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Comment by shanear | Hacker News Reader

Wholeheartedly agree. There is a big push do this inside the US federal government right now. I work for the United States Digital Service, and at the Department of Veterans' Affairs, almost all application code we write is open source:

https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs

This push is happening in other agencies as well. Check out https://code.gov/ for other shared projects from agencies around the federal government.

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I work on a VA contract as a systems engineer. I admire the knowledgeable people VA employs to solve it's problems.

Thanks for the link - I did not know they were on GH.

How has your experience with the USDS been? From a selfish point of view, it seems like a great way to make contacts in the industry while serving your country.

I'm coming up on having been here for two years, and both of those things have been true. It's been a great experience to work alongside top-notch folks from all over the tech industry on problems that deeply impact so many lives.

It's also the best civics lesson you'll ever have. You get to see up close how the federal government runs, good and bad. There's a lot of nuance on how policy, legislation, and technology all interact that I didn't appreciate before I worked for the USDS.

>>There's a lot of nuance on how policy, legislation, and technology all interact that I didn't appreciate before I worked for the USDS.

Would you mind sharing some of your insights?

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