Congress Works to Make Sure Gov Isn’t Overpaying Feds – Plus the 7 Gov Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• The problems the government faces are now bigger and more complicated than ever before. Just look at the healthcare, immigration, regulation or even the federal pay debate. No longer do problems fit nicely into one agency or department. Therefore, the need for collaboration is more apparent than ever. But how do you collaborate in a culture that is built on silos and hierarchy? We get insights from the Partnership’s Tom Fox.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. FCW: Senior DHS official weighs in on cyber legislation- “The Department of Homeland Security’s Larry Zelvin is the latest administration official to call for legislation to strengthen DHS’s hand in detecting and thwarting cyber threats.”

2. Washington Post: Immigration reform effectively dead until after Obama leaves office, both sides say- “The two-year attempt to push immigration reform through Congress is effectively dead and unlikely to be revived until after President Obama leaves office, numerous lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the issue said this week.”

3. Federal Times: Lockheed wins $1.86B satellite contract- “Lockheed Martin has received a $1.86 billion contract to finish production of two more Space Based Infrared System early warning satellites. The fixed-price contract is for the fifth and sixth Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites. Initial funding for GEO-5 and GEO-6 was awarded in 2012, and an advance procurement contract in 2013 for long lead-time parts.”

4. Government Executive: Agencies, Congress Work to Ensure Government Isn’t Overpaying Employees- “The next paycheck for some federal contractors will be a lot a smaller. Or at least the portion paid by Uncle Sam. The Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA issued an interim rule on Tuesday to lower the maximum reimbursable pay for federal contractors by nearly half. The rule goes into effect immediately.”

5. Nextgov: SCOTUS Says Aereo is Illegal, but the Cloud is Safe for Now- “The US Supreme Court ruled that Aereo violates copyright law by transmitting broadcast television over the internet, siding with America’s largest media companies in a case that will shape the future of TV. Butthe 6-3 decision (pdf) took pains to say it would not affect other cloud storage services, like Dropbox or Apple’s iCloud, as many people feared.”

6. ArmyTimes: White House to request $60B for Afghanistan in 2015- “The White House on Thursday will ask Congress for $60 billion to fund military operations in Afghanistan and other global contingencies, Defense News has learned. The Pentagon would receive about $58.5 billion through the 2015 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) request. A separate $1.5 billion budget amendment is being requested for State Department contingency funding, according to a source with knowledge of the spending plan.”

7. FoxNews: Lerner sought IRS audit of sitting GOP senator, emails show- “Congressional investigators have uncovered emails showing ex-IRS official Lois Lerner targeted a sitting Republican senator for a proposed internal audit, a discovery one GOP lawmaker called “shocking.” The emails were published late Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee and pertain to the woman at the heart of the scandal over IRS targeting of Tea Party groups.”

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

• Watching The World Cup Will Increase Office Productivity [Forbes] A lot of organizations have tried to predict just how much productivity is lost during these major sporting events when employees watch the games instead of doing work. In 2014, Challenger, Gray & Christian calculated that the March Madness tournament would cost more than $1.2 billion to American businesses. During the 2010 World Cup, InsideView found that the U.S. lost $121 million in economic output, although that pales in comparison to the UK’s $7.3 billion, and Captivate Network had predicted that the 2012 Olympics would cost U.S. companies $1.38 billion. For this year’s World Cup, the question wasn’t about how to minimize productivity lost, but how we could boost long term engagement by taking advantage of the tournament.

• Ignore Those World Cup Productivity Studies [US News] Research that predicts economic loss due to the tournament is misguided and dangerous

• Mobile Web Siphons Revenue From Cities as Landlines Fade [BloombergNews] U.S. states and cities are collecting fewer tax dollars from the use of landline and mobile networks, as more smartphone users opt for communication apps like Skype. The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 left data use beyond the reach of state and local tax collectors. “It is a concern for states and localities because this has been one of the most reliable revenue streams they have,” Max Behlke, manager of state-federal relations for the National Conference of State Legislatures, in Washington, reports BloombergNews. Phone service is almost as much a necessity as food, he says.