Tag Archives: Energy Department

FITARA 18 Sees Agencies Move to the Head of the Class

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FITARA

The latest Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard, released in September, showed dramatic improvements in the progress agencies have made towards meeting IT modernization goals. The overall grades of 18 of the 24 tracked agencies increased, while grades for the remaining six agencies were unchanged. Per the scorecard,13 agencies now have an overall 'A,' 10 have a 'B,' and only one agency--the Energy Department--has a grade of 'C.' The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State showed the greatest improvements, with both agencies' grades moving from 'D's to 'A's.

The grading categories, unchanged from the previous report, measured agency CIO authority enhancements; CIO investment evaluation; cloud computing; modernizing government technology; cybersecurity; and progress transitioning from legacy contracts to the GSA's newer Enterprise Information Solutions (EIS) contract. Improvements in the categories of cloud computing, cybersecurity, and EIS transition contributed to higher scores. Continue reading →

Energy Department advised to keep a closer eye on contractor travel

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on GovExec

The Energy Department should strengthen monitoring of its contractors' foreign travel, which in the past six years has cost more than $300 million for 90,000 trips, according to a recent management alert the department's inspector general issued.

IG Gregory Friedman noted about 85 percent of Energy's travel costs were incurred by contractors on projects such as inspecting nuclear weapons and visiting Japan in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power disaster.

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Groups want scientists exempted from strict conference spending rules

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Originally posted by Kedar Pavgi on GovExec

New limits on conference spending are preventing federal scientists and engineers from collaborating and working on technical research, according to several organizations representing the scientific community.

In a letter dated Sept. 10, a group of scientific organizations asked the White House and members of Congress to exempt them from the restrictions on conferences.

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