FCW Insider: June 10, 2021

Agencies shouldn't require vaccinations of employees and contractors, White House-led task force says

The guidance also counsels against asking individuals about their vaccination statues. Unvaccinated individuals will be asked to continue to abide by CDC recommendations for masking and physical distancing.

OMB wants budget boost to rebuild workforce

OMB Acting Director Shalanda Young said some offices within her agency remain 30% below 2012 staffing levels.

Colonial Pipeline CEO talks ransom with lawmakers

House lawmakers on Wednesday were keen to ask Colonial Pipeline's chief executive officer what he knew about the ramifications of making a ransom payment and how it might affect the company's finances.

First CMMC assessment organization approved

The accrediting body overseeing the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program announced the debut of the first organization authorized to assess defense contractors.

Space Force focuses on building a digital workforce

The U.S. Space Force is focusing on building its cadre of super coders amid a workforce boon with more interested applicants than available positions, according to the branch's chief of space operations.

Quick Hits

*** Denis McDonough, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday that the agency is not "changing out from the Cerner system," despite ongoing difficulties with the $16 billion electronic health record modernization program that led to a review of the program. McDonough said that the review is expected to be concluded in the next couple of weeks.

McDonough also said he was seeking $3 billion for the EHR project in the 2022 budget, with $1.5 going to the Cerner contract – which he explained was an increase of $300 million, "due to expanded scope of work." He added that $1.2 billion would go to needed infrastructure upgrades and the rest would go to program management as well as an accelerated deployment of the agency's planned centralized scheduling system.

*** The Department of Veterans Affairs' May 25 award of an estimated $500 million cloud migration contract to Peraton is being challenged by a rival, Washington Technology reports. ThunderCat Technology filed its protest with the Government Accountability Office on June 1.