News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

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The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

DIALING FOR PASSPORTS-"The House voted Friday to close a State Department 900-number phone line that requires callers to pay for passport information they once got for free" (The Washington Post).

FEDERAL DEADWOOD-"Federal agencies frequently fail to discipline poor performers or other office deadwood, according to a survey of 9,700 federal employees" (The Washington Post).

NUCLEAR STOCKPILE MAY SOON EXCEED COLD WAR COSTS-"Although the threat of nuclear war has diminished in recent years, the cost of effectively maintaining the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons will jump at least $5 billion over the next decade and exceed the price tag during the Cold War, Energy Department officials say" (The Washington Post).

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Access America Conferences

The National Performance Review (NPR), will launch a series of informational conferences aimed at providing government employees and private industry IT officials with techniques and strategies for implementing the goals of Access America, an NPR report outlining steps to increase access--via the Internet--to government services. The first conference will be held November 3 (changed from September 25) in Baltimore, Md. and then will travel to other cities across the country. Expert panels will discuss IT topics, including Internet/Intranet successes, the future of Distance Learning and collaboration, IT acquisition and procurement reform, and privacy and security.

Industry Advisory Council's Executive Leadership Conference

October 5-7, 1997 Richmond, Virginia. Forty-six hours of exciting and important keynotes, workshops and frank discussions on the topics foremost in the minds of both government and industry leaders such as "How the Internet is changing the way we do business;" "Public vs private competition: Does it make sense?" and "Past Performance of Past Performance." $265 for government attendees and $425 for industry members. Register separately at the Richmond Marriott (804) 643-3400. Contact Mary Ellen Geoffroy, Executive Director of IAC at 703-218-1965.

DTIC Annual Conference

The Defense Technical Information Center is presenting its Annual Users Meeting and Training Conference on Nov. 3-6, 1997 at the DoubleTree Hotel, National Airport, Arlington, Va. The conference theme is Information in the New Millenium. Contact Ms. Julia Foscue at 703-767-8236 or by e-mail at jfoscue@dtic.mil.