FCW Insider: Dec. 17

Lawmakers seek details on damage done by the SolarWinds hack

As information trickles out about which federal agencies have been compromised by a sophisticated hacking operation, lawmakers have begun seeking an extensive accounting of what damage has been done.

Proposed OPM rule would elevate the role of performance in layoff decisions

The current rules for reductions in force have performance last on the list of factors to consider in the determining which employees to keep, with the type of job coming first and followed by veterans preference and service length after.

After Solar Winds, it's time for a National Software Security Act

The time has come for Congress to regulate security in the software industry by mandating minimal best practices for software companies selling software products or services in America.

AWS renews JEDI protest

After a re-award to Microsoft by the Department of Defense of the enterprise cloud contract, Amazon Web Services is headed back to court.

GAO calls out agencies for IT supply chain risks

The government watchdog determined most federal agencies were not following best practices for supply chain risk management established by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

DOD announces first CMMC pilot contract nominees

The Dec. 15 announcement calls out seven pilot contracts across the Air Force, Navy and Missile Defense Agency.

Quick Hits

*** House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters on an Dec. 16 conference call that lawmakers were getting close on a COVID-19 relief bill and an overall appropriation to fund the federal government after the current continuing resolution expires on Dec. 18. Hoyer said that lawmakers could be voting on bills as soon as Thursday. He also didn't rule out the possibility of another very short-term funding bill to extend the deadline to allow for Congress to consider funding legislation.

"And if we need three or four more days, we're gonna take such time as is necessary to fund the government…and as well to give relief to those….who have been savaged by COVID-19," Hoyer said. "So I'm not for shutting down the government and we'll do what it takes not to do that."

*** The U.S. Army awarded its $2.5 billion, five-year Spectrum Forward Other Transaction Agreement to the National Spectrum Council. The award sets the stage for the Defense Department to benefit from research and development into communications infrastructure and spectrum utilization.