FCW Insider: Sept. 1
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The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
HHS signs $2.5B consolidated telecom contract
The sprawling government department tapped Verizon via the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract vehicle to cover telecommunications for all its component agencies.
BPAs play out amid schedule consolidation
The General Services Administration has almost all contractors on its combined buying schedule, but a handful remain to be converted, according to the agency's administrator.
GAO: SSA's contracting guidance lacks agility
The Social Security Administration has embraced agile software development, but needs to delineate how contracting personnel fit into the picture.
Quick Hits
*** The American Federation of Government Employees is opposing a plan by the Trump administration to forego employee social security deductions from paychecks, saying that the move to defer payments will saddle federal employees with unwanted tax obligations in 2021. The union is instead urging lawmakers and the president to collaborate on another round of pandemic relief legislation.
"President Trump's payroll tax scheme is a scam that leaves workers with a substantial tax bill right after the holiday season," AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
*** Reps. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and Michael Burgess (R-Texas) introduced legislation to task the Consumer Product Safety Commission with exploring the use of artificial intelligence to monitor product safety. The AI for Consumer Product Safety Act requires the CPSC to seek out advice from AI and machine learning experts and report to Congress on how the technology might help further the agency's mission.
*** General Dynamics IT is likely to score another contract extension of its work to support the Navy's networks outside the continental U.S., Washington Technology reports. GDIT has held the contract for well over a decade. The company has received several extensions in recent years as the Navy has worked toward its transition to the Next Generation Enterprise Network-Recompete iteration.