Acquisition

Can DOD make buying software easier?

FCW talked with Tory Cuff, senior advisor for agile acquisitions, to get a better understanding of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework's special software pathway and DOD's pilot experiment with "colorless" money.

Acquisition

CMMC board chief talks assessors, IT staff

Matt Travis, the CEO for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, said proper training and IT access to the Defense Department's Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) application, which will house CMMC data, still needs to be finalized for the third-party organizations that will be charged with conducting cyber assessments.

Modernization

Pilot IRS awards five scanning contracts

The IRS is using an innovative procurement program to test and deploy experimental solutions to digitize paper files as part of an agencywide effort to reduce the reliance on non-machine-readable documentation.

Acquisition

IRS looks to experiment with augmented reality

Taxpayers might soon be able to file their financial documents with the help of AR capabilities thanks to an experimental procurement technique the IRS is using to test and deploy innovative technologies and solutions.

Acquisition

Watchdog says contractor oversight was lacking in Afghanistan

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's newest report calls out the government's failure to oversee contractors as a source of waste, fraud and abuse.

Acquisition

DHS eyes CMMC model

DHS' Office of the Chief Procurement Officer issued a special notice Aug. 10, noting that it is looking for a way to check contractors' compliance with its cyber hygiene clauses released in 2015.

Modernization

Microsoft touts top secret cloud ATO

Azure Government Top Secret is now "generally available" for national security workloads, Microsoft announced in a blog post.

Modernization

State Department expands push to the cloud

The State Department wants to go all in on the cloud, starting with a new multiplatform toolset to add flexibility and innovation to IT services.

Acquisition

OMB report highlights major barriers to equity in federal programs

Onerous paperwork, complex requirements and opaque guidelines are just some of the many roadblocks preventing racial equity across government services, a new report says.

Acquisition

New guidance on vaccines and COVID testing for feds and contractors

The White House-led Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce issued additional question and answer style guidance on Friday addressing how exactly the recently-released vaccination and testing requirements will be carried out.

Acquisition

How VA can succeed with its EHR mega-program

The former CIO of the Department of Veterans Affairs offers some ideas for course correction in the agency's flagging $20 billion–plus Electronic Health Records Modernization program.

People

Unions press SSA leaders for a new contract, workplace safety plan

Biden ousted top leaders at the Social Security Administration last month, but some union officials say more personnel change is needed further down the ladder.

Acquisition

DOD could face $4 billion in pandemic reimbursement payments for contractors

According to a GAO report, the Defense Department may have $4 billion in eligible reimbursements for contractors under the CARES Act.

Modernization

Globally connected data can safeguard the defense industrial and technology base

Data can play a critical role in planning and ultimately protecting the nation's valuable talent, resources and supplies.

Acquisition

Agencies have proposed more than $2B in TMF projects since new funding was approved

Federal CIO Clare Martorana told a House subcommittee that 108 project proposals have been submitted to the Technology Modernization Fund across 43 agencies, with 75% focusing on cybersecurity since the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Acquisition

VA to continue pause on Cerner deployment for six more months

At the end of calendar 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs expects to announce a new schedule for the deployment of its $21 billion electronic health record modernization project.

Modernization

Lawmakers balk at cost-overruns, transparency issues with VA's $21 billion health record program

At a Senate hearing last week, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough noted deficiencies in training including the lack of a real system available for use by clinicians in advance of the go-live date for a new, integrated health care software system.

Modernization

Cloud after COVID

More than a year of pandemic operations has altered government’s view of cloud-centric modernization

Acquisition

CMMC board clarifies assessor training timeline

Training materials and certification exams for the assessors and instructors are at least four months away from delivery.

Acquisition

House Dems look to ramp up oversight of DHS operations

A bill introduced by the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee addresses law enforcement functions, acquisition, leadership and more.