BORDER SECURITY: DHS Needs to Strengthen Its Efforts to Modernize Key Enforcement Systems, GAO-14-342T: Published: Feb 6, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 6, 2014. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION: Documentation of Award Selection Decisions Could Be Improved, GAO-14-131: Published: Feb 6, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 6, 2014. ENTREPRENEURIAL ASSISTANCE: Opportunities Exist to Improve Collaboration and Performance Management for Financial Assistance Programs, GAO-14-335T: Published: Feb 6, 2014.… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
DOD/GSA Report – Improving Cybersecurity and Resilience through Acquisition
“On February 12th, 2013, the President issued Executive Order 13636, entitled Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (EO 13636). In accordance with Section 8(e), GSA and the Department of Defense submitted recommendations to the President addressing the feasibility, benefits, and merits of incorporating cybersecurity standards into acquisition planning and contract administration, and harmonizing procurement requirements. The jointly authored report… Continue Reading
Pew – More Now See Failure than Success in Iraq, Afghanistan
“After more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public does not think the United States has achieved its goals in either country. About half of Americans (52%) say the U.S. has mostly failed to achieve its goals in Afghanistan while 38% say it has mostly succeeded. Opinions about the U.S. war… Continue Reading
Final Report – National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force
“The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force delivered it final report yesterday. You can find the full report to the President and Congress here. The Commission’s website has more information including links to the information from various hearings and other information they gathered in doing their work. In 2012 the Commission was congressionally mandated (PL… Continue Reading
SIGAR Report Assesses Continued Aid to Afghanistan
Direct Assistance: USAID Has Taken Positive Action to Assess Afghan Ministries’ Ability to Manage Donor Funds, but Concerns Remain, January 2014. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction SIGAR 14-32 Audit Report. “USAID determined it could not rely on the ministries it assessed to manage donor funds without a host of mitigation measures in place and that, under normal… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Child Welfare, Homeowners Insurance, Imminet Danger Pay
CHILD WELFARE – Federal Agencies Can Better Support State Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse by School Personnel, GAO-14-42, Jan 27, 2014 HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – Multiple Challenges Make Expanding Private Coverage Difficult, GAO-14-179, Jan 30, 2014 IMMINENT DANGER PAY – Actions Needed Regarding Pay Designations in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility, GAO-14-230R, Jan 30, 2014 Continue Reading
Decade of War – Enduring Lessons from the Past Decade of Operations
Decade of War- Volume I, Enduring lessons from the past decade of operations. United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis. “The Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis (JCOA) division reviewed 46 lessons learned studies conducted from 2003 to the present, and synthesized the studies’ 400+ findings, observations, and best practices into the 11… Continue Reading
Report – Enhanced Geothermal Systems
Via Secrecy News: “The potential for new technologies to harvest energy from the Earth’s crust was considered in a new report from the elite JASON science advisory board on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS).”EGS offers important opportunities for increasing the contribution of geothermal energy to U.S. power production: by a few-fold over the next few years, according to our estimation,… Continue Reading
GAO Report on Recent Trends in Federal Civilian Employment and Compensation
FEDERAL WORKFORCE: Recent Trends in Federal Civilian Employment and Compensation, GAO-14-215, Jan 29, 2014 “From 2004 to 2012, the federal non-postal civilian workforce grew by 258,882 employees, from 1.88 million to 2.13 million (14 percent). Permanent career employees accounted for most of the growth, increasing by 256,718 employees, from 1.7 million in 2004 to 1.96 million in… Continue Reading
Presentation on CBO’s Projections of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2014 to 2023
Presentation by Michael Bennett, CBO Analyst, at the CRS Seminar titled The Cost of Nuclear Weapons Program and Budget Issues for Congress, January 29, 2014. Continue Reading
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy
CRS – Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, January 17, 2014. “Afghanistan has a history of a high degree of decentralization, and resistance to foreign invasion and occupation. Some have termed it the “graveyard of empires…The Obama Administration policy goal is to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for… Continue Reading
DOJ Agreement with tech companies permits limited sharing of FISA Court orders
Via TechFreedom President Berin Szoka: “Today, the Department of Justice announced that it has reached an agreement with Google and Microsoft to allow them and other tech companies to report, within broad ranges, the number of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders they receive, and the number of user accounts surveilled. Google and Microsoft have agreed to drop their… Continue Reading
