The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov continues to create waves on Capitol Hill, bringing bipartisan agreement that legislative action is needed. Despite these issues, other agencies are still embracing technological innovation. The FCC just released a new crowdsourcing app, while the Department of Defense is embracing open source solutions. Be sure to read about this and much more in this week’s Federal News Round Up.
Bipartisan Agreement that Obamacare Warrants IT Reform
Both sides of the political aisle of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee believe that the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov calls for legislative action to ensure the government can successfully implement large-scale technology projects.
Houses Passes DATA Act
Last Monday, the House passed legislation requiring agencies to submit detailed, standardized spending data. The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) would also transfer control of USAspending.gov to the Treasury Department from the Office of Management and Budget.
DARPA Faces New Challenges
At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), new priorities are emerging as the United States no longer enjoys a massive technological advantage over enemies and funding for defense is more likely to decline than increase.
FCC Releases Crowdsourcing App
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released a crowdsourcing app to help the agency gather data on mobile broadband use.
NASA Launches MAVEN, a New Mission to Mars
NASA launched its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, better known as MAVEN, on Monday afternoon, beginning a 10-month journey to the Red Planet.
Air Force Looks to Solve Wind Farm Radar Interference
The Air Force is looking to develop a tool to get around a growing problem: radar interference caused by wind turbines.
Open Source is Officially Taking Off at DoD
At the Defense Department, the incorporation of open source has happened more slowly than at some other agencies, but this is set to change.
First Satellite Built By High School Students Blasts into Space
Last week, the first satellite designed and built by high school students at Thomas Jefferson High School blasted into space along with a so-called “PhoneSat” built by NASA.
