Dawn Meyerriecks, deputy director of science and technology at the CIA, said the agency aims to be an “early adopter” and partner to industry when it comes to new commercial technology platforms, FCW reported Thursday. She pointed to budget constraints and China’s increased focus on tech research and development as some of the factors that have altered the way the CIA explores new tech capabilities. 

“We don’t do a lot of applied science. I have to find those people and team with them because we have to be ahead,” Meyerriecks said Thursday at the Intelligence Analytics Summit in Alexandria, Va. “We have to find folks that are always operating in the margins of new businesses, because that’s where we make our bread and butter as an agency.”

Meyerriecks told conference attendees the need for the CIA and companies to “change the conversation” when it comes to the agency’s access to technology. He also cited the agency’s collaboration with technologists through In-Q-Tel.

David Norquist, acting deputy defense secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, said that Congress’ potential restrictions on the Department of Defense’s reprogramming authority for funding will pose “significant challenges” and obstruct efforts to address evolving needs, Defense News reported Thursday.

Norquist told audiences at the Center for a New American Security that the Pentagon seeks to expand the U.S. Navy’s fleet to 355 ships. He hopes the department will get a $750 million budget for fiscal 2020. He added that it’s vital the DoD gets essential missions done and allocates “the right funding in the highest priority areas.”

Previously, the House Appropriations Committee released its $690.2 million FY20 defense spending bill to reduce the amount of funds the military branches can reprogram from $9.2 billion to $1.5 billion.

The Department of Defense is requesting funds to increase the production of rare earth minerals in the U.S. to reduce the country’s reliance on China, Reuters reported Thursday.

Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, a spokesman for DoD, said the department’s request was included in a report submitted to the White House as part of a federal program seeking to offer economic incentives to boost domestic manufacturing capabilities. “The department continues to work closely with the president, Congress and U.S. industry to improve U.S. competitiveness in the mineral market,” Andrews told the publication.

Rare earth minerals are a set of 17 chemical elements used in lasers, satellites, jet engines and other military systems as well as in consumer products.

The Department of Homeland Security’s science and technology directorate in a Federal Emergency Management Agency exercise intending to simulate earthquake response and recovery efforts in Memphis, Tenn, DHS said Wednesday.

The agency will team up with local, state, federal and international organizations to assess approaches and technologies in urban search and rescue and information sharing functions as part of the three-day Shaken Fury 2019 event. DHS S&T will also test an autonomous search and rescue tool, a heartbeat detector and an online regional information portal developed in partnership with the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium.

“This exercise gives us a great opportunity to get diverse and unique perspectives from federal, state and local agencies, vendors, and first responders on our suite of technologies,” said William Bryan, senior official performing the duties of the undersecretary for science and technology at DHS. “Some emergencies, like earthquakes, come with little-to-no warning, so being able to plan with multiple organizations is important to building a prepared and resilient nation,” added Bryan.

Employees under the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command’s General Schedule unit may opt to shift their duties to the Department of the Navy’s Cyber Excepted Service through August 18th, the Navy said Wednesday. Congress authorized the Department of Defense to create the enterprise-wide CES personnel system in 2016 to improve the management of civilian cyber personnel.

Current GS staff are allowed to accept or decline the voluntary CES conversion within 30 days through FCC-issued letters. Employees who choose to transition will not experience changes in job title, responsibilities or salary and may compete for other CES positions. DoD personnel may experience changes under the CES system such as rotational assignments, qualification-based promotion and compensation initiatives.

According to the Navy, the CES system intends to “promote a culture that is based upon mission requirements and employee capabilities.” The CES implementation strategy, which began in August 2017, is divided into three phases with the last increment slated to commence in January 2023.