Defense

Spotlight on innovation in the 2023 defense policy bill

The Defense Innovation Unit stands to get $81 million, double its requested budget, for fiscal 2023, under the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Defense

House committee boosts defense budget by $37B

The House Armed Service Committee’s topline is more than Biden’s budget request, but less than that of its Senate counterpart

Defense

Senate panel approves $45B boost to 2023 defense topline

The House draft followed Biden’s budget, but lawmakers are expected to debate the funding number next week.

Defense

Defense topline funding could see a bump, panel chairman says

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters he was confident that defense budget limits could be increased beyond the White House's request.

Digital Government

Pandemic response watchdogs urge agencies to focus on ID theft

Federal agencies need to contend with outdated tech, identity proofing and data issues while also helping identity fraud victims, inspectors general told a House panel on Tuesday.

Acquisition

Small biz leaders ask Congress to address category management woes

As the rate of small businesses providing goods and services to the federal government plummets, experts are demanding lawmakers reassess an increasingly popular procurement method meant to reduce burdens and cost.

People

Former DOD cyber official loses bid for Congress despite Trump’s backing

Katie Arrington, who led a Defense Department push to bring 300,000 contractors into compliance with cyber hygiene policies, lost her race to oust a Republican incumbent in a South Carolina congressional primary.

Defense

Lawmakers want to know how much bad software costs DOD

When the House Armed Services Committee begins its markup process of the annual defense authorization bill on June 8, look out for a provision asking the Pentagon to account for wasted money and lost productivity caused by poorly performing software.

Modernization

$756M still left in TMF, but not for long

The administration plans to exhaust the $1 billion addition to the Technology Modernization Fund made under last year’s American Rescue Plan Act by the end of the current fiscal year.

Modernization

$13.5M in new TMF awards to NARA, USDA

An award to the National Archives appears designed to reduce a pandemic-era backlog in veterans records processing.

Cybersecurity

EPA seeks funding to improve the cybersecurity of America’s water systems

The Environmental Protection Agency aims to invest $4 billion in upgrades to the nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure with a strong focus on cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity

Agencies are sharing cyber data with CISA, officials say

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is rapidly expanding its visibility into federal networks under the Biden administration's cybersecurity executive order.

Acquisition

Acquisition experts ask Congress to address decline in small business awards

Congress should work to develop new procurement vehicles and streamline compliance and security requirements to counteract category management practices and other issues causing a steep drop in the number of small businesses in the federal marketplace, experts said on Thursday.

Modernization

Library of Congress plans new cloud office

The Library of Congress made “great progress” on its strategic Information Technology investments despite being a “constant target” of major cyber threats, the agency’s Chief Information Officer told lawmakers on Thursday.

People

More than 60 Democratic lawmakers want a 5.1% raise for feds

The lawmakers asked the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee to override President Biden’s plan to offer an average 4.6% raise for federal employees in 2023.

Acquisition

Bernie Sanders wants Amazon debarred from federal contracting

The Vermont lawmaker cites the company's anti-union activity in a letter urging President Biden to eliminate the e-commerce and cloud behemoth from federal contracts.

Cybersecurity

New cybersecurity bill authorizes DHS to ramp up incident response efforts nationwide

The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act gives the Department of Homeland Security a range of opportunities to bolster cybersecurity preparedness at the state and local level, including and technical assistance services.

Acquisition

Federal contractors could soon have to disentangle themselves completely from Russia 

A top House oversight Democrat says her bill limiting contracts with companies operating in Russia during the Ukraine war would supplement existing sanctions.