federal spending

Minnesota Moves Executive Branch Employees To Cloud Communications

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All of Minnesota’s executive branch government employees are now working in a cloud environment, enabling the state to more effectively collaborate across agencies, reduce costs, expand its IT abilities, improve citizen services, and increase security.

The move involves 35,000 employees in more than 70 executive agencies using Microsoft Office 365 to securely access email, share calendars, IM, video conference and collaboratively work on projects over the web. It is the largest state deployment of the technology, said Stuart McKee, CTO, US State and Local Government, Microsoft. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 21, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Postal Service: We Need More Junk Mail

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — The U.S. Postal Service wants small businesses to send more direct mail, a.k.a. junk mail, to help the beleaguered agency expand its revenue stream by hundreds of millions of dollars.

In a campaign called “Every Door Direct Mail,” the Postal Service is touting a year-old online tool to help small businesses micro-target direct mail. The Web tool allows firms to tap customers by neighborhood or zip code without names or addresses. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 21, 2012 at 9:40 AM

Turning Education On Its Head

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Of all global organizations, the U.S. Department of Defense boasts the highest number of people on its payroll, with around 3.2 million employees. Close behind are China’s Army (2.3 million) and Walmart (2.1 million). With nearly 100,000 public schools and an estimated 49 million students, the K-12 public education system, however, far surpasses all three combined.

The most recent census data shows that schools spend on average $10,500 per student over the life of his K-12 career. Granted, state and local districts foot the bulk of the cost, but the U.S. Department of Education‘s (ED) current $68.1 billion budget operates programs that serve public and private schools, from pre-school through university. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 20, 2012 at 2:37 PM

Defense Department Wants Cyber Arsenal, Report Says

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The U.S. Defense Department has accelerated its efforts to develop offensive cyber weapons that could be used to dismantle hostile military networks in countries where U.S. forces are operating, The Washington Post reported today.

The report cites the Pentagon’s growing frustration with the military’s inability to disable enemy air defense systems and other military communications networks in places like Libya, where U.S. pilots flew combat missions to protect civilian populations from attacks by the Libyan army. That frustration has reportedly led to a five-year, $500 million budget infusion for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s main research and development organization, to fast track research into offensive cyber tools. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 19, 2012 at 3:46 PM

Why $1 Coins Place Hidden Tax On The Public

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President Obama’s new budget shows savings of $50 million annually by curtailing the production of unwanted $1 coins. As a former budget director for President Reagan, I know first-hand how difficult it is to cut spending and how important it is to guard against faddish programs that claim savings but actually add to federal spending and to the deficit – which is what you’d get if you let Congress replace the dollar bill with the dollar coin.

The latest proposals to do just that are all the more vexing, given that consumers overwhelmingly reject the dollar coin. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 13, 2012 at 8:20 AM

Saving Trees And Dollars: Looking Beyond Basic Printing Costs

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The federal sector is tightening its budget belt in search of savings. Efficiency is the new modus operandi. But as is often the case, the appearance of potential savings in federal spending aren’t always what they might seem.

In November, the White House issued Executive Order 13589, “Promoting Efficient Spending,” directing agencies to identify efficiencies. Section 5 of the Executive Order specifically directs a reduction in printing costs. The execution of printing efficiencies, however, is not always easy. The decision to get efficiency is only the first step. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 9, 2012 at 10:59 AM

White House Updates IT Dashboard

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Earlier today, The White House updated the IT Dashboard, sharing publicly for the first time detailed IT investment information in support of the President’s FY 2013 Budget.
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This article was originally published earlier today in a blog posted on The White House Office of Management and Budget Website by Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel.
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The Administration first launched the IT Dashboard back in 2009 as part of our effort to create a more transparent and open government. By publicly posting data on more than 700 IT investments across the Federal government, we armed agencies with the tools needed to reduce duplication in IT spending, strengthen the accountability of agency CIOs, and provide more accurate and detailed information on projects and activities. We also gave Americans an unprecedented window into how their tax dollars were being spent. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 6, 2012 at 4:58 PM

Innovation’s Mixed Results: ‘Federal Spending,’ Episode 11

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Financial reform and budget cuts often induce the government to get creative. Making the best of resources and doing more for less become pivotal when performance and taxpayer confidence is on the line, but how government goes about that can have mixed results, according to TARP regulatory observer Amy Poster and Deloitte government analyst, Bill Eggers (pictured.)

Both experts weighed in on the latest episode of the Federal Spending webcast late last month during which host Eric Kavanagh tackled two diverse expense categories that share at least one common thread: financial significance. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 6, 2012 at 4:05 PM

Congress Key To Postal Service Debt To Taxpayers

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — The Postal Service is facing such a cash crunch that it has a $12.1 billion loan outstanding from Treasury.
But taxpayers will be paid back, especially after Congress acts to help save the Postal Service, according to most experts.

 /  Published March 6, 2012 at 10:31 AM

GAO Report Finds Government Inefficiencies, Encourages Action

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A GAO report to Congress has identified several areas where the government duplicates efforts, creating unnecessary costs and inefficiencies, but also reflects an improvement over last year.

The 2012 Duplicative Program Report, recently released by the Government Accountability Office, identified 51 areas “where programs may be able to achieve greater efficiencies or become more effective in providing government services.” Keep reading →

 /  Published February 28, 2012 at 4:00 PM
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