FCW Insider: Feb. 4

Navy report looks to combat racism and sexism in the ranks

The Navy's Task Force One Navy report looks to STEM training, recruitment, grooming policies as paths to encourage diversity and inclusion.

Labor secretary nominee comes with a long record on union issues, contracting oversight

During his time as mayor, Marty Walsh pursued actions to increase the amount of minority-, women- and veteran-owned contractors in Boston.

HASC adds cybersecurity subcommittee

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) will chair a new subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee focused on cybersecurity, emerging tech and information systems.

Biden clears out Trump's FSIP appointees

Federal employee groups and unions had requested that Biden remove the panel's members.

Senate panel approves Granholm nomination to lead DOE

Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, is poised to become energy secretary as the agency continues to grapple with the fallout of the SolarWinds Orion hack.

Quick Hits

*** A coalition of trade groups including the Information Technology Industry Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Services Council are urging congressional leaders to include a $9 billion boost to the Technology Modernization Fund as proposed in President Biden's pandemic relief and recovery legislation.

"Aging IT at the Federal and state levels has hindered the ability of governments to quickly and efficiently get dollars, programs, and services to Americans in need," the groups wrote in their Feb. 2 letter to House and Senate leaders.

*** Michael Regan, Biden's nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, repeatedly stressed the roles of science and law as guiding principles for the agency at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

"Our priorities for the environment are clear," Regan said in his opening statement. "We will restore the role of science and transparency at EPA. We will support the dedicated and talented career officials."

If confirmed, Regan will oversee an agency with low morale among its workforce, said committee chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). The agency's workforce has also shrunk over the past four years from 15,553 employees in March 2016 to 14,488 employees as of March 2020, according to OPM data.

Regan's statements come soon after the Biden-Harris administration released a memorandum late last week that underscored the role of "scientific integrity and evidence-based policymaking" free of political interference.