Acquisition

VA seeks full 2022 funding for health record project, despite six-month pause

House appropriators are concerned that the Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking to fully fund its program to switch from its homegrown Vista system to Cerner's commercial electronic health record in 2022, despite having unspent funds from fiscal year 2021.

Acquisition

Congratulations to the 2021 Rising Stars

These early-career leaders already are having an outsized impact on government IT.

Acquisition

Senate funding bill zeros out TMF

It's a familiar story: The House looks to add to the Technology Modernization Fund while the Senate taps the brakes

Acquisition

The growing importance of GWACs

One of the government's most popular methods for buying emerging technologies and critical IT services faces significant challenges in an ever-changing marketplace

Acquisition

How GSA is implementing the contractor vaccination mandate

The agency's Federal Acquisition Service and Public Building Service are using automated tools to send out contract modifications "by the thousands," to add the vaccination mandate said one agency official. FAS started issuing mass modifications on Oct. 8. They're issuing about 3,000 modifications per day.

Acquisition

Is category management hurting small businesses?

Small business owners testified on Capitol Hill about getting squeezed by category management and contract bundling initiatives.

Acquisition

DOD could get new software, sustainment tech oversight positions

Heidi Shyu , undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, wants to add new oversight roles for software and sustainment efforts.

Acquisition

IT spend expected to trend up, acting DOD CIO says

Rising IT and cyber budgets may lay ahead as the Defense Department moves forward with implementing zero trust architecture and begins relying more on artificial intelligence.

Acquisition

Nominee to lead USAF acquisition names software, IT as top priorities

Improving how the service acquires software and IT systems, while making DevSecOps the norm ranks among the top priorities for Andrew Hunter, the White House nominee to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics.

Acquisition

TMF awards still come with payback plans

Federal CIO Clare Martorana said that while payback flexibility is now part of the Technology Management Fund playbook, agencies are projecting savings in their modernization plans.

Acquisition

Peraton wins $2.7B DHS cloud and data center award

After a few speed bumps and a bridge contract, the Department of Homeland Security awarded its Data Center and Cloud Optimization contract.

Acquisition

White House orders federal contractors vaccinated by Dec. 8

New COVID-19 guidance directs federal contractors and subcontractors to make sure their employees are vaccinated — the latest in a series of new vaccine requirements the White House has been rolling out in recent weeks.

Acquisition

White House pushes back on efforts to restore program cuts in NDAA

The Biden administration appears determined to stick to plans to retire legacy platforms and systems.

Acquisition

How the Pentagon copes with funding hiccups

The Government Accountability Office examines some of the Defense Department's tactics to lessen the effects of inconsistent funding during continuing resolutions.

Acquisition

DOD wants industry to continue with CMMC prep amid program review

Dr. Christine Michienzi, the chief technology officer for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, said while results were coming soon, defense contractors should "continue on" with updates to cybersecurity practices as DOD finalizes its review of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

Acquisition

DOD's silence on CMMC is worrying industry, trade groups claim

Months of silence from the Defense Department on the status of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program is palpable and stirring unease among defense contractors, trade associations say in a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

Acquisition

Feds get more guidance on COVID vaccination, testing

The Biden administration is eyeing booster shots for some Americans, but for its vaccination and testing program for federal employees, those who are two weeks out from a completed vaccination are considered covered without a booster shot, for now.

Acquisition

Where does the TMF Board go from here?

With a $1 billion cash infusion, relaxed repayment guidelines and a surge in proposals from federal agencies, questions have been raised about whether the board overseeing the Technology Modernization Fund has been scaled to cope with its newfound popularity.

Acquisition

Craig Abod: Taking the pain out of procurement

Craig Abod and Carahsoft have been working to make IT acquisition decisions easier and more effective.

Acquisition

Christopher Krebs: Truth and consequences

Krebs spent 2020 working furiously to ensure the integrity of our elections, while also ensuring that ransomware, software supply-chain vulnerabilities and a range of other rapidly escalating risks didn't cripple government operations or the nation's critical infrastructure.