Weekly Roundup July 31, 2015

Hope for the DATA Act. Hudson Hollister, the head of the Data Transparency Coalition, was interviewed by Federal News Radio on his take of the status of the implementation of the DATA Act, which requires regular reporting of financial transactions by each federal agency on at least a quarterly basis. He shared his frustration, but also some hope. Later that day, GAO testified on the Act’s implementation and noted progress, but more needs to be done. It found that Treasury and OMB have met statutory deadlines for setting common data standards but, as reported by FCW, that a definition of “program” has not been developed and that this would be an important element for making sense of the reported financial data. Evidence Commission Passes House. Government Executive reports that the House has passed a bi-partisan bill: “The House on Monday approved a bipartisan plan for a commission to expand use of agency data to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and tax expenditures.” The bill now goes to the Senate, where it has bipartisan support, as well. Electronic Invoicing Comes to Government. The Office of Management and Budget has set a deadline for federal agencies to move to electronic invoicing. OMB’s David Mader told Federal News Radio: “There are, on an annual basis, about 19 million invoices that are paid each year, now about 40 percent of them are electronic. We have about 12 million that we want to move to electronic payments between now and 2018.” GAO Advice on Conducting Agency-Level Strategic Reviews. As part of its ongoing work reviewing the implementation of the GPRA Modernization Act, “GAO identified seven practices federal agencies can employ to facilitate effective strategic reviews and illustrated aspects of those practices through examples from the strategic review processes conducted [in 2014] at the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Education (Education), Homeland Security (DHS), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).” GAO Publishes Framework for Fraud Risks. GAO identified “leading practices for managing fraud risks and organized them into a conceptual framework . . . [that] encompasses control activities to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud, with an emphasis on prevention, as well as structures and environmental factors that influence or help managers achieve their objective to mitigate fraud risks.” Improper Payments Bill Passes Senate. Federal Times reports: “New legislation cracking down on fraudulent and improper payments gives agencies more requirements and oversight in an attempt to save the government hundreds of billions of dollars a year.” The proposed bill hopes to reduce the $125 billion in improper payments made each year by requiring the use of analytics and data sharing. Michael J. Keegan House Bill Seeks To Delay, Modify Meaningful Use Stage 3. Rep. Renee Ellmers has introduced a bill that seeks to delay federal rulemaking for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program until at least 2017. In addition, the legislation seeks to expand hardship exemptions for providers, implement a 90-day reporting period for each year and bolster electronic health record interoperability. Health Data Management et al Industry Leaders Push for Self-Regulation in Mobile Health Sector. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, several leaders in the connected device industry argued for less government intervention and a push toward self-regulation. The experts said that current regulations pose a challenge to gaining patients' trust. MobiHealthNews Report finds few signs of telework abuse at Patent and Trademark Office. The National Academy of Public Administration concludes that time-and-attendance fraud is neither widespread nor unique to teleworkers at the Patent and Trademark Office. GSA is bringing more agencies to the OASIS of contracting. The Homeland Security Department is committing $250 million in spending to the professional services governmentwide acquisition contract known as OASIS. DHS signed a memorandum of understanding with GSA detailing its commitment. Todd Richards is the OASIS contract program manager at the General Services Administration. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller talked to Richards at the National Contract Management Association’s World Congress in Dallas and has more details about the MOU with DHS. What exactly is enterprise risk management? It's more than simply rolling up the traditional risk management efforts — and it's increasingly critical for agencies. * * * * * The Business of Government Radio Show: Max Stier, President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service. What is the Ready to Govern Initiative? How will it promote presidential transition reforms within Congress? What is it doing to put management at the forefront of the next administration's agenda? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more. Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Wednesday at noon, on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED If you can't wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week's program and all our previous interviews at businessofgovernment.org.