FederalDaily - August 31, 2007
Lawmakers Target New FDA Outsourcing Plan
Lawmakers are questioning a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to study the outsourcing of
certain work now done by more than 300 federal employees. Reps. John Dingell, D-Mich., and Bart Stupak,
D-Mich., recently sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach asking him to put the
brakes on the contracting-out study until the recommendations of the President’s Import Working
Group are delivered. The group is to suggest ways of improving the nation’s food safety system.
The lawmakers noted that FDA recently put on hold a separate plan to close half of its regional testing
laboratories. “It is truly incomprehensible why the agency would again consider reducing the
expertise and institutional knowledge of the FDA,” said the letter, “at a time when the
FDA’s credibility with the American people is at an all-time low.” Colleen Kelley, president
of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), applauded the letter and criticized the haste of the
FDA’s plan. “Given the recent crises in our food supply and dangerous imports, it is baffling
that the FDA believes that it can better protect the American public by contracting out work to the
private sector,” Kelley said Aug. 29. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/fdalabs/dingelloutsourcing.pdf
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GSA Names New CIO
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced on Aug. 29 that Casey Coleman will serve as the
agency’s chief information officer (CIO). GSA Administrator Lurita Doan called Coleman, who has
been acting CIO since June, “the right person to fill this crucial position,” citing Casey’s
prior experience as CIO at the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS)—the GSA group formed from the
combination of the former Federal Technology Service (FTS) and Federal Supply Services. Coleman, who
will be the first woman to serve as GSA CIO, holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from
Texas A&M, and a master’s degree in business administration and finance from the University
of Texas at Arlington. To see more, go to: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelId=-13259&P=XI&contentId=23469&contentType=GSA_BASIC.
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USAJOBS Resume Database Hacked
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Aug. 29 announced that its employment Web site, USAJOBS.gov,
was “slightly affected by malicious software.” The agency said that OPM and Monster Worldwide—the
technology provider for USAJOBS.gov—are “investigating the use of malicious software to
gain unauthorized access to the Monster.com resume database.” OPM said contact information in
the database, consisting of names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers, likely was collected for use
in “phishing” e-mails that try to collect sensitive information from job seekers. The agency
said Monster “has assured OPM” that no Social Security Numbers were compromised in the
incident. OPM said a private-sector Monster customer used legitimate employer credentials to gain access
to the data. According to the agency, Monster reported that about 146,000 of USAJOBS’ 2 million
subscribers were affected by the security breach. To see more, go to: www.opm.gov/news/usajobs-slightly-affected-by-malicious-software,1316.aspx
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