The Defense Department‘s fiscal year 2018 budget request allocates approximately $4.8 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative, an increase of $1.4 billion from ERI funds in FY 2017, DoD News reported Thursday. Air Force Maj. Gen. David Allvin, director of strategy at the U.S. European Command, told reporters in a telephone briefing that the funding …

Thomas Zacharia, deputy director for science and technology at the Energy Department‘s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named director of ORNL effective July 1. DOE said Thursday the board of governors of UT-Batelle — a joint venture of Battelle and the University of Tennessee — unanimously elected Zacharia to succeed Thom …

The Government Accountability Office has found that most agencies met spending requirements under two small business research and development programs in fiscal year 2015. GAO said Wednesday nine of 11 participating agencies under the Small Business Innovation Research program submitted the required report on obligations for extramural research and development work, which are …

The Federal Election Commission has launched its updated FEC.gov website following a multi-year collaborative effort with the General Services Administration‘s 18F digital services organization. The new website includes revamped tools for browsing campaign finance data and legal resources as well as user-centered content designed to explain reporting and compliance requirements to individuals who seek to …

Vice Adm. Joseph Rixey, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, plans to retire in July after nearly four years in the job, The Hill reported Wednesday. He was originally slated to leave DSCA in September 2016 but was asked by the agency to extend his tenure to oversee reform of the foreign military sales process, according to the …

The Office of Management and Budget has kicked off its search for an information technology specialist who will work within the budget analysis and systems branch of OMB’s budget review division. A USAJobs notice posted Thursday stated that the IT specialist will fulfill analytical and management duties related to the planning, development, implementation and …

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the implementation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 would increase costs by $3 million over the next five years. A CBO report published Friday stated that the legislation would impact direct spending over the 2017-2027 period but the effects would not …

Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have introduced a bill that seeks to establish a bug bounty pilot program to boost the Department of Homeland Security‘s cyber defense. The Hack Department of Homeland Security Act would require DHS to enlist “white-hat” or ethical hackers to report vulnerabilities within its networks and data systems, …

The Defense Department‘s budget request will allocate $259 million to accelerate the development of a kill vehicle for the U.S. military to intercept multiple enemy warheads, Defense One reported Friday. The budget request will fund a new development phase for the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle and shorten the program’s projected completion date by five years, according to the report. …

President Donald Trump has urged NATO member countries to meet commitments to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, DoD News reported Thursday. Trump said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium that the 2 percent commitment is the “bare minimum” for addressing current threats and is not enough …