explained that the task force was disbanded because it met
its statutory mandates to advise the Attorney General on border management issues.
According to the spokeswoman, it was determined that the group needed more flexibility
with input from the private sector and state and local entities so the task force was
replaced by port specific plans being carried out by other employees.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004c1.htm
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5. Tech companies procure federal experts for board slots
By Steve Seidenberg, for National Journal's Technology Daily
A growing number of information technology firms that want to win homeland security
contracts are naming board directors who have extensive experience in the federal IT
procurement process.
The federal government spends huge amounts of money on technology to bolster security
for military, government and major infrastructure sites, so IT companies that want to
benefit from the spending are looking for people who know how to do business with the
federal government.
It is a trend that began soon after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to
Evan Scott, head of executive search firm The Evan Scott Group International. He said
companies of all sizes, from General Electric on down, are looking for executives with
federal experience.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm1.htm
_____
Brought to you by GovWorks
{ Link: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10251733;5622871;a?http://www.govworks.gov }
{Image: Brought to you by GovWorks}
Did you know there's a Federal agency that exists solely to handle a portion of your
procurement workload? GovWorks is an organization of
Contracting Officers established by Congress to help Federal agencies acquire products
and services as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We have the knowledge and expertise to get the job done on your timetable. To learn
more, visit { Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10251733;5622871;a?http://www.govworks.gov }
www.govworks.gov.
_____
6. Panel queries officials about intelligence oversight, privacy
By Sarah Lai Stirland, National Journal's Technology Daily
The House Judiciary Committee on Friday debated civil-liberties questions while
pondering the recommendations of investigatory bodies created after the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks.
Members of the committee on both sides of the aisle appeared torn over the question of
how much power the federal government should have in its ongoing efforts to prevent
terrorism.
In its final report, the so-called 9/11 Commission recommended that the government
establish an oversight board to ensure that various intelligence and law enforcement
bodies adhere to privacy and civil-liberties guidelines. The commission also
recommended the creation of standards for state-issued driver's licenses.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm2.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm2.htm
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7. Border officials say they are unprepared to protect nation
By Chris Strohm
Although the 9/11 commission cited the need for increased border security, the
majority of the nation's customs and border officials say they are ill-equipped to
prevent another terrorist attack, according to a survey planned for release on Monday.
"The vast majority of America's front-line border protection personnel do not believe
that they have been given the proper tools, training and support to be effective in
stopping potential terrorists from entering the country," a nationwide survey of U.S.
Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers concludes.
The survey was sponsored by the National Border Patrol Council of the American
Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 10,000 non-supervisory
Border Patrol employees.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004c2.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004c2.htm
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8. Today's column: Outlook
The Reformation
Overhauls to the acquisition system during the past decade have made it work better.
Full column: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304op.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304op.htm
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9. The Earlybird: Today's headlines
Get links to the top news of the day:
{ Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/ebird.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/ebird.htm
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10. Quote of the day
"There are more problems than you could shoot at. Productivity of daily processes are
slowed to a snail's pace, and it practically takes an act of Congress to get problems
fixed."
-- A Navy civilian, who asked not to be identified, { Link:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=29263&dcn=todaysnews }
criticizing the Navy Marine Corps Intranet.
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