This article was adapted from a blog posted on The White House Office of Management and Budget website by Deputy Director for Management and Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients.
The Washington Post ran a story Friday about an inspector general report that showed that from 2006 to 2010, the Office of Personnel Management paid $601 million to retirees who are dead. Keep reading →
A new report, “Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation: Expanding Ways to Provide Cost-Effective Services,” provides insight into a program through which federal agencies work with states and cities on improving performance and reducing cost in programs that serve citizens.
A new report written by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) and the IBM Center for The Business of Government, “Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation: Expanding Ways to Provide Cost-Effective Services,” discusses the goals and progress of the Partnership Fund, a program led by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Keep reading →
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued a long-awaited set of guidelines that clarifies what government functions “must always be performed by federal employees” and when it’s appropriate to turn to contractors to for a variety of services.
In a 75-page final policy letter, OFPP and Office of Management and Budget Officials lay out a new set of terms, guidelines and examples concerning government contracting. Keep reading →
This commentary originally appeared as a blog post on The White House’s Office web site.
COMMENTARY:
When the Administration took office, it was clear to us that for too long there was not adequate oversight of contractors, leading to wasted taxpayer dollars, repeated delivery delays, and unacceptable contractor performance. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in wartime contracting during the last decade. That’s why this Administration has focused on cutting waste in contracting, boosting oversight, and strengthening accountability of contractors. And more broadly, earlier this summer the White House launched the Campaign to Cut Waste, a government-wide drive to crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse.
On August 31, the Commission on Wartime Contracting released a report on these challenges. We welcome the report and commend the Commission for shining a spotlight on waste in contracting, on the need to strengthen the contracting function at agencies, on the value of increasing competition in contracting, and on the importance of holding contractors accountable for their performance. Keep reading →
COMMENTARY:
Earlier last month, OMB Director Jacob Lew released a memorandum for the heads of all federal departments and agencies, which focused on four areas for which all federal chief information officers (CIOs) have authority and “a lead role”: Governance, Commodity IT, Program Management, and Information Security. The memorandum further reinforced responsibilities of the Federal CIO Council to manage the federal IT portfolio across agency boundaries.
The OMB action provides impetus for CIOs to leverage Obama Administration initiatives in driving change in their agencies, and represents and important signal of support for the position from the Administration – especially notable in light of its issuance just as the new Federal CIO, Steve VanRoekel, was taking the reigns from Vivek Kundra. Keep reading →
The seventh in a series of “Seven Management Imperatives” for government leaders, based on the insights provided by some 300 senior government officials and more than 300 research reports, courtesy of IBM Center of The Business of Government.
The federal government faces an estimated annual structural deficit of $500 billion to $700 billion. A deficit of this magnitude represents a major threat to the economic health of the nation. The structural deficit is defined as the portion of the total annual deficit that results from a fundamental imbalance in receipts and expenditures, not just one-time occurrences or changes in the economic cycle. Steps to reduce and eliminate this structural deficit are urgently needed. Keep reading →
A White House memo giving chief information officers at federal agencies greater responsibilities to reduce wasteful technology spending comes up short in giving CIOs the added authority many believe they need to make a significant impact, say current and former government IT officials.
The memo, issued by Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew on Aug. 8, notified U.S. department and agency chiefs that the CIOs working for them have been tasked with greater roles and responsibilities by OMB, as well as greater accountability, in controlling technology spending. Keep reading →
Federal agency and department leaders should plan for a 5 percent reduction in discretionary spending in fiscal year 2013, and prepare for more cuts –at least 10 percent–according to a White House Office of Management and Budget memo. At the same time, OMB urged agencies to look for opportunities to enhance economic growth.
Unless agencies have been given explicit direction to the contrary by OMB, overall agency funding requests for fiscal year 2013 should be “at least 5 percent below your 2011 enacted discretionary appropriation,” OMB Director Jacob Lew wrote in an Aug. 17 memo to federal agency and department heads. Keep reading →
Steven Pirzchalski is a very popular guy these days.
As director of enterprise telecommunications for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he’s the VA’s IPv6 lead person on transitioning the agency to the new version of Internet protocol. He’s also the point person to answer every question other agencies have about the transition, a role the Office of Management and Budget gave him three months ago. Keep reading →
The role of federal chief information officers is about to shift, according to the government’s new top CIO, Steven VanRoekel, who was named last week to succeed outgoing CIO, Vivek Kundra.
In a White House blog post published last night, VanRoekel highlighted four new areas of focus for federal CIOs: Governance, Commodity IT, Program Management, and Information Security. Keep reading →