An Internet of Things Update – Plus the 7 Gov Stories You Need To Know

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• A new Federal Employee Defection and Fallout PulsePoll found pay freezes, the current political environment and the prospect of a better salary in the private sector are driving 50% of federal employees to consider employment outside of government. One in two government employees is considering leaving, what can the government do to buck the trend? Insights from Market Connection’s Lisa Dezzutti.

You can find all of our programs online: DorobekINSIDER.com and GovLoop Insights at http://insights.govloop.com.

But up front: An Internet of Things update

I am gearing up to do a premier on the Internet of Things — and what it means for government. We will have that discussion on Wednesday, March 19 on GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER LIVE at 2p ET — and it’s online.

As I mentioned, the Internet of Things discussion is still a bit early. That being said, we have several confirmed guests for that program:

• Sokwoo Rhee and Geoff Mulligan, two Presidential Innovation Fellows who are leading NIST’s SmartAmerica Challenge.

• David Stephenson of Stephenson Strategies, the author of the book SmartStuff: an introduction to the Internet of Things and a frequent writer on the topic of the Internet of Things and government.

There are others in the works.

I’m looking forward to the discussion and hope you will join us.

You can register here.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. GovExec: Obama Would Increase Federal Workforce by 14,000 in 2015 – “The departments of Treasury and Veterans Affairs would net the largest staff increases, with an additional 7,400 and 2,200 employees, respectively. Obama would boost the Securities and Exchange Commission rolls by the largest percentage of any agency, up 12 percent to 4,700 total workers. The Defense Department would shed the most employees under the proposal, cutting 6,300 civilian workers as part of a previously outlined plan to shrink the Pentagon’s footprint in the post-war era. Other potential losers include the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the General Services Administration, which would decrease their respective workforces by 1.3 percent, 1.7 percent and 3.2 percent under Obama’s recommendation.”

2. FCW: Telework Week totals more than 160,000 participants – “For the second straight year, Telework Week, held March 3-7, received an influx of federal teleworkers following a late winter storm, but its continued popularity signals the growing influence of the mobile employee in the federal workplace, according to Mobile Work Exchange Cindy Auten.”

3. Washington Post: Rubio bill calls for more feds without traditional higher education – “The measure, called the Alternative Qualifications for Federal Employment Act, would establish a pilot program in which the Office of Personnel Management would designate certain positions to be filled by workers with alternative higher-education credentials.”

4. GovExec: Less Controversial Sexual Assault Bill Sails Through Senate – “Sen. Claire McCaskill’s bill to change the way the military handles sexual-assault cases passed the Senate with overwhelming—and expected—support Monday, with a 97 to 0 vote. The legislation, which the Missouri Democrat crafted along with Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., would allow victims to have a say on whether their cases are tried in military or civilian court, allow them to challenge their discharge or separation from the service, and would get rid of the “good soldier” defense—which uses a soldier’s military performance to combat allegations—except in cases that directly link a soldier’s military behavior to the crime.”

5. The Daily Beast: Florida’s Midterm Warm-up – “Less than 18 months after the 2012 election, the fulcrum of American politics rests once again in Central Florida. Tuesday’s special election in Florida’s 13th congressional district is a big deal. It won’t just determine whether House Republicans have a majority of 17 or 18, it will be the first significant referendum on Barack Obama’s job performance and the Affordable Care Act in the president’s second term.”

6. National Journal: NASA Is Calling All Nerds to Help Save the World – “The space agency announced Monday it’s looking for data jockeys to help it track asteroids, including ones that could come close—in space distances— to the Earth. At stake is not only the planet’s survival, but $35,000 in reward money that NASA is putting up for Asteroid Grand Challenge winners.”

7. Federal News Radio: Agencies receive failing FOIA grades – “Agencies are still falling short when it comes to consistently implementing the rules and procedures set down in the Freedom of Information Act. That’s according to a new report released Monday by the Center for Effective Government (CEG).”

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

• State Department launches new online fight against terrorist recruiters [CBS This Morning] The State Department has launched a new online fight against those recruiters. Intelligence officials warn that al Qaeda’s recruitment of English speakers could create a new threat. With that in mind, a group at the State Department is trying to locate and steer them away from violent extremism.

• The New York Times oped columnist David Brooks: The leaderless doctrine: “For the first time in half a century, a majority of Americans say that the U.S. should be less engaged in world affairs, according to the most recent Pew Research Center survey. For the first time in recorded history, a majority of Americans believe that their country has a declining influence on what’s happening around the globe. A slight majority of Americans now say that their country is doing too much to help solve the world’s problems. At first blush, this looks like isolationism. But if you actually look at the data, you see that this is not the case. America is not turning inward economically….America is not turning inward culturally….Americans are not even turning inward when it comes to activism. What’s happening can be more accurately described this way: Americans have lost faith in the high politics of global affairs. They have lost faith in the idea that American political and military institutions can do much to shape the world. American opinion is marked by an amazing sense of limitation — that there are severe restrictions on what political and military efforts can do.” David Brooks in The New York Times.

• Daunting Tests Await Admiral Named N.S.A. Chief [The New York Times] As Google and Yahoo say they are equipping themselves with new technologies designed to defeat the National Security Agency, President Obama’s choice to be its leader will face scrutiny today in front of Congress.