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Emily Murphy: ASTRO Contract Vehicle to Use Section 876 Authority
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Emily Murphy: ASTRO Contract Vehicle to Use Section 876 Authority

Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration (GSA) and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said the ASTRO master contract for unmanned, manned and robotic systems will be the first contract vehicle to use a provision in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will require price as an evaluation criterion only at the task order level, Federal News Network reported Monday.

“While ASTRO will be the first contract vehicle to use the Section 876 authority, GSA anticipates that more will follow,” Murphy told the network in an email. GSA issued a solicitation for the ASTRO contract in late August.

She said ASTRO will be an assisted procurement effort on behalf of the Pentagon without the direct order components usually found on multiagency contracts and governmentwide acquisition contracts.

“This means GSA can closely monitor competition at the task order level and ensure in particular we see that competition in pricing,” Murphy said. “Second, ASTRO will serve as an opportunity to refine best practices for use of the Section 876 authority while the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (published on August 19, 2020)  to use Section 876 authority in the Federal Supply Schedule program proceeds.”

She also mentioned the potential benefits of the new approach to ASTRO to customer agencies and small businesses.

Emily Murphy: ASTRO Contract Vehicle to Use Section 876 Authority

GovConWire Events will host its “Navigating the Federal Marketplace, Upcoming Opportunities, and Winning Contracts” Virtual Event on October 20th. Click here to register for the event.

Featuring Brian Barnes, associate administrator for the Office of Small Business Utilization with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), as the keynote speaker, the event will educate and inform small to midsize GovCon professionals on the current Federal Marketplace and FY21 opportunities.

The event will also include an expert panel hosting federal and industry executives that will discuss how to navigate the GSA schedule and what industry can do to help. Join GovConWire’s virtual event to learn all about the latest topics within the federal marketplace. Click here to register for the virtual event.

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New IRS Office Starts With IT Pilot Projects to Simplify Business Processes; Mitchell Winans Quoted
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New IRS Office Starts With IT Pilot Projects to Simplify Business Processes; Mitchell Winans Quoted

The Internal Revenue Service’s newly established enterprise digitalization and case management office (EDCMO) is designing information technology pilot projects to improve taxpayers’ experiences by going paperless and streamlining business processes, FedScoop reported Monday.

“We’re going to be maintaining a test and learn approach, particularly early on,” Mitchell Winans, senior adviser within EDCMO, said during a recent ACT-IAC event. “I think we’re probably going to identify some specific use cases and try to take some targeted approaches on that just to see what we can learn about improving that experience for that particular customer or for that particular IRS employee.”

Winans said the new IRS office seeks to train personnel how to use machine-readable data and reduce paper volume at the agency. He also noted about the need to advance change management.

“There still is room for improvement when it comes to exploring, adopting and integrating different tools or technologies into our day-to-day activities,” Winans added.

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OMB Releases Interim Rule to Address IT Supply Chain Security Risks
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OMB Releases Interim Rule to Address IT Supply Chain Security Risks

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued an interim final rule detailing how the Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) will evaluate threat information and recommend issuance of orders to remove or exclude certain products from future procurements or information systems as part of efforts to protect the information and communications technology and services supply chain.

The interim rule directs the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to serve as FASC’s information sharing agency, which will help facilitate the operations of a task force for supply chain risk management (SCRM) and standardize procedures for disseminating supply chain data.

OMB said the SCRM task force will be composed of technical experts who will help the council carry out risk assessment, risk analysis and data sharing functions.

According to the document, FASC is an interagency council led by a senior-level OMB official and includes representatives from the departments of Defense (DoD), Homeland Security (DHS), Commerce (DOC), Justice (DOJ), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the General Services Administration (GSA).

The interim final rule is slated for publication in the Federal Register Tuesday and will be open for public comments in the next 60 days.

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Navy Holds Christening for USS Savannah
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Navy Holds Christening for USS Savannah

The U.S. Navy has christened the future USS Savannah built by Austal USA at the company's facility in Mobile, Ala.

Dianne Isakson, wife of former Sen. John Isakson performed the christening as the vessel's sponsor, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Designated as LCS 28, USS Savannah is the Navy's 14th Independence-class vessel and the sixth ship to bear the name. The ship is built to carry out anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasure and surface warfare operations.

“Today we christened the sixth USS Savannah following an outstanding record of service named for a great American city," said Kenneth Braithwaite, Navy secretary.

Austal USA delivered the Independence-class USS Oakland ship to the service branch in June.

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Synthetik Receives DHS Funding to Develop Machine Learning Data for Airport Screening Tech
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Synthetik Receives DHS Funding to Develop Machine Learning Data for Airport Screening Tech

Synthetik Applied Technologies has secured $1M in funds from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the second phase of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to build machine learning data that could simulate baggage and human travelers.

The company will help update object detection algorithms to mitigate false alarms and augment screening processes through the development of synthetic training data, the department said Friday.

DHS noted synthetic data generation allows the rapid creation of complete, annotated datasets without the need to initiate human protocols and manage delicate materials.

Synthetik will build and demonstrate a prototype to secure Phase III funding from non-government sources and achieve commercialization for the technology as part of the Phase II award.

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JAIC Issues RFI on Alternative AI Procurement Methods
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JAIC Issues RFI on Alternative AI Procurement Methods

The U.S. Army and Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) are looking for information on potential acquisition business models that can be used to support rapid artificial intelligence prototyping efforts.

JAIC said in a notice posted Friday on the beta SAM website that it seeks to leverage new methods such as other transaction authorities to promote “collaboration and optimal teaming arrangements” with traditional and nontraditional contractors.

According to the request for information, JAIC intends to prototype an AI acquisition model to address procurement challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The JAIC model will also be utilized by the military branches and the Department of Defense (DoD) to partner with nontraditional firms, small businesses and academic entities for AI programs.

The model must additionally maximize automated procedures such as online portals and utilize the JAIC Joint Common Foundation (JCF) platform for AI development. JAIC noted that it plans to assess the feasibility of contracts that are not based on the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), as well as mixing FAR- and non-FAR contracts.

Responses to the RFI are due on Sept. 16.

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Perryn Ashmore Temporarily Fills Jose Arrieta’s Role as HHS CIO
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Perryn Ashmore Temporarily Fills Jose Arrieta’s Role as HHS CIO

Perryn Ashmore, Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) principal deputy chief information officer, will temporarily succeed Jose Arrieta as the department's acting CIO. The appointment became effective on Friday, following Arrieta's stepping down as CIO, the department said Friday.

Arrieta's resignation concluded over 15 years of service at HHS. Ashmore formerly served as chief technology officer of the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service.

“We are immensely grateful for the work that Jose Arrieta did during his time at HHS, leaving a legacy of transformative advances in our department’s data work, better business practices that will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and stronger protections for our department’s networks from cyber attacks," said Eric Hargan, deputy secretary at HHS.

Army’s Paul Puckett on FY 2020 Cloud Modernization Updates
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Army’s Paul Puckett on FY 2020 Cloud Modernization Updates

Paul Puckett, director of the U.S. Army’s Enterprise Cloud Management Office (ECMO), said the service branch is working to implement a common cloud security service in line with the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) standards.

Puckett told FCW in an interview published Friday that ECMO and the Army Analytics Group are working on establishing a “dynamic, resilient architecture” called cArmy that is centrally resourced and optimized for Army applications.

He noted that ECMO also stood up a Coding Repository and Transformation Environment (CReATE) team that handles cloud architecture replatforming and DevSecOps activities as well as other modernization initiatives to support the cArmy infrastructure.

CReATE will work to deploy an “ecosystem of software development tools” designed for the cArmy cloud environment, he added.

Speaking on other Army modernization activities for fiscal year 2020, Puckett said his office is in the middle of migrating and modernizing enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, accelerating the deployment of new tools to warfighters and implementing a common security baseline for classified information in a hybrid cloud environment.

Other initiatives that Puckett cited include reorganization activities for the Army’s chief information officer (CIO) units and efforts to implement a 100 percent telework environment for certain teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NASA Invests in Solar, Space Environment Projects; Thomas Zurbuchen Quoted
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NASA Invests in Solar, Space Environment Projects; Thomas Zurbuchen Quoted

NASA has picked five projects for an effort to study the changes exhibited by the Sun and space, as well as their effects on planet Earth. The space agency said Friday it will invest $1.25 million in each project for nine-month concept studies, and will eventually downselect a maximum of two proposals for full execution through the Heliophysics Explorers program.

"We constantly seek missions that use cutting edge technology and novel approaches to push the boundaries of science," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator at NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

These projects will also explore topics that support the security of satellite systems and astronauts.

Selected projects include HelioSwarm, a study to explore solar wind turbulence in the plasmas of space; and the Multi-slit Solar Explorer that would provide data on what causes eruptions, solar flares and other occurrences in the Sun's atmosphere.

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Space Force Eyes Annual Updates to $150M Orbit-Monitoring Program
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Space Force Eyes Annual Updates to $150M Orbit-Monitoring Program

The U.S. Space Force plans to facilitate updates to orbit-monitoring technologies every 90 days as part of the $150 million Space Command and Control (Space C2) program, SpaceNews reported Sunday.

Barbara Barrett, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, said in a report submitted to Congress on Aug. 21st that the program office for the Space C2 effort provides space-monitoring apps to operators every 90 days to ensure that they are “using the most current industry software development practices.”

The fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) currently requires the Space Force to enact annual updates to the Space C2 initiative, according to SpaceNews. Software under the Space C2 effort are meant to help operators avoid space collisions and identify potential satellite hazards.

In 2018, the Space C2 program was established to succeed the Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Joint Space Operations Center Mission System (JMS) effort. Congress previously expressed concerns over JMS for the lack of progress on providing updated tools to operators.

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