or just romping .com Today - , OCTOBER 29, 2007=20TodayFRIDAY, OCTOBER 26,
2007Subscribe or=20 unsubscribe from this newsletter =20=20HEADLINES Panelists
suggest reducing reliance on political appo=intees Travel policies temporarily
loosened in Southern Cali=fornia Workforce issues complicate planning for
cyberattacks= Credentials could ease hiring for IT security jobs Rice pledges
improved oversight of security contracto=rs Davis formally announces he will
not run for Senate Conferees split over language on aerial refueling ser=vices
Judiciary panel moves Coast Guard reauthorization bil=l Fedblog: Fire Response:
How You Can Help Tech Insider: Different Country, Same IT Pr=oblems Today's
column: Retirement Planning The Earlybird: Today's headlines Quote of the Day
=09=20=20=20=20=20=20 Brought to you by General Dynamics
IT=09=20=20=20
=20=09=09=09 =09=09 Panelists suggest reducing relianc=e on political
appointees By Br=ittany R. Ballenstedt
The conversion of some political jobs to career positions could help a=ddress
the federal government's leadership and workforce challenges, three =panelists
said Wednesday.At a seminar sponsored by the Performance Institute, a think
tank with o=ffices in Arlington, Va., panelists noted that placing more career
employee=s in leadership roles could improve continuity during transitions to
new pr=esidential administrations. The seminar was the first in a series to
develo=p recommendations for the 2008 Transitions in Governance report, a
project =by a coalition of good government groups designed to guide the next
preside=ntial administration on management and human capital issues."When a
leader leaves, the job falls to senior career civil servants any=way," said
Vince Taylor, vice president and director for human capital mana=gement at the
Center for Naval Analysis. "Often, I tend to think that in so=me cases [career
employees] tend do an equal and sometimes a better job. Wh=y not make some of
those positions permanent =85 so that as transition team=s come and go, there's
some element of continuity."=09=09=09=20 Full story: http://www.and
3-year-old .com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38375&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
=09=09 Travel policies temporarily loosen=ed in
Southern California By Ro=bert Brodsky
Federal employees traveling for work near the scene of the almost two-=dozen
wildfires raging through Southern California no longer have to worry =as much
about how much money they spend on lodging and meals or the type of= gas they
put in their car.On Wednesday, the General Services Administration temporarily
relaxed th=e per diem and purchasing policies for workers in the seven counties
that P=resident Bush has declared a federal disaster area: Los Angeles, San
Diego,= Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura.A travel
waiver authorizes federal agencies to reimburse employees the c=ost of hotel
rooms in affected areas, even if the cost is higher than the s=tandard per diem
rate and the location is further from the job than is norm=ally allowed.
Similar restrictions for meals have also been lifted.=09=09=09=20
Full story: http://www.the pressure,
.com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38378&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
=09=09 Workforce issues complicate planni=ng for cyberattacks
By Ga=utham Nagesh The Homeland
Security Department has yet to develop a comprehensive pl=an for how companies
would recover from cyberattacks disrupting the Interne=t, in part because the
department has not been able to find and keep highly= trained cybersecurity
experts, according to a top information technology a=uditor at the Government
Accountability Office.In 2006, DHS developed a plan for how businesses and the
government coul=d recover from a cyberattack that disrupted the Internet. In
that plan, DHS= laid out the response that would be coordinated by the National
Communicat=ions System, which would be responsible for the hardware and
security infra=structure. The National Cyber Security Division would be
responsible for ma=intaining the integrity of the software applications and
information under =attack.Still, "there is no public-private plan for recovery
and there is no dat=e by which such a plan must exist," testified Gregory
Wilshusen, director o=f information technology at GAO, at a Tuesday hearing of
the House Oversigh=t and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy,
Census and Nati=onal Archives.=09=09=09=20 Full story:
http://www.just do their .com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38377&dcn=3De_gvet=20
Return to Top =09=09 Credentials could ease hiring
for =IT security jobs By Al=yssa Rosenberg
Certification requirements for information security professionals woul=d
help agencies smooth the hiring process, representatives from professiona=l
certification organizations said at a conference earlier this week."As someone
who hires individuals, I look for the certifications because= it shows a
dedication to the profession and giving back to the company, as= well as your
own personal growth," said Linda Kostic, director of enterpri=se risk
management at E*Trade Financial and a member of the Information Sys=tems Audit
and Control Association."I think for a young professional, certifications are a
good way to vali=date a skill set," said Tara Dean, government business
development manager =for CompTIA.=09=09=09=20 Full story:
http://www.A lack of spontaneous
.com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38380&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
=09=09 Rice pledges improved oversight of= security contractors
By Da=n Friedman, CongressDaily Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that she regretted t=hat the State
Department did not exercise better oversight of contractors i=n Iraq and
acknowledged pervasive corruption in the Iraqi government, but s=he failed to
satisfy Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform= Committee
seeking more specific answers.The much anticipated face-off between Rice and
Oversight and Government =Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., over issues
raised by the committee= coincided with a State Department campaign to show
that it is addressing c=oncerns that it failed to control the conduct of
private security contracto=rs like Blackwater USA in Iraq.In the wake of a
report by a team of State officials that faulted the de=partment for not
bringing security contractors under control, Richard Griff=in, head of State's
Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which oversees Blackwate=r and other security
firms, resigned Wednesday. Rice announced Tuesday that= she would quickly
implement the team's recommendations.=09=09=09=20 Full story:
http://www. the same software
.com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38381&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
Brought to you by General
Dynamics IT =09=09 Davis formally announces he
will n=ot run for Senate By Ma=rk Wegner, CongressDaily
Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., on Thursday said he would not run for
the Repub=lican Senate nomination in 2008.Davis is the ranking member of the
House Oversight and Government Reform= Committee. He declined to say whether he
would seek re-election to his Nor=thern Virginia house seat, but hinted his
political career was not over."The rumors of my demise are a bit exaggerated,"
Davis said at a breakfa=st briefing with reporters. Davis' political future has
been in flux since =the GOP's state central committee decided earlier this
month to hold a conv=ention rather than a primary to select the GOP nominee for
the seat of reti=ring Republican Sen. John Warner.=09=09=09=20 Full
story: http://www.for many
families..com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38382&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
=09=09 Conferees split over language on a=erial refueling
services By Me=gan Scully, CongressDaily
Conferees on the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill are divided ov=er a
Senate provision that would require the Air Force to create a pilot pr=ogram to
lease commercial aerial refueling services, with both sides of the= debate
finding little room for compromise.Several aides said the Senate's
"fee-for-service" language has emerged a=s one of the most contentious issues
in the conference deliberations on the= massive bill, which recommends funding
levels and sets Pentagon policy.The Senate provision, which has the strong
backing of Armed Services ran=king member John McCain, R-Ariz., and other
members in both chambers, says =the intent of the pilot program is to examine
the "feasibility and advisabi=lity" of using contractors to provide aerial
refueling services.=09=09=09=20 Full story: http://www.mom and dad
-- .com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38374&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
=09=09 Judiciary panel moves Coast Guard =reauthorization
bill By Te=rry Kivlan, CongressDaily The
House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2008 auth=orization
bill for the Coast Guard after adding language to bolster its abi=lity to
combat maritime smugglers of illegal immigrants.The bill (H.R. 2830), which
cleared the committee on a voice vote, would= also increase funding authorized
for the Coast Guard's controversial $24 b=illion Deepwater program to modernize
its fleet, and would ratchet up secur=ity at ports and liquefied natural gas
(LNG) facilities.The legislation, which cleared the House Homeland Security and
Transport=ation and Infrastructure committees earlier this year, calls for
adding $22=9 million to restore the Deepwater acquisition funding to its fiscal
2007 l=evel of $1.2 billion. But the measure would tighten up the much-maligned
ma=nagement of the program by requiring a civilian to fill the new position of=
chief acquisition officer and barring Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman=
from continuing to act as lead contractors for the program.=09=09=09=20
Full story: http://www.three mornings
.com/stor=y_page.cfm?articleid=3D38376&dcn=3De_gvet=20 Return to Top
Fedblog: Fire Response: How You Can H=elp
By To=m Shoop Outside the bureaucracy, looking in.
Thursday, October 25, 3:39 p.m. ET: Here are the key links:OPM
memo on donating to relief organizations thr=ough the Combined Federal
CampaignFederal Employees Education & Assistance Fund announcement of the
Ca=lifornia Fire Fund Full column: http://blogs.a new academy
.com/fedblog/=20 Return to Top Tech
Insider: Different Country, Same= IT Problems
What's happening and what's being discussed in the federal IT commu=nity.
Thursday, October 25, 4:27 p.m. ET: You just knew
there had to be an IT angle to the special inspector ge=neral reports on
procurement abuses associated with the Iraq War. You were =right. There is.
Seems that the United States spent $38 million to develop =a financial
management system for Iraq's government. When it stopped workin=g for a month,
no one noticed, according to an Associated Press article. From the
article:"According to U.S. Embassy officials, the Ministry of Finan=ce
continues to use its legacy system for overall budget and accounting, 'n=obody
noticed' when IFMIS was down for a month and no one relies on IFMIS t=o produce
reports," [special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stua=rt W. Bowen
Jr.] said. =09=09 Full column: http://blogs.three
mornings .com/techinsider/=20 Return to Top
Today's column: Retirement Planning More Questions, More Answers
Another round of questions from readers about a range of retirement
is=sues. Full column: http://www.play is a simple
#com/dailyfed/1007/102607=rp.htm=20 Return to Top
The Earlybird: Today's headlines Get links to the top
news of the day:=20=20 http://www. someone
struggles.com/dailyfed/ebird.htm=20 Return to Top
Quote of the Day The rumors of my demise are a bit exaggerated.
--=20Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight
and Government= Reform Committee, hinting his political career is not over
despite a decision not to run for the Senate.=20=20 Return to Top
=09=09Subscribe to the magazine:Sign up today for a free
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something from.com. =09=09 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20Brought to you by General
Dynamics IT =09=20=20=09=20=20 =20 THE ALERT IS ON!!!_Symbol:
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