Furloughs at DHS – Plus the DorobekINSIDER 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• The President unveiled his long awaited Executive Order to improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure during the State of the Union. But what was in it? And how does it affect you and your agency? Insights from TechAmerica. Click here for the full recap.

But First: Gov 2.0

It is a topic that is much discussed, yet this week at the Adobe Government Assembly 2013, at which Chris Dorobek moderated two panels, there was something of a feeling of deja vu all over again. Despite years of discussions about how government uses social media to accomplish its mission. Yet there were still questions — and discussions — about how to determine if the people offering comments were real or not, or what to do if one is overwhelmed with comments.

NASA CIO Linda Cureton had my favorite quote: I look forward to the day when we don’t have sessions on social media” because gov 2.0 has merely become part of how the government operates.

We will bring you some of the discussions from the Adobe Government Assembly in the days ahead. They will also all be posted and archived here… eventually.

Worth reading:
CIOs seeking a seat at the private sector table too…

From the New York Times: In Tech, Does I.T. or Marketing Rule? A new study finds that the greatest top-level disconnect at companies appears to be between corporate chief information officers and chief marketing officers.

“We asked business leaders and information technology professors how strong the relationship was between the chief information officers and others at the top of the organization. Then we had them rate it, on a scale of one to five,” said Chris Curran, one of the study’s authors. “We were looking for the characteristics of companies that had a 4.5 or more.”

Of 1,100 companies surveyed, with both information technology and nontechnical executives surveyed in equal measure, just 13 percent had that strong relationship. At least you can’t accuse these respondents of grade inflation.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Digital IQ study

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers are facing up to a 14 day furlough if sequestration goes into effect. Federal Times reports, Secretary Janet Napolitano said sequestration’s budget cuts could also force layoffs at Homeland Security. And she said the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund would be cut by more than $1 billion under sequestration. FEMA had $7 billion in its disaster relief fund in fiscal 2012.
2. The Postmaster General is urging Congress to to back ending Saturday mail delivery. Federal Times reports, the USPS may need an enormous taxpayer bailout if Congress stymies its bid to end Saturday mail delivery and make other changes to other operations and employee benefits. Donahoe quickly faced sharp questions from lawmakers worried about the impact on rural service and skeptical of the Postal Service’s authority to override a long-standing congressional ban on reducing delivery days.
3. The House is considering a bill that would extend the pay freeze through 2013. Government Executive reports, Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., along with 28 cosponsors, wants to prolong the current pay freeze for civilian government employees through the end of the year. President Obama issued an executive order on Dec. 27, 2012, that would end the two-year salary freeze on March 27 — when the current continuing resolution expires — and give civilian federal workers a 0.5 percent raise in 2013. The House will vote tomorrow morning.
4. The FBI is investigating the illegal transfer of classified antimissile data from NASA Ames Research Center. NextGov reports, in 2009 China and other nations might have received the classified data. The Justice Department has prevented the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Northern California from filing criminal counts in the case, according to the lawmakers.
5. The Office of Management and Budget has pledged to make the data on USASpending.gov more reliable. FCW reports, OMB Controller Danny Werfel said as the “the most prominent touchpoint” between the public and government financial information, the portal needs to have accurate, dependable information.
6. Federal News Radio reports, a new permanent Senate panel will monitor spending at every federal agency. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo), a former auditor, said any federal employee or contractor who wastes taxpayer money or acts inappropriately will have to answer to the committee. The subcommittee on financial and contracting oversight will also oversee financial transparency and improper payments. It is one of several in the reorganized Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont). will oversee another panel on efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and the federal workforce. The entire committee will tackle issues facing the Postal Service Census and the National Archives.
7. And on GovLoop, register for the DorobekINSIDER Live, next Wednesday February 20th at noon for our expert BYOD panel. Register here.

The DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder

• Pew Internet:Demographics of social media users. Did you know that 67% of internet users use social networking sites?
• The New York Times: In High-Tech Japan, the Fax Machines Roll On
• ForbesTech does a makeover – yes, Oprah style makeover – for Apple’s Tim Cook

What govie should get a makeover?