FederalDaily - May 20, 2005
Bill Would Change DoD Outsourcing Policies
Jim Langevin, D-R.I., introduced an amendment that would change the Department
of Defense’s (DoD) privatization effort. The amendment was included in
the defense authorization bill during its mark up by the House Armed Services
Committee on May 18. The amendment would require that DoD give civilian employees
opportunities to submit their most competitive bids and require contractors
to promise savings sufficient to offset the costs of conducting privatization
reviews before work could be contracted out. Also, it would establish
a pilot program that would allow federal employees to begin competing for work
that is currently performed by contractors. Lastly, it would give federal
employees and contractors the same ability to appeal management’s contracting
out decisions.
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Bills Introduced to Postpone BRAC
Bills have been introduced in both the Senate and House that would postpone
plans to close military bases around the country. In the Senate, John Thune,
R-S.D., introduced legislation on May 18 that would delay the current Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round until one year after the last of these
actions occurs: most troops return from Iraq; an analysis is conducted on overseas
facility requirements; and several pending reports are released and their impact
on BRAC is determined. The reports include two homeland security related reports
and the Pentagon’s long-term planning document, the Quadrennial Defense
Review. In the House, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., introduced legislation
identical to that introduced by Thune.
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Federal Wireless Networks Need Security
Although wireless networks offer a range of benefits to federal agencies,
they also present significant security challenges, including protecting against
attacks to wireless networks and preventing unauthorized deployments of wireless
networks, a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said. The report
added that it is crucial for agencies to implement controls—such as developing
wireless security policies, monitoring their wireless networks and training
their staffs in wireless security. However, GAO found that federal agencies
have not fully implemented key controls. Further, GAO tests of the security
of wireless networks at six federal agencies revealed unauthorized wireless
activity and “signal leakage”—wireless signals broadcasting
beyond the perimeter of the building. Agencies’ information may be at
increased risk of unauthorized disclosure, modification or destruction.
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NASA Needs Space Shuttle Employees
NASA’s space shuttle program calls for completing the assembly of the
International Space Station by the end of the decade. Once the space shuttle
does so, it will be retired. There are questions about how to keep employees
who know they will need new jobs after the shuttle is retired long enough to
finish the mission, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said. GAO
has found that NASA has made limited progress toward developing a long-term
strategy to keep a skilled workforce to work on space shuttle operations. NASA
has publicly recognized, at its Integrated Space Operations Summit, that human
capital management and critical skills retention will be a major challenge
for the agency as it moves toward retirement of the space shuttle.
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