Will a law help with social media?
The House has passed the Social Media Working Group Act of 2014, which seeks to give the private sector new opportunities to drive social media innovation in emergency preparedness and response by “expanding the membership and influence of the Department of Homeland Security’s Virtual Social Media Working Group,” according to the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN).
From public radio’s MarketPlace [HT @ArchiveSocial]:
While the government is already working with social media to inform and interact with citizens, one of the proposals under consideration is establishing a standard operating procedure for the Department of Homeland Security’s Twitter account during a crisis.
With something changing as quickly as social media, even something as seemingly innocuous as the Social Media Working Group Act of 2014 seems risky and unnecessary to me.
The SEVEN stories that impact your life
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Politico: Government made $100B in improper payments- “By its own estimate, the government made about $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them — tax credits to families that didn’t qualify, unemployment benefits to people who had jobs and medical payments for treatments that might not have been necessary. Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher.”
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Nextgov: Obama Wants Drones to be Part of Border Migration Solution- “President Barack Obama today requested $39 million for aerial surveillance, including unmanned aircraft operations, as part of an effort to systematically take care of what he called an urgent humanitarian situation.”
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Government Executive: Senators Want VA Wait List Manipulators to Give Back Their Bonuses- “Lawmakers have made no secret about their desire to punish employees at the Veterans Affairs Department. Both chambers of Congress have passed legislation to ease the firing of VA senior executives and other employees, and to restrict or prohibit performance awards. A bicameral conference committee is currently negotiating an agency overhaul.”
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Defense One: Hagel Backs General on U.S.Border Threats- “Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel shares one of his top general’s concern that budget cuts are hampering the military’s ability to respond to threats emerging from Central America, which in turn are destabilizing the region and prompting the recent influx of some 100,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
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Federal News Radio: Interior secretary pledges $43M for conservation- “U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Tuesday that more than $43 million will be distributed from a federal fund for recreation and conservation projects nationwide, kicking off a weeklong campaign around the nation to support the fund’s permanent renewal as Congress resumes.”
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Politico: Veterans fast vanishing from halls of Congress- “Only 20 percent of today’s lawmakers have served in the military, the lowest rate since World War II and a dramatic fall from over 70 percent in the 1970s. And that figure could sink even lower after this fall’s midterms.
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Nextgov: House VA Committee Eyes VA E-Benefits Mess- “I’m picking up strong signals that the House VA committee has started an informal probe into the 300,000 claims filed through the Veterans Affairs Department’s eBenefits portal over the past year and now appear stuck in cyber-limbo, as reported last Thursday.”
Before we finish up… a few items from the DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder… yes, we’re trying to help you make your water-cooler time better too…
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Working on Multiple Screens Can Actually Help You Focus [Wired] Instead of putting different tasks in different windows, people are starting to put them on different devices.
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Recruits’ ineligibility tests the military [The Wall Street Journal]