Item — HN Reader

FYI, the new vets.gov is a collaboration between the US Digital Service, one of the startups that came out of healthcare.gov (Ad Hoc LLC), the VA, and others:

  https://adhocteam.us/

  https://www.whitehouse.gov/digital/united-states-digital-service

  https://www.fastcompany.com/3046756/obama-and-his-geeks

If anybody has questions, I know there are USDS and Ad Hoc people who read HN.

1 comments

I wonder if the US Digital Service will survive after the next president takes office? Do they have a federal mandate at this point or do they operate at the pleasure of Obama in particular? For example if a Republican took office would that person have to go out of their way to keep or ditch the services?

As I understand it, USDS is in the Executive Office of the President and would be very easy for a new President to dismantle, but its counsin 18F in GSA I slightly more secure (obviously, nothing in federal government is secure against strong enough political will against it.)

What would happen to USDS federal government employees with a two year contract?

As I understand, and I could be wrong, they have a limited term civil service appointment, not a contract for a fixed term; this is a maximum period for which they can be in a position, not a set time for which employment is promised.

Interesting. Thanks for the reply!