Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Oversight and Reform’s government operations subcommittee, and Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., ranking member of the House subpanel, have called on President Biden to nominate members to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

“Without a quorum, the MSPB is unable to act on claims of whistleblower retaliation and is at risk of essentially having to cease its operations,” the lawmakers wrote in an April 5th letter to Biden.

Hice and Connolly said MSPB has lacked a quorum since Jan. 2017 and has been without a single member on the board since March 2019, resulting in a backlog of over 3,000 cases filed by federal employees.

The lawmakers said cases pending in federal courts could jeopardize the ability of MSPB’s administrative judges to issue initial decisions on employees’ appeals if the board fails to assemble a quorum to provide the judges with the required authorities to carry out their duties.

“Once your nominations are made, we trust that the Senate will work quickly to confirm the qualified candidates to the MSPB and restore the Board to full operations,” the letter reads.

Unanet announced on Tuesday new features for its ERP technology platform purpose-built for government contractors. The features are designed to target user experience and offer intelligent functionality to both platforms. Unanet clients will have access to tools for real-time data insights, flexibility and the ability to make informed business decisions. The features also comply with the latest regulations and legal requirements. 

"Unanet is the alternative to stagnant ERP that requires customers to adapt their processes to meet their modules instead of the other way around. We understand our customers needed more intuitive and user-friendly dashboards and reports, especially as they move from outdated systems to more dynamic solutions," commented Unanet’s chief product officer, Assad Jarrahian.

The first new feature is a mobile application that enables contractors to input time and expense on their device anywhere and anytime. The application will also allow supervisors to approve employee time cards and expense reports on their mobile devices. Future improvements to the application are planned. For example, Unanet will add data capture directly from scanned receipts, enabling users to create expense items in under a minute. 

Another feature is a native fixed asset tracking and depreciation solution that can calculate and record depreciation expenses directly into a general ledger. It also tracks asset locations and in-service dates. The dashboard developed for this feature is unique, intuitive and user-friendly. 

Unanet also developed a feature that ensures government contractors will comply with the wage determination of their contracts. Additionally, Unanet has advanced Service Contract Act support, which will automatically correct payroll errors and has a complete wage determinations history for each contract to support Department of Labor audits.

"As we continue to focus on new solutions and enhancements, we listen to customer feedback and innovate on new features directly aligned with their requests. With these additional capabilities, customers get the benefit of a trusted partner who listens, understands and delivers on their ever-growing needs,” concluded Jarrahian.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $8 million to fund the development of cyber-physical concepts for ensuring the resiliency and security of electric grid infrastructure. 

DOE said Monday that the funding opportunity announcement includes sponsored collaboration with universities and focuses on establishing ways to install, operate and maintain energy delivery technologies that can withstand cyber-attacks while performing critical functions.

Industry participants must work with university-led groups on the research and development effort, which will primarily revolve around creating and scaling cyber-physical systems integrated with autonomous, self-healing and flexible elements.

“Every one of our research partnerships is expected to establish a clear path from technology innovation to industry practice,” noted Patricia Hoffman, acting assistant secretary of DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.

In March, DOE announced that it will invest $4 million in R&D initiatives that focus on securing grid infrastructure against natural and man-made threats.

If you're interested in efforts to secure power grid infrastructure then check out the GovCon Wire's Defense Cybersecurity Forum coming up on May 12. Click here to learn more.

NASA has selected 286 project proposals for the James Webb Space Telescope's upcoming first cycle of scientific investigations.

The space agency said Tuesday it will begin Webb's space observation activities in 2022, with General Observer programs that seek to study star formation, planetary system properties and the universe's earlier galaxies.

The space telescope features a large mirror and imaging capabilities designed to generate high-resolution visuals of the universe.

“The initial year of Webb’s observations will provide the first opportunity for a diverse range of scientists around the world to observe particular targets with NASA’s next great space observatory,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

The Telescope Allocation Committee assessed the submitted proposals and determined the final selection competitively. The Maryland-based Space Telescope Science Institute will operate Webb's science missions under the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

The complete list of Webb's General Observer programs can be found here. The programs will commence after the telescope's approximately half-year commissioning period.