Congress

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

It is hard to tell whether federal data center consolidation efforts are actually saving taxpayers money. Why? To start, no one is tracking agency progress in closing data centers against the cost-savings goal, according to congressional lawmakers.

The U.S. is losing a critical battle against some of the most elusive criminals to date. Remember Bonnie and Clyde? They were nothing compared to the cyber criminals looting U.S. financial institutions today.

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

Another reason why a bill reaffirming the U.S., multistakeholder approach to Internet governance will remain government policy – it is free.

Capitol Hill will soon see a gathering of private-sector companies demonstrating how technology can be used to cut waste – if federal spending data were standardized and transparent as required under the proposed Digital Accountability and Transparency Act.

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

There has been a greater push under the Obama administration to purchase technology that meets a certain baseline of quality for the lowest price possible instead of searching out the best value.

Despite receiving nearly 10,000 recommendations from congressional watchdogs on how to tackle fragmentation, duplication and overlap, the Homeland Security Department continues to grapple with weaknesses in these areas, according to a panel on Capitol Hill.

“No one should mistake the common cause of securing our homeland for authority to violate the civil liberties of Americans,” Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, said during an April 25 hearing on Capitol Hill.

Policy changes or redirection of federal spending would help ignite government innovation, but for the effort to take root, legislators would have to view it a high priority, according to the head of the Congressional Budget Office.

While the atrocities in Boston last week may give credence to arguments by law enforcement on the necessity of easy access to mobile geolocation data, civil liberties advocates took the stand today to fight for amendments to the 27 year-old legislation that makes it possible.

Experts from academia, private sector and government convened April 24 to testify on a subject that’s all the rage in the federal IT community – big data.

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

The House of Representatives passed the infamous Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act today, by a margin of 288 to 127. Despite President Barack Obama’s Tuesday threat to veto CISPA if passed, the bill will move forward for a vote in the Senate.

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

A House committee is calling on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to follow through on a recent plan to improve disability benefits claims processing for transitioning service members and veterans.

FedWire is FedScoop’s afternoon roundup of news and notes from the federal IT community. Send your links and videos to tips@fedscoop.com.

A new cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office has concluded that implementing the Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013 would cost roughly $620 million over four years.

A bill aimed at curbing federal travel and conference attendance expenses might not be quite the cost-cutting solution originally intended, according to the Congressional Budget Office.