Shutdown + Debt Ceiling = Trouble – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• We are now on day 14 of the government shutdown and for furloughed feds the financial impact is really starting to sink in. There is still no clear answer on whether or not feds who are furloughed will receive back pay. So for now, furloughed feds have to brace for the financial shortfalls. How do you do that? Insights from Ann Vanderslice.

Shutdown continues, but this week, we add debt ceiling to the mix.

And in the DC area, you are really starting to hear stories of people who are impacted by the shutdown — feds, contractors, but also stores.

• Enigma: The cost of GovShutdown – in real time using #opendata

• NYT: Shutdown’s Quiet Toll, From Idled Research to Closed Wallets

• The Daily Beast: The Shutdown’s Human Cost

• Wired: Why Shutting Down U.S. Antarctic Research Will Have Global Repercussions

• OPED: Timothy Meyer: Shutting down Washington: Opening a larger debate

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. Supporters of the Affordable Care Act are concerned that IT problems with the website, healthcare.gov, may undermine the law’s fiscal viability. Specifically, the inability of users to register and login, jeopardizes the health care initiative, which needs a large quantity of customers to apply for health insurance in order to keep premium prices low.The New York Times reports that the site, Healthcare.gov, has been plagued from the beginning by congressional opposition, delayed regulations, and a lack of resources. Even so, administration officials maintain that there is time to address these issues before the mid-December deadline for customers to sign up for coverage for the new year.

2. Software glitches and an inadequate server capacity continue to weigh down registration and use of the healthcare.gov site. The International Business Times reveals that four primary companies were involved in establishing protocols for the eligibility and enrollment system and in building the site’s IT structure: Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation, CGI Federal Inc, the Mitre Corporation and Quality Software Service Inc. Each of these companies have been working nonstop to address the site’s issues and prepare it for November, when the number of users on the site is expected to greatly increase.

3. Defense Department Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter has announced that he will retire this upcoming December. Federal News Radio notes that throughout Carter’s career he has served a total of 11 Defense Secretaries, and that in his current post, which he has held since 2011, he has led the organization in its efforts to review and manage the Defense budget.

4. Eleven agencies have committed to using GSA’s new Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative for janitorial and sanitation services, while an additional eight agencies have agreed to use the initiative for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies and equipment. Federal News Radio reports that through the strategic sourcing contract, GSA is aiming to save agencies $24 million in janitorial, sanitation, and MRO services.

5. The Defense Intelligence Agency is currently seeking proposals for an IT contract valued at $6 billion. The Federal Times states that the contract will be for the Enhanced Solutions for the Information Technology Enterprise (E-SITE) system, which will provide IT services for the DIA, combatant commands, and other sectors of the military and intelligence community.

6. Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2014 Federal 100 Awards hosted by FCW. Nominations will be accepted until December 23. FCW reports that it is looking for the top men and women in government whose individual talents, leadership and dedication are making a significant difference in the lives of citizens and their fellow employees.

7. IBM has filed a motion to stop the immediate resumption of work on the CIA’s cloud computing contract with Amazon Web Services. FCW reports that IBM wishes to appeal the federal court decision from earlier this month, which allowed the CIA and Amazon Web Services to move forward with their $600 million cloud contract.

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder

• Financial Times: Larry Summers: The battle over the US budget is the wrong fight

• Business Week: A Message From Those Who Survived Defaults: Don’t Go There

• FT: More than half the finance directors at the UK’s biggest companies say they do not have enough information to stave off cyber attacks effectively.