Digitizing medical records in a disaster and has cybersecurity morphed into cyberwar?

On today’s DorobekINSIDER

• When disaster strikes and you need medical attention, Dr. H. Allen Dobbs is the man to call. He revolutionized the world of disaster medicine. And for his work he has been nominated for a Service to America Medal. Click here for the full story.
• Has the cybersecurity conversation morphed into a conversation about cyberwar? We’ll get insights from Robert Rodriguez from the Security Innovation Network. Click here for the full story.

Big day yesterday with important rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court on a number of issues. The big one for law enforcement and immigration is the decision in the case in Arizona v. United States. Suffice it to say, the decision raises nearly as many questions as it answers. The high court tossed out parts of the law, yet seemingly left the most controversial part of Arizona’s already controversial immigration law, S.B. 1070 — that is the “show me your papers” provision. The judges said officials can ask people when there is “reasonable suspicion,” but failed to define what reasonable suspicion actually is.

And, of course, the health care decision comes Thursday. We’d love to hear your thoughts about what this means for those of you who have to actually get things done… does the health care decision matter?

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. A small but determined group of postal workers are planning a hunger strike. The Washington Post says supporters will travel to the District to stage a four-day hunger strike to protest the Postal Service’s deteriorating finances and services and Congress’s failure to address the situation. The protesters will make their stand days before the postal service makes changes that will end overnight delivery of up to 20 percent of the country’s first-class mail, as mail-sorting hubs are shuttered.
2. The Office of Management and Budget wants the government to be easier to deal with. We told you yesterday about their proposal to cut down on paperwork. Now they’re asking agencies for ways to reduce their regulatory burdens. Federal Computer Week says the new memo is part of an effort to decrease regulatory trouble, officials want all agencies to attempt to identify at least one initiative, or combination of them, that would eliminate at least 50,000 hours in annual burdens.
3. The Thrift Savings Plan is hoping to get a boost to its budget as it prepares for the baby boomers to start retiring. Government Executive says the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board anticipates managing an additional 4.4 percent in Thrift Savings Plan assets by fiscal 2017 and growing the size of its budget by 25 percent.
4. The government is paying crime-ridden communities to hire veterans and turn them into police officers. The Justice Department handed out more than $111 million to public safety agencies as part of its Vets-to-Cops grant program. It says the money will save or create about 800 positions. Only veterans who have served since Sept. 11, 2001, can apply. The grants are targeted toward communities with financial problems and high crime rates. Grantees include Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Akron, Ohio.
5. Defense Contractor SAIC is protesting a nearly $2 billion award to Lockheed Martin Corp. by the Defense Information Systems Agency. The Washington Business Journal reports the Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin ousted SAIC for management of the Global Information Grid under a $1.9 billion contract awarded by the DISA. The award succeeds a 10-year contract, given to SAIC in 2001, that had reportedly generated more than $400 million in revenue.
6. The Justice Department has set up a hotline telephone number and email box for the public in the aftermath of a Supreme Court decision. Citizens can use the hotlines to report potential civil rights violations in Arizona. Federal News Radio says the court ruled that police may legally check the immigration status of people they stop for other reasons. But the court also said the law should be enforced in a way that avoids long detentions. And, that the police couldn’t stop people only for the purpose of checking immigration status.
7. And on GovLoop, we are always working to try new things and grow our site. But we want to know what you think. What values do you really use and enjoy on GovLoop. If you have five minutes take our new GovLoop member survey.

One Closing Item

We are getting our annual look at the demographic make-up of the federal workforce.

The Washington Post reports on data from the Office of Personnel Management that shows the federal workforce has been changing along with that of the American workforce as a whole over the last decade. The Post notes that some differences have remained fairly constant. The data show the federal workforce is slightly more male and slightly less white. And among demographic groups, Hispanics remained the most under-represented in federal jobs as of fiscal 2011. Native Americans make up about 2 percent of the federal workforce, more than double their representation in the overall workforce, ratios that have changed little over a decade.