The Department of Homeland Security has implemented several new measures, including automation and collaboration with other agencies, to reduce the number of backlogged, unvetted visas.
Rand Beers, DHS’ under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, noted that the agency has vetted 843,000 out of 1.6 million visa overstays since a General Accounting Office report issued in April on the subject. Keep reading →
Private sector developers aren’t the only ones introducing new and useful applications for mobile devices. Federal agencies are also introducing mobile apps aimed at providing specialized services to the public.
Here are just some of the more recent mobile apps that were presented at the just-concluded FOSE Exposition and Conference, the nation’s largest government information technology convention: Keep reading →
A new report released yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the United States has made significant progress in securing the nation from terrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but that the evolving nature of terrorist threats facing the country continues to leave much work still be done.
“America is stronger and more resilient than ever before,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, in announcing the report on the Department’s blog. “But threats from terrorism persist. And challenges remain.” Keep reading →
Federal agencies are embracing social media as an increasingly common way to interact with the public. Yet, a critical consideration that is often overlooked by agency officials is how social media will be incorporated in disaster and emergency preparedness plans. If your agency hasn’t fully developed a social media plan for disaster preparedness scenarios, it’s time to add it to your priority “to do” list!
Information about practically everything – both factual and wildly inaccurate – now travels around the globe literally in minutes, through new communication tools – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, to name a few. In a natural or manmade disaster, if you don’t reach out to the public with the facts quickly, someone else will get there with rumor – and as we all know, misinformation can cause havoc, create panic, and potentially increase danger to those at risk who we want to protect. Keep reading →
The fight to obtain additional wireless communications spectrum capable of providing police, firemen and emergency managers with the same capabilities most 15 year-olds have on their smart phones has been ongoing since the attacks of September 11, 2001, when outdated radios prevented firefighters and police from communicating evacuation orders. Hundreds died because they could not hear those orders.
And while little has changed in the decade since then, the Obama Administration last month publicly announced its support to transfer a swath of wireless spectrum known as the D block to first responder agencies for the purpose of building a nationwide, interoperable wireless public safety network – a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Keep reading →
The Office of Financial Research, a new federal agency created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, is drawing mounting concern over assumptions that it can safeguard vast amounts of consumer information from cyber attacks.
The Office of Financial Research “represents a hacker’s dream and a civil libertarian’s nightmare,” said Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (PA) at a House subcommittee hearing July 14. Keep reading →
The fight to obtain additional wireless communications spectrum capable of providing police, firemen and emergency managers with the same capabilities most 15 year-olds have on their smart phones has been ongoing since the attacks of September 11, 2001, when outdated radios prevented firefighters and police from communicating evacuation orders. Hundreds died because they could not hear those orders.
And while little has changed in the decade since then, the Obama Administration last month publicly announced its support to transfer a swath of wireless spectrum known as the D block to first responder agencies for the purpose of building a nationwide, interoperable wireless public safety network – a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.
The decision puts the White House squarely at odds with a powerful faction of wireless companies that continue to pressure Congress for a public auction of the available spectrum. Those companies argue the spectrum is critical to American competitiveness in an increasingly wireless world and a sale would raise an estimated $28 billion that could be applied to deficit reduction. Keep reading →
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is forging ahead with its plans to digitize billions of documents, a project that will take years to complete and that already has faced criticism over out-of-control costs.
At the helm of this digital effort is Pamela Wright, the chief Digital Access Strategist for the archives. She’s been in this job for just a year, overseeing NARA’s internal and external web pages, social media efforts and Online Public Access (OPA) prototype, the public face of its electronic records archives. Keep reading →
With Medicare fraud costing the Federal Government an estimated $60 billion a year, it makes perfect sense that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has tapped aerospace innovator Northrop Grumman to create a predictive model that will detect fraud. Or does it?
With all the great technology and healthcare companies out there, Northrop Grumman may not be the obvious choice, but in some ways it is perfect for this role. After all, Northrop is one of the worst perpetrators of fraud against the U.S. Government. While some could see this as an unfortunate decision to reward a chronic offender, maybe the government is using a “takes a thief to catch a thief” model. Keep reading →
Six Essential Elements to Government Customer Service
By Wendi Pomerance BrickPresident Obama recently issued a Presidential Executive Order to all federal agencies to streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction with plans due to the Office of Management and Budget by this October.
How exactly do we improve customer satisfaction in government agencies? Great service in government is harder to provide and sustain than it is in private industry. Keep reading →