The House Homeland Security Committee passed two bills that would authorize the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to subpoena internet service providers and protect the head of CISA from political whims, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) sponsored the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act of 2020, which would allow CISA to order ISPs to respond to information requests with regard to malicious IP addresses.

The CISA Director Reform Act introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) seeks to commit the agency’s chief to a five-year term.

“By establishing an independently appointed five-year term for the position of director of CISA, we’ll enable CISA to attract the top-level talent required to effectively manage the multitude of responsibilities and threats,” Katko said. "Additionally, the establishment of a five-year term would also guarantee that CISA remain immune to the type of executive-level turnover that could derail it from accomplishing its mission."

Stuart McGuigan, chief information officer of the State Department, said he is prioritizing efforts to leverage machine learning and implement a data-driven approach to information technology optimization across the department’s individual offices, FCW reported Tuesday.

McGuigan told attendees at an ACT-IAC conference that the department uses data analytics to evaluate the needs of each bureau and office. The department’s IT Executive Council is the main entity that oversees the effort, he noted.

"Oversight is not the same as operate,” said McGuigan. “We're a decentralized organization. We need to put people and expertise near and close to the customer and the problem. We need to give them enough autonomy to get things done."

According to McGuigan, the department also developed a mobile app designed to facilitate “talking points” between its employees and industry in an effort to streamline acquisition procedures. The app is slated to go live in five weeks.

The department is expected to release the follow-on to its Vanguard contract for IT services in 2021. Vanguard II may include vendor teaming activities and other efforts to foster industry collaboration, according to the report.

NASA has renamed an ocean observation satellite that will operate to carry out high-precision altimetry measurements through 2030.

Named in honor of a retired scientist from NASA's Earth science division, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is slated to take off at the fall and will explore the potential effects of global warming to oceans, Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Tuesday.

The former Sentinel-6A/Jason CS satellite will also employ the Global Navigation Satellite Sounding Radio-Occultation approach to gather vertical profiles of temperature and derive atmospheric information in a move to augment weather forecast capacities.

"Together with other missions of the European Union's Earth Observation Programme Copernicus, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will contribute to improved knowledge and understanding of the role of the ocean in climate change and for mitigation and adaptation policies in coastal areas," said Mercedes Garcia-Perez, head of the Global Issues and Innovation of the European Union Delegation to the United States.

JPL will perform project management duties in line with the mission.

The U.K. government has implemented a 35 percent cap on technologies crucial for 5G connectivity that came from designated “high-risk” vendors such as Huawei, CNBC reported Tuesday.

The rule restricts the use of high-risk technologies for core functions supporting the nation’s Radio Access Network infrastructure, which enables users to access 5G connectivity. Several U.K. service providers have started 5G rollouts and are using Huawei products for RAN components. 

According to the U.K.’s national cybersecurity agency, the 35 percent cap will prevent national dependence on high-risk vendors and will aim to retain industry competition while allowing operators to use services from two RAN vendors.

Andy Purdy, U.S. chief security officer at Huawei, noted that the cap represents a “very significant limitation” for the company.

The U.S. government previously urged the U.K. to impose a complete ban on Huawei technology as the former continues to tighten rules on using offerings from the Chinese telecommunications company due to national security concerns.

The Office of Management and Budget is looking for input on how to improve supply chain management and government acquisition operations.

Margaret Weichert, deputy director of management at the OMB, said in a statement published Monday that the agency seeks ideas from government groups, industry representatives, academic entities and the general public on how to “facilitate curated conversations between the federal government and external supply chain and acquisition experts.”

Weichert noted that specific areas of focus include data and pricing sourcing, human capital and training management and benchmarking to assess the amount of time required for organizations to deploy specific technologies and services.

According to Weichert, the move supports requirements under the President’s Management Agenda for category management and enterprise-wide procurement, which have helped the government eliminate redundancies and increase efficiencies.

OMB will accept feedback from interested parties through Feb. 17.