GovExec.com Today - August 27, 2004
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August 27, 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
* GSA to make new procurement database widely accessible
* Border agency kicks off courtesy training
* Critics: Details about new Pentagon personnel system are scarce
* Pentagon developing system to protect buidlings from bio, chem attacks
* Cargo screening program expanded
* Report seeks more federal support for childhood vaccinations
* Today's column: Legal Briefs
* Quote of the day
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1. GSA to make new procurement database widely accessible
By Amelia Gruber
Citizens will have free access to most information collected and stored in a recently
overhauled central database housing government procurement records, General Services
Administration officials announced Wednesday.
Reports generated from the Federal Procurement Data System - Next Generation will be
available at no cost, and citizens can also submit specialized queries, said David
Drabkin, GSA's deputy chief acquisition officer and senior procurement executive.
Organizations or citizens wishing to access the original data will need to pay a
one-time fee of $2,500 to cover the cost of connecting to the system.
FPDS-NG debuted last October and is designed to replace the 26-year-old FPDS system,
which compiles records of the government's contracts. GSA officials expect the
modernized repository to enhance the quality and timeliness of procurement data.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604a1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604a1.htm
_____
2. Border agency kicks off courtesy training
By Chris Strohm
Customs and border officials at U.S. ports of entry will receive more training on how
to be professional and courteous under a program being launched in response to some
"isolated incidents of rude and hostile conduct," Customs and Border Protection
Commissioner Robert Bonner said Thursday.
Union representatives, however, immediately blasted the program as being misdirected
and not addressing the concerns raised in a survey released this week reporting that
front-line border personnel do not have the tools, training and resources they need to
protect the country from potential terrorists.
"We can be professional and courteous while at the same time aggressively perform our
counterterrorism task," Bonner said during a press conference announcing theCBP
Professionalism Initiative.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604c1.htm
_____
3. Critics: Details about new Pentagon personnel system are scarce
By Shawn Zeller
A coalition of labor unions meeting with Defense Department officials to discuss the
new National Security Personnel System are blasting Pentagon leaders for refusing to
negotiate with them or to share information about plans for the new system.
"We're just meeting for the sake of meeting and have been since ... January," said Ron
Ault, president of the metal trade department of the AFL-CIO. "They haven't shared
anything with us."
According to union leaders, the Pentagon has told them that the purpose of the four
meetings held since January is to gather employee input, not to negotiate the design
of the new system. Leaders from 35 different unions, who have joined forces under the
United DoD Workers Coalition, expressed their displeasure during two days of meetings
with Defense and Office of Personnel Management officials at a hotel outside
Washington on Wednesday and Thursday.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604sz1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604sz1.htm
_____
4. Pentagon developing system to protect buidlings from bio, chem attacks
By Joe Fiorill, Global Security Newswire
A protective system being developed by the Defense Department could soon render it
pointless for terrorists to attack U.S. buildings with biological or chemical agents,
the lead official in the effort told Global Security Newswire last week.
Researchers are developing a ventilation-based system to protect Defense Department
buildings that is also intended for widespread use outside the military, Immune
Building Program Manager Wayne Bryden wrote in an e-mail to GSN.
"The DARPA Immune Building Program has developed the machinery and the industrial base
to provide protection against C/B attack for all buildings in the nation. When Immune
Building technology is widely implemented, this attack option will effectively be
removed from the arsenal of our enemies," wrote Bryden, whose program is part of the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Special Projects Office.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604gsn2.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604gsn2.htm
_____
5. Cargo screening program expanded
>From Global Security Newswire
The United States aims to expand screening of shipping containers for weapons of mass
destruction and other contraband before the cargo is allowed into the United States,
the head of the Customs and Border Protection bureau announced Wednesday.
Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said his agency plans to expand the Container
Security Initiative beyond the 25 international seaports now participating to cover
more than 80 percent of U.S.-bound freight.
"The 25 ports represent the world's major seaports, but we are not stopping there. We
plan to expand the CSI network even farther," Bonner said.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604gsn1.com }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604gsn1.com
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}
{Image: Brought to you by IBM}
Join IBM and ESRI, on September 23, 2004, for an eGovernment Leadership Seminar, "The
Value of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the Enterprise." Hear industry
speakers, including, IBM and ESRI, discuss how agencies are benefiting from
integrating GIS solutions and geospatial intelligence with government business
processes.
To register, visit: { Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10367769;5622871;r?http://www-1.ibm.com/gold/portal/servlet/gold/federal/Content?contentURL=/gold/portal/html/en_US15/96750.html&page=Content
}
www.ibm.com/federal
click on the eGov Leadership item or call 1 800 333 6705.
_____
6. Report seeks more federal support for childhood vaccinations
By David McGlinchey
Congress should direct more funding and assistance to boost childhood immunization
programs across the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by Trust for
America's Heath, a nonpartisan public health group.
"The federal government has an important role to play in promoting full vaccination
rates," said Shelley Hearne, the group's executive director.
The report, "Closing the Vaccination Gap: A Shot in the Arm for Childhood Immunization
Programs," also received the backing of Rosalynn Carter, former first lady and
president and co-founder of the immunization advocacy group Every Child By Two. During
a conference call with reporters, Carter noted that the federal government already
supports childhood vaccination, but she said the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention does not have enough resources to provide sufficient support for
immunization programs.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604d1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082604d1.htm
_____
7. Today's column: Legal Briefs
Hatch Dispatch
Recent Hatch Act memo is just a reminder, say OSC officials.
Full column: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082704lb.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082704lb.htm
_____
8. Quote of the day
"We can be professional and courteous while at the same time aggressively perform our
counterterrorism task."
-- Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner, launching a new { Link:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=29328&dcn=todaysnews }
professionalism training initiative.
_____
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