Obama Taps HUD’s Donovan to Lead OMB – Plus the 7 Gov Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• More than a half million pieces of space debris are orbiting the earth, at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. Ummm that’s fast. Clearly this debris is a safety concerns for astronauts aboard the International Space Station, but it also threatens to damage or destroy spacecraft and critical military, intelligence, communications, weather and navigation satellites. We meet the man making space safer.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. Federal Times: Obama picks HUD’s Donovan to lead OMB – “President Obama intends to nominate Shaun Donovan, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget.”

2. Defense News: US To Reduce Afghanistan Troop Levels- “The US military presence in Afghanistan will fall to about 9,800 troops by January, a sharp decline from the 32,000 US uniformed personnel in country, US President Barack Obama announced Tuesday at the White House. The reduction is part of a plan to have all US and NATO troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016, when a small handful of uniformed personnel will remain at the US Embassy in Kabul to work on foreign military sales and military-to-military contracts.”

3. Federal Times: GSA pushing carbon emissions in contract decisions- “In its latest domestic delivery shipping contract award, the General Services Administration took into account cost, past performance and the current and future greenhouse gas emissions of the companies. The Domestic Delivery Services contracts – awarded May 1 to UPS and FedEx – includes provisions to provide agencies with regular reports on the carbon footprint of shipping activities and annual reports to GSA on greenhouse gas emissions.”

4. Federal News Radio: VA hacks away at claims backlog, increases accuracy- “The Veterans Affairs Department says its claims backlog is at its lowest point today than at any time in the last three years. Officials credit its progress to several changes under its Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). Allison Hickey, VA’s undersecretary for benefits, who spoke last week at the ACT- IAC’s Management of Change conference in Cambridge, Md., said VBMS has transformed the agency from a paper system to one that mostly relies on electronic data.”

5. USA Today: Snowden: I was a trained spy, not just a hacker- Contrary to what media outlets have portrayed, Edward Snowden claims he worked undercover for the CIA and the NSA.

6. National Journal: FTC Lifts the Veil on Companies That Sell Your Data- “A new FTC report says the data-broker industry collects troves of personal information about nearly all Americans.”

7. Nextgov: Senate defense bill bulls bonuses for cyber pros- “Current and aspiring Defense Department personnel with cyber skills could see a boost in pay under a Senate 2015 defense policy bill that lawmakers detailed on Friday. Defense is up against the private sector’s lucrative salaries as it endeavors to boost cyber mission forces. Pentagon Secretary Chuck Hagel recently said these forces, expected to include 1,800 personnel by year’s end, should number 6,000 professionals in 2016.”

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder… yes, we’re trying to help you make your water-cooler time better too…

Politico: The Founding Fathers Would Have Protected Your Smartphone- Republican Sen. Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Chris Coons discuss the core American value of privacy.