What ever happened to President Obama’s draft executive order requiring contractors to disclose their political contributions?

The White House acknowledged in April that the order was under consideration. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to block any such requirement. Critics said it would introduce a “pay to play” element to federal contracting.

Now a group of 60 House Democrats is urging the president to sign the order. In a letter to Obama, they wrote, “We believe that with public funds come public responsibilities, and anyone benefitting from taxpayer money has the responsibility to be fully transparent.”

The White House has created its own watchdog group to fight waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs.

The Government Accountability and Transparency Board is made up mostly of agency inspectors general and headed by a former inspector general, Earl Devaney. Devaney has won praise for his work as chairman of the oversight board for Recovery Act spending.

“[W]e are tapping the top leaders across government who have been most aggressive in cracking down on waste to drive change and make the government work for our nation’s families,” Vice President Joe Biden said. “With our nation’s top watchdogs at the helm, we will deliver the kind of transparency and accountability for federal spending that the public deserves and expects.”

As the government moves toward cloud computing, a group of 71 technology companies and organizations urged adoption of security standards and stiffer penalties for hackers.

The group, organized by the TechAmerica Foundation, issued a number of recommendations for how the government should deploy cloud computing technologies. It also released a “Buyer’s Guide” for federal IT managers.

The report is available at www.techamerica.org/techamerica-foundation-cloud-commission-report.

GSA employees and contractors in the National Capital Region now must pay for parking in federal buildings. Fees will range from $1,800 to $6,000 a year, according to Federal Times.

“GSA recognizes that it has a responsibility to increase the sustainability of the Federal government and can do so by reducing the environmental impact of the green house gas emissions we generate,” Cathleen C. Kronopolus, regional commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, wrote in a message to employees. “One way we can do that is by reducing incentives such as free parking.”