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understand our customers needed more intuitive and user-friendly dashboards and reports, especially as they move from outdated systems to more dynamic solutions," commented Unanet’s chief product officer, Assad Jarrahian.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.

The U.S. Army plans to conduct four long-range exercises of the Lockheed Martin-built precision strike missile this year in a push to develop the weapon’s firing capacity, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, director of the Army Future Command’s (AFC) long-range precision fires cross-functional team, told the publication in an interview that the service will conduct a 400-km PrSM test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico next month.

In addition, there will be another test in August at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California that will cover a range of over 500 kilometers or 310.7 miles. Two PrSMs will also launch from a HIMARS vehicle during the 2021 Project Convergence exercises in the fall.

The Army’s goal is to expand the PrSM’s capacity to mid-range or approximately 1,100 miles, according to Rafferty. He noted that the service branch is looking into using next-generation propulsion systems to obtain a mid-range PrSM capability.

In March 2020, Lockheed was named as the final participant in the Army’s PrSM prototyping initiative. PrSM is slated for deployment in 2023.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has unveiled a new minimum viable product (MVP) that would analytically inform military leaders on foreign forces.

DIA said Monday its Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) has released a new order-of-battle MVP that determines the hierarchy of foreign military units based on geographic location and equipment data.

The MARS effort aims to update an existing information repository into a cloud-based system that automates analytical processes via human-machine teaming. The new MVP marks DIA’s effort to augment defense analysis and follows the first MVP, which analytically processes infrastructure information.

“MARS is another example of how DIA relentlessly pursues every means to gather and analyze all possible information on foreign militaries in support of our military planners, operators and policymakers,” said Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the DIA.

The agency plans to release more MARS products in the future to support defense-related decision-making.

Karlton Johnson, board chairman of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Accreditation Body (CMMC-AB), said he will focus on transforming his group from a director board into one more focused on organizational leadership, FedScoop reported Monday. 

The board is working to help the government implement CMMC, through which the Department of Defense (DOD) would standardize the security controls of the defense industrial base.

CMMC AB's responsibilities include forming a team of assessors and licensing trainers that would help companies prepare for the assessments. Johnson's leadership strategy involves hiring new personnel, including Matthew Travis, who recently joined the organization as CEO.

Johnson said the board will also continue its engagements with the public to answer questions and address the spread of false information.

Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the U.S. Navy used input from defense, industry and academic experts to establish plans for a “bigger, better” Navy, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

Gilday said at an industry event that experts from the defense, industry and academic sectors provided input for the Future Naval Force Structure Assessment released in Dec. 2020, which seeks 316 manned vessels by the fiscal year 2026 deadline.

The study also sought up to 242 unmanned vessels and was based on evaluations of industrial base capacities, ownership costs and maintenance requirements, he said. Gilday noted that it would be “critically important” that the Navy and key stakeholders assess how the future platforms would address gaps in the joint force.

“From a budget informed or fiscally informed position, this wasn’t just a pie in the sky, this is the Navy we need,” he added.

If you’re interested in the Navy’s efforts to implement new initiatives then check out the Potomac Officers Club’s 2021 Navy Forum coming up on May 12. Click here to learn more and register for the event.