AllThingsD » Personal Democracy Forum

Obama Administration Launches IT Spending Tracker

Kimberly Chou — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:35 +0000

President Barack Obama’s Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra announced this morning the launch of an “IT dashboard” that allows people to see how the federal government is spending taxpayer dollars on information technology projects.

Announced at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York, the IT dashboard, allows users to view data for various federal agencies, including major investments and dollars spent, as well to view the “health” of projects through graphs comparing planned and actual expenditures.

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Personal Democracy Forum: Battle over Broadband

Marisa Taylor — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:49:36 +0000

The Obama administration has called for a $7.1 billion upgrade of the nation’s broadband Internet system as part of the Recovery Act, but it will be a tall order for the FCC to create a plan that satisfies both telecom companies and broadband advocacy groups.

That was the takeaway message at a panel discussion of the broadband initiative at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York on Monday afternoon. While more and more Americans may be getting broadband Internet service in their homes, monthly service prices are shooting up, leaving broadband advocates worried that low-income users could be left in the virtual dust.

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Personal Democracy Forum: Seeking the Youth Vote

Kimberly Chou — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:49:35 +0000

The historic election of President Barack Obama marked a high point for youth involvement in elections. Now, activists are trying to figure out how to bottle youthful Obamania and transport it to other elections. At a panel discussion of the Personal Democracy Forum, author and youth vote activist Mike Conner said that young voter turnout (18-29 year olds) has increased the last three election cycles – marking the first rise in youth voter turnout since the Reagan era.

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