The chairmen and ranking members of House and Senate Armed Services Committees have asked the Federal Communications Commission to retract its approval of Ligado Networks’ application saying the company’s proposal poses a threat to the country’s GPS capabilities, economy and national security.

“The problem here is that Ligado’s planned usage is not in the prime mid-band spectrum being considered for 5G — and it will have a significant risk of interference with GPS reception, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,” the lawmakers wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday on Defense News.

The FCC on Monday cleared Ligado’s application to use the L-band spectrum to field a low-power terrestrial network in support of 5G and internet-of-things services.

The lawmakers urged FCC to work with NTIA, the departments of Defense and Transportation and other federal agencies to seek ways on how to safeguard national security assets ad back commercial broadband expansion. They also asked the commission to address DoD’s concerns prior to moving forward.

SASC Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate panel, co-wrote the op-ed with HASC Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), ranking member of the House committee.

A group of 16 senators has called on congressional leaders to allocate more funds for the Office of Management and Budget’s U.S. Digital Service and the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Service to help state and local governments address information technology challenges as they administer federal assistance programs to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawmakers want Congress to include in any upcoming measure a $50 million emergency appropriation for the OMB IT Oversight and Reform Fund to help USDS recruit additional skilled technologists and $25 million for the Federal Citizen’s Services Fund to support TTS’ recruitment efforts, the senators wrote in a letter dated Wednesday.

The letter was signed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), a three-time Wash100 Awardee, Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and 13 other lawmakers. They also urged Congress to streamline or waive regulatory restrictions that prevent TTS and USDS from working with state and local governments as well as encourage the two tech agencies to prioritize projects related to COVID-19.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

NASA is planning to establish an organization that will handle commercial cargo and crew mission management as part of the agency’s efforts to restructure its industry engagement strategy, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

Doug Loverro, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA, said at a recent webinar that the proposed organization will fall under his office and manage commercial efforts including the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which handles the national lab portion of the International Space Station.

Loverro noted that Alex MacDonald, chief economist at NASA, will serve as program executive for the organization that will oversee the agency’s activities with CASIS.

The unit’s creation serves as part of NASA’s reorganization strategy for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, according to the report.

Loverro’s comments come after NASA solicited proposals for low-Earth orbit commercial technologies under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships program.

Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer, and Paul Puckett, director of the service’s Enterprise Cloud Management Office, said that the new unit is “functionally operational” amid coronavirus concerns, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

Crawford and Puckett recently issued a joint statement saying that the ECMO is working on improving telework capabilities through cloud technology in order to push through with its data-related initiatives despite the current health crisis.

They noted that ECMO personnel have adjusted to telework settings and are working on “accelerating our adoption and optimization of cloud computing and modern technology.”

The ECMO, created in November, was initially slated to be fully operational in March. According to FedScoop’s report, the Department of Defense previously implemented technologies such as a Microsoft Office-driven Commercial Virtual Remote Environment to support telework setups.

Dana Deasy, the DoD CIO and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, also created a Telework Readiness Task Force earlier this month to address remote working concerns.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.