Pres. Nominates a new FBI Director – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• The Agricultural Research Service’s Ken Lithicum studies deadly insects who terrorize plants, animals and humans. His work has saved millions of lives in Africa and the Middle East and has made him a Service to America Medal Finalist. Meet him!

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. President Barack Obama has nominated James Comey as the next FBI director. Comey was second in command at the Justice Department during the Bush administration. He gained notoriety when he opposed enhanced interrogation techniques by the FBI against terrorist suspects. Federal News Radio reports, Comey is a lecturer at Columbia Law School. The current director, Robert Mueller, steps down Sept. 4. NPR first reported the Comey nomination.
2. June 1 is the National Day of Civic Hacking. with events taking place in 95 locations. Participants will develop apps that use government data sets. Federal News Radio says Census Bureau wants hackers to use statistical data from its American Community Survey to develop apps that help with economic development or disaster planning
3. The EPA has reduced the number of hours of employee furloughs. Now employees will face 23 hours of unpaid time off. Earlier, the agency estimated 47 hours. The Washington Post reports the furloughs would start on June 16 and run for the rest of the fiscal year. The 23 hours will include two mandatory, agency-wide days off: July 5 and Aug. 30.
4. Agencies’ fiscal 2015 budget requests should be 5 percent below the amounts President Obama outlined for them in April, Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell said in instructions. Fiscal Times reports the memo also asks agencies to give the White House more budget-cutting options, and to lay out additional reductions to bring discretionary funding totals to 10 percent below what Obama set for 2015 in his fiscal 2014 budget plan, Burwell said in the guidance posted on OMB’s website.
5. The Navy’s $5 billion Next Generation Enterprise Network contract award will come a month later than had been expected, reports Washington Technology. The Navy had already moved the award date from February to May, and now are resetting it to June 30, according to the report. However, officials, who are in talks with the two industry teams vying for the contract, said the award could still come sooner than that.
6. David Petraeus is headed to Wall Street. Investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Company has hired the former CIA director and commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Petraeus will run the new KKR Global Institute. The firm says the institute will help it focus on public policy, regulatory and technology issues that could affect its investments. Petraeus also will study new investments, especially in new locations
7. And on GovLoop: Here is a staggering stat: 130 millions Americans own a smartphone, including roughly 1 out of 2 adults. That’s a technology that wasn’t even around 5 years ago. So how can government leverage this technology to connect, engage and empower government employees and the general public? Tune in to find out with the DorobekINISDER LIVE panel on June 26th at noon ET. Register for the free online webinar now.

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