- Fee-for-service taking hold for e-gov: OMB - Federal Biologist Faces Firing For Emailing Environmentalists - Bush Signs India Nuke Bill, Sort Of - NASA Launches Google Collaboration Patrice McDermott, Director OpenTheGovernment.org 202-332-OPEN (6736) www.openthegovernment.org - FEE-FOR-SERVICE TAKING HOLD FOR E-GOV: OMB http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/42809-1.html 12/18/06 -- 04:31 PM By Jason Miller, [...] The Office of Management and Budget today released a report <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov/documents/expanding_egov_2006.pdf > detailing agency progress and regression in implementing and institutionalizing the tenets of e-government. [...] Since 2004, OMB said, agency contributions have decreased from $244 million to $156 million, which is what is expected for 2007 if Congress passes the eight remaining agency spending bills. Meanwhile, the fee-for-service model is expected to increase to $300 million in 2007 from $91 million in 2005. "As the agencies complete their milestones and become operational, the initiatives continue moving toward a fee-for-service model-thereby eliminating the need for direct agency funding for specific initiatives," said Karen Evans, OMB's administrator for e-government and IT in the report. [...] *** - FEDERAL BIOLOGIST FACES FIRING FOR EMAILING ENVIRONMENTALISTS - Bureau of Reclamation Cites "Subversive" Behavior in Revealing Agency Misdeeds http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=796 [PEER News Release] Washington, DC - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has proposed to fire a biologist after finding emails he had sent to environmentalists and to other agencies, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In its letter of proposed termination, the agency alleged the "subversive" activity of communicating with "environmental organizations which are opposed to Reclamation generally and adversarial in nature" justifies immediate removal. Charles (Rex) Wahl, a GS-12 Environmental Specialist, has been on paid administrative leave for the past three months while the agency continues to ponder his fate. Shortly after Wahl was notified of his proposed firing on September 18th, the Bureau of Reclamation also dismissed his wife Cherie from a temporary clerk-typist position. Ironically, Wahl's main duty in Reclamation's Yuma Area Office was to keep stakeholders, including environmentalists, abreast of agency "actions and initiatives" as required under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In addition to his contact with environmentalists, Wahl is also charged with revealing "administratively controlled information" to other federal agencies. [...] Wahl's disclosures concern an array of proposed Reclamation projects on the Lower Colorado River. He also revealed that Reclamation had falsified material in a permit it submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, Wahl suggested to environmentalists that they obtain certain agency reports through the Freedom of Information Act. [...] *** - BUSH SIGNS INDIA NUKE BILL, SORT OF http://www.coxwashington.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/washington/washington/ By Ken Herman | Monday, December 18, 2006, 06:06 PM Window on Washington News Blog President Bush today signed into law the landmark measure allowing U.S. companies to sell nuclear technology to India for civilian use purposes. But the signature came with a "signing statement," a format the Bush administration often uses to try to make sure laws will be interpreted the way the president wants them interpreted. Bush used a signing statement today to note his unspecified exceptions to a section of the bill he said "purports to establish U.S. policy with respect to various international affairs matters." "My approval of the act does not constitute my adoption of the statements of policy as U.S. foreign policy. Given the Constitution's commitment to the presidency of the authority to conduct the nation's foreign affairs, the executive branch shall construe such policy statements as advisory," Bush said in the statement. The signing statement also addresses a portion of the measure that Bush said could be construed to bar him from approving the transfer of nuclear material to India if the transfer would violate guidelines set by the Nuclear Suppliers Group. That section also will be deemed "advisory," and not binding, Bush said. *** - NASA LAUNCHES GOOGLE COLLABORATION --Web Giant Will Make Images From Space Agency's Missions Accessible to Public http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801119.html Also Gov Exec http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1206/121806tdpm2.htm ; FCW "Google Mars, anyone?" http://www.fcw.com/article97149-12-18-06-Web ; and GCN http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/42813-1.html Washington Post Staff Writer By Marc Kaufman Tuesday, December 19, 2006; A27 NASA, seeking to give the public easy access to its massive trove of images and data about Earth and outer space, has entered into a formal agreement with Google to post material from the agency's many missions on the Internet. As the technology improves and the collaboration grows, officials said, viewers could one day be treated to live video from the moon, Mars and elsewhere. [...] The agreement was announced at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. Google had previously announced plans to build a 1 million-square-foot facility at the research park. But while Google will be the first major online collaborator with NASA, the agency said that the images are not exclusive and that it is working on similar projects with other Internet portals. [underline added] "NASA has collected and processed more information about our planet and universe than any other entity in the history of humanity," said Chris C. Kemp, director of strategic business development at Ames. "Even though this information was collected for the benefit of everyone, and much is in the public domain, the vast majority of this information is scattered and difficult for non-experts to access and to understand." [...] Under the arrangement, Ames will provide Google with its weather forecasting information, three-dimensional maps of the moon and Mars, and real-time tracking of the international space station and space shuttle flights. It is the kind of public-private cooperation encouraged by the National Aeronautics and Space Act, NASA officials said. Ames chief S. Pete Wardon said that NASA has also converted video from the Apollo missions to the moon into digital form, and in the future those images could also be available for viewing online. [...] Under the agreement, he said, Google will use NASA images on its Google Earth Web site and will financially support some related projects at the agency. He said some collaborations are already under way -- in particular, a global-imaging project called the Global Connection, with National Geographic magazine and Carnegie Mellon University -- and more will begin in the next six months. [...] "The data already exists, from dozens of human and robotic missions," Wardon said. "The taxpayers have already paid for the data, and it should be available." [...] ***
Attachment:
image001.gif
Description: GIF image
