Blogs

Happy July--a.k.a., National Parks Month and National Picnic Month.  Sam touts Red River Gorge in Kentucky; Mitch recommends hikes in the Shenandoah Mountains.  We think Teddy Roosevelt, and probably Yogi and Boo Boo, would be fine with either.  Write us with washington headlines and tech (WHAT) news and tips--as well as picnic spots and parks we need to hit up--at swenger@amrms.com and mherckis@amrms.com. Key Takeaway:

Obama Highlights Innovative Tech Initiatives: The President held a White House event to highlight his vision for “a better, smarter, faster government over the course of his second term.”  The ideas put forward were--for the most part--initiatives that are already underway.  He did, however, highlight the class of 43 White House Innovation Fellows who will be working on creating new innovative solutions that will save taxpayer money, improve access to federal data, and improve government services.

Other Buzz:
Congress focuses on privacy, IP theft: General cybersecurity concerns have been overshadowed by debates about privacy rights and intellectual property theft in both the U.S. Senate and House.  Hearings on these matters will likely dominate the summer tech agenda.

NGA Holds Cybersecurity Meeting In Annapolis:  State CIOs and NASCIO Staff will participate in the National Governors Association’s State Cybersecurity National Advisory Council on Wednesday in Annapolis, Maryland.  The goal of the council is to ultimately provide Governors and states with practical steps and recommendations for improving the resiliency of state systems.

The General Services Administration will issue its first RFP for a new unlimited time and services schedule on July 24.  The One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract is a 10-year contract which allows government agencies to purchase undetermined amounts of professional services such as engineering, scientific, and logistics services through a blanket, government-wide agreement.  The RFPs for both the large business and the small business portions of the contract will be issued.

Techbytes:
Governing: Unfinished State Health Exchanges Shouldn’t Pose a Problem

Commerce Provides PII Security Training for States and Local Govs

Telework Tracking Difficult for Feds