/
Pentagon Begins Implementation of Increased Progress Payment Rates for Vendors
Published on
Pentagon Begins Implementation of Increased Progress Payment Rates for Vendors

Pentagon Begins Implementation of Increased Progress Payment Rates for Vendors

Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said DoD has started implementing the increased progress payment rates for contractors and that the Defense Contract Management Agency has modified about 1,400 contracts to reflect the increased rates, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“We estimate this will result in over $3 billion in cash being flowed into industry,” said Andrews. “The department has high expectations that prime companies are ensuring cash flow is moving to small businesses in their respective supply chains who need it most.”

DoD issued a memo in March that increases the progress payment rates to 90 percent for large businesses and to 95 percent for small businesses in an effort to ensure cash flow into the industrial base.

Andrews noted that the Defense Finance and Accounting Services and DCMA are collaborating to ensure the Pentagon is preventing delays when it comes to paying contractor invoices.

Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 award winner, also released a memo to broaden the use of other transaction authorities for prototype agreements and follow-on production contracts related to COVID-19 response programs.

DoD also issued a memo about equitable adjustments for vendors to help manage the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance, cost and schedule of defense contracts.

/
James McPherson Appointed Acting Navy Secretary
Published on
James McPherson Appointed Acting Navy Secretary
James McPherson
James McPherson

Defense Secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper has named Army Undersecretary James McPherson as acting secretary of the U.S. Navy.

McPherson will succeed Thomas Modly, who stepped down Tuesday after coming under fire with regard to his handling of the dismissal of a commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier.

McPherson “is a retired Admiral with a distinguished 26 year naval career, serving ashore, afloat and overseas during his time in uniform,” Esper said in a statement Tuesday. “He is a smart, capable, and professional leader who will restore confidence and stability in the Navy during these challenging times.”

The Senate confirmed McPherson in March as undersecretary of the Army. He previously served as the 22nd general counsel of the service branch. He is former executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General and general counsel for the Department of Defense’s counterintelligence field activity.

He retired from the Navy in 2006 as the service’s judge advocate general.

/
Labor Department to Award New Apprenticeship Grants
Published on
Labor Department to Award New Apprenticeship Grants

Labor Department to Award New Apprenticeship Grants

The Employment and Training Administration within the Department of Labor plans to award $42.5 million in grants to finance apprenticeships across the youth.

DOL said Monday that it will issue the grants to apprentices aged 16 to 24 regardless of school enrollment status. ETA may apply the grants to either support new registered apprenticeship programs or increase funds of existing ones.

“These apprenticeship grants offer communities the opportunity to make targeted investments today that will fuel future economic growth, by enabling young people to earn a living while learning critical job skills at the same time,” said Eugene Scalia, secretary of labor.

The effort would directly approach academic institutions and out-of-school youth programs.

/
GAO: TSA Must Improve Foreign Rail Partner Engagement, Baseline Security Reviews
Published on
GAO: TSA Must Improve Foreign Rail Partner Engagement, Baseline Security Reviews
GAO: TSA Must Improve Foreign Rail Partner Engagement, Baseline Security Reviews

The Government Accountability Office has found that the Transportation Security Administration's personnel in overseas locations “lack specific guidance” on coordinating efforts with foreign rail stakeholders.

GAO said in its report released Friday that the TSA Representatives are “less likely to be fully aware” of other countries’ key practices in areas such as station security and cybersecurity. TSA and its foreign partners share practices including risk assessments and the Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement, according to the watchdog.

However, GAO noted that TSA's BASE reviews do not reflect current cybersecurity standards in line with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's cybersecurity framework.

GAO recommends that TSA provide specific guidance to its TSARs on foreign engagement and update its BASE review procedures to reflect NIST standards. Doing so will help operators better handle mass transit operations and improve threat detection and recovery activities, the report states.

The agency assessed TSA risk assessments from fiscal year 2015 through 2019 as part of its report.

/
USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort
Published on
USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort

USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort

The U.S. Air Force has launched a proof-of-concept service desk that uses artificial intelligence to support airmen whether at flight or at base, Federal News Network reported Monday.

The new platform is part of USAF’s wider enterprise information technology-as-a-service or EITaaS effort that aims to digitally transform the service branch.

USAF seeks to modernize the Air Force via new cloud, infrastructure and other IT technologies under EITaaS.

Bill Marion, USAF chief information officer who is stepping down soon, said the new service desk underwent seven months of preparation to launch at bases including Maxwell Air Force Base and Cannon AFB.

Science Applications International Corp. developed the AI-supported service desk. Unisys, now part of SAIC, received a $76M contract for the platform’s development last year.

/
Ajit Pai: White House’s ‘Team Telecom’ Initiative Streamlines FCC Foreign Ownership Reviews
Published on
Ajit Pai: White House’s ‘Team Telecom’ Initiative Streamlines FCC Foreign Ownership Reviews
Ajit Pai
Ajit Pai

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has announced his support for the Trump administration’s creation of a committee responsible for evaluating foreign entities operating in the U.S. telecommunications sector.

Pai said in a statement released Monday that the establishment of the “Team Telecom” committee will streamline FCC’s coordination with the executive branch while accelerating the agency’s reforms on the foreign ownership vetting procedures.

He noted that FCC welcomes investment in U.S. telecom infrastructure but will “not hesitate to act to protect our networks from foreign threats.”

According to a Nextgov report, Team Telecom will conduct national security reviews to aid the FCC’s foreign ownership reviews throughout a 120-day period. The committee’s members include officials such as the secretaries of defense and homeland security as well as the attorney general.

/
Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare
Published on
Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare

Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare

The U.S. Navy is allocating funds for robotic technologies that can help the service branch detect and neutralize sea-based mines together with ships and manned aircraft, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

The service intends to deploy next-generation mine countermeasures technology that can be launched from littoral combat ships. Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24C mine detection systems and Raytheon’s AQS-20s platforms have already been delivered in support of the effort, according to the report.

The Navy has deployed Northrop’s platform onboard the MH-53E helicopter as well as its unmanned surface vessels. Raytheon has so far delivered 40 of its mine-hunting weapons to the Navy and plans to expand its client base to include allied governments in Australia, Europe and East Asia.

Seth Cropsey, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for American Seapower, told National Defense that the Navy needs to put more focus on sea-based warfare in preparation for conflicts with adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.

“Mine warfare has been a neglected child of the Navy. That didn’t begin this year or last [year] or 10 years ago,” he said. “That leaves us with the seas as the place [where] conflict is most likely to play out.”

/
Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted
Published on
Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted

Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted

Brillient Corporation has announced that the company has made major organizational changes to the leadership team. Paul Strasser, formerly Brillient president, was named as the chief executive officer (CEO), founder Sukumar Iyer as executive chairman, RJ Kolton as chief growth officer (CGO) and Richard Jacik as general manager, the company reported on Tuesday.

“I am honored to take the reins at this important period in Brillient’s phenomenal growth and to continue working with such an outstanding team of professionals,” said Strasser.

Strasser has hired two industry experts to the leadership team to help provide the best path to success.  Kolton will oversee the planning and implementation of the corporate growth strategy. Kolton will also supervise all aspects of business development (BD) lifecycle, including account, pursuit, and capture of business opportunities and proposal development.

In addition, Kolton will lead new product and service development and merger and acquisition (M&A) activities. He will bring over 22 years of experience as senior business development and operational executive supporting defense, federal and intelligence community customers.

“The timing couldn’t be better for RJ joining this Brillient team. His strong executive leadership and award-winning business development skills are a perfect fit for fulfilling our vision and taking advantage of robust market opportunities,” Strasser commented.

Prior to his role with Brillient, Kolton was senior vice president of BD for Synectics for Management Decisions, where he delivered data-driven information technology (IT), research and analytics solutions to government clients.

Within the BD Department Kolton led the BD Department, developed and implemented corporate strategic and business plans, and oversaw the BD lifecycle.  Kolton was also president and principal of Kolt Business Solutions, where he enhanced the company’s strategic and operational planning activities and BD operations.

From May 2013 through October 2019, he was SVP BD for Data Systems Analysts, Inc., for which he led the BD Department, developed and implemented corporate strategic and business plans, and oversaw the BD lifecycle, and was instrumental in increasing the company’s revenue by 140 percent and employees by nearly 200 percent.

The second executive hire, Richard Jacik, will serve as the general manager of the company’s health division. In the role, he will work with the team to develop the health strategy to strengthen its maturity and growth. He will also lead a variety of strategic programs.

Jacik is an experienced technologist and business executive, with over 25 years of commercial and public sector experience selling, designing, building, delivering and managing complex IT programs and initiatives.

He has a deep-rooted history of leading organizations to their next level, including strategically building capabilities to win and deliver in new markets and new verticals. Prior to joining Brillient, he was a principal with IMI Services.

He has helped federal contractors of all sizes establish a footprint, build capabilities, deliver services and technologies, and expand its reach. Jacik was also a senior vice president and health sector executive at Acentia, where he led their federal and public health programs.

“Richard brings to Brillient a pedigree of leadership, skills and experience that is rare and dates back to his earlier days at AMS and CGI. We look forward to his impact on our future,” added Strasser.

About Brillient

Brillient is a fast-growing solutions engineering company with 14 years of experience providing information management, intelligent solutions and business process management services. Brillient has supported 22 federal government clients and employs 600+ personnel in nine states. The company was recognized as the 2017 DHS Small Business of the Year and maintains ISO 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2011, ISO 27001:2013, and SEI CMMI Level 3 quality certifications.

/
David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted
Published on
David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted

David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted

CentralSquare Technologies, an industry leader in public sector software, has appointed David Zolet, four-time Wash100 Award recipient and former president and CEO of  Logistics Management Institute (LMI), as the company’s new CEO.

“With his vast experience and visionary leadership in the govtech space, I’m delighted that David will be taking the helm at CentralSquare,” said Interim CEO Jeff Scherer. “I’m confident that his expertise in cultivating outstanding outcomes for government clients will empower CentralSquare to continue delivering proven products that serve mission-critical needs across the U.S. and Canada.”

Zolet will bring more than 30-years of experience to CentralSquare Technologies. He has had a lifelong focus on enabling public servants through innovation. During Zolet’s tenure at LMI, the company grew revenue by 50 percent.

Prior to LMI, Zolet led the national public sector business unit for DXC Technology and served as vice president of systems integration at IBM. He also worked for Northrop Grumman in its IT division for more than 20 years in a variety of leadership positions, including sector vice president of enterprise infrastructure,  president of commercial, state and local IT and president of the defense sector.

In his prior roles, Zolet was instrumental in the successful launch of public safety systems in California and Ohio, and more. Zolet also currently serves on the board of FirstNet, an independent authority under the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish, operate and maintain an interoperable public safety broadband network.

“I’m thrilled to be leading CentralSquare at a time when there is so much opportunity for public sector technology,” said Zolet. “Underpinning CentralSquare’s commitment to transforming the public experience is the company’s relentless focus on helping our public sector partners achieve their mission in service to their communities.  I look forward to further building and strengthening the company’s momentum in helping our clients deliver on their commitment to citizens.”

About CentralSquare

Formed by the merger of Superion, TriTech along with Zuercher, and the public sector and healthcare business of Aptean, CentralSquare is an industry leader in public safety and public administration software, serving over 7,650 organizations from the largest metropolitan city to counties and towns of every size across North America.

Its technology platform provides solutions for public safety, including 911, computer-aided dispatch, records management, mobile, citations, evidence management and corrections. For public administration agencies, CentralSquare provides software for finance, human capital management, payroll, utility billing, citizen engagement, asset management, regulatory compliance and community development.

For hospitals and clinicians, it provides patient information, compliance and analytics software. CentralSquare’s broad, unified and agile software suite serves 3 in 4 citizens across North America.

/
Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted
Published on
Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted

Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted

Perspecta has received a $36.4 million follow-on task order award to continue work on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Virtual Data Center Prime (VDCP) contract to improve the efficiency of Medicare Part A and Part B Common Working File (CWF) claims processing, the company announced on Tuesday.

“As the hosting provider of all four claims processing environments, we appreciate our customers’ confidence in selecting us to perform this follow-on work,” said Bill Lovell, senior vice president and general manager of Perspecta’s health group. “CMS is one of Perspecta’s longest-standing customers and this award is a true testament of our unrelenting innovation and success.”

Perspecta will process Medicare eligibility claims and queries from three shared systems, send claims to the Fraud Prevention System for fraud pre-screening and return CWF responses back to the shared systems with the current Medicare beneficiary eligibility information.

The company’s Medicare CWF workload will include processing for over 44 million Medicare Fee-For-Service beneficiaries in the United States and its territories that represent an average processing volume of 6.5 million claims daily.

The contract has expanded Perspecta’s support of the Medicare program since its inception in the 1960s. In addition to providing hosting and support for four Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) claims processing systems, Perspecta has also provided operations and maintenance support for the Medicare FFS Part A and Part B claims processing systems.

In Nov. 2018, Perspecta was awarded a five-year, $89.5 million task order on the CMS Strategic Partners Acquisition Readiness Contract (SPARC) contract to provide application services for Medicare Part B claims processing. The contract has a one year base plus four one-year renewal options.

Under the task order, Perspecta will provide application maintenance services, including full development life cycle support for CMS system maintenance and enhancements as well as production and user support for the processing of the expanding volume of Medicare Part B claims.

“This win is proof of our team’s dedication to the CMS mission and solid record of performance since being awarded the initial Part B Shared System Maintainer contract in 1997,” said Mac Curtis, president and chief executive officer and six-time Wash100 Award recipient.

Perspecta also received a $149 million follow-on task order to continue work on the Centers for CMS Virtual Data Center Prime (VDCP) contract to host and improve efficiency of Medicare Part A and Part B fee-for-service (FFS) Workload A claims processing, the company reported in June 2018. The task order has a one-year base period plus four option years.

Perspecta will continue to provide enterprise mainframe application hosting services for three Medicare applications used by CMS. The company will continue to host and process Medicare Part B claims for Durable Medical Equipment and the Railroad Retirement Board for all 50 states, as well as the Medicare Part A and Part B claims in 31 states.

“This win is a true testament to our team’s expertise, innovation and success. We look forward to a long and continued partnership in supporting CMS and its mission to continuously improve delivery to beneficiaries and providers,” said Curtis.

About Perspecta Inc.

At Perspecta (NYSE: PRSP), we question, we seek and we solve. Perspecta brings a diverse set of capabilities to our U.S. government customers in defense, intelligence, civilian, health care and state and local markets. Our 270+ issued, licensed and pending patents are more than just pieces of paper, they tell the story of our innovation.

With offerings in mission services, digital transformation and enterprise operations, our team of 14,000 engineers, analysts, investigators and architects work tirelessly to not only execute the mission, but build and support the backbone that enables it. Perspecta was formed to take on big challenges. We are an engine for growth and success and we enable our customers to build a better nation.

1 … 1,489 1,490 1,491 1,492 1,493 … 2,621