News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

SECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"Merry (maybe) Christmas. With only 900 employees, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is one of the smaller, lesser-known federal operations. Until today. Now the judicial branch agency may be the advance man for Santa....The office has advised its employees that they will get Dec. 26, the Friday after Christmas, and Jan. 2, the Friday after New Year's off. With pay. That means back-to-back four-day weekends. The consideration shown in giving employees early warning--to plan their time off--is something Uncle Sam may want to copy" (The Washington Post).

$330,000 OUTHOUSE? HILL CRITICS VIEW IT AS A MATTER OF WASTE--"Forget those legendary tales of the Pentagon spending $600 for hammers and ash trays. Congress yesterday found a new symbol of wasted taxpayer dollars: the two-hole outhouse that the National Park Service built for more than $330,000....Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) decried such gold-plated construction' by the agency. The average American cannot comprehend government housing of $600,000 or toilets in excess of $300,000,' he said" (The Washington Post).

KENNARD IS CONFIRMED 99-1 AS HEAD OF FCC BY SENATE--"The Senate approved President Clinton's nominee to head the Federal communications Commission, but lawmakers vowed to keep a close eye on the agency as it continues pressing for competition in the telecommunications industry" (The Wall Street Journal).

PEOPLE CAN CLAIM ONE OR MORE RACES ON FEDERAL FORMS--"The Clinton Administration today adopted new rules for listing racial and ethnic makeup on Federal forms, allowing people for the first time to identify themselves as members of more than one race. The change, which could affect Government policies like affirmative action and the drawing of legislative districts, is the first revision in the Government's definition of racial and ethnic groupings since 1977. It means that on Federal forms people can identify themselves in a single racial category or a combination" (The New York Times).

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.

Improving the Government's Estimates of the Costs and Benefits of Regulation

On Sept. 30 the Office of Management and Budget issued its first report to Congress that tallies the costs and benefits of federal regulation. This conference, sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and the Brookings Institute, will bring together scholars and administration representatives to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the report. Topics to be addressed include methodology, the implications of the estimates themselves and suggested modifications. The conference will be held October 31 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St, NW. For more information call 202-862-5847.

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.