FCW Insider: October 20, 2021

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

Biden's pick to lead DOD's weapons testing wants cyber assessments for commercial cloud systems

The Biden administration's pick to lead the Defense Department's operational testing, Nickolas Guertin, called the department's inability to conduct independent cyber assessments of commercial cloud systems "a severe limitation."

CISA seeks 24-hour timeline for cyber incident reporting

Two separate Senate bills set different deadlines for federal contractors, critical infrastructure providers and other covered companies to report cyber incidents to the federal government.

ICYMI: 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.

Quick Hits

*** Senate appropriators didn't include a pay raise for federal employees in a package of nine fiscal year 2022 government funding bills released on Monday. Absent new legislation, the Biden administration's proposed 2.7% pay raise for feds will likely take effect next year. The House of Representative's funding package, much of which passed in July, also endorsed the 2.7% raise for federal employees.

*** The public sector technology and contracting ecosystem is facing the problem of the global shortage of computer chips. But determining the exact effects gets murky when considering the industrial base's distinct pace and cadence from other sectors. Washington Technology has more on this story.