The Department of Energy will award $37M in grants supporting research projects to grow the quantum information science area. DOE said Wednesday that it seeks to facilitate the creation of quantum information platforms and utilize capacities that may further initiatives in chemical and material sciences.

Some of the projects include studies on chemical composition via quantum computing and an attempt to synthesize chemical and material systems. The agency noted that quantum information science will help develop new capacities in networking, computing and sensor technologies.

“It’s critical that we remain in the forefront of information science and technology, and this new research will help ensure continued U.S. leadership in the information economy in the years ahead,” said Paul Dabbar, undersecretary for science at DOE.

Michael Kratsios said during a confirmation hearing that he would focus on the “industries of the future” if confirmed as U.S. chief technology officer and Office of Science and Technology Policy director, Fedscoop reported Wednesday. Kratsios, currently the deputy assistant to the president and deputy CTO as well as a 2019 Wash100 Award winner, stated that he wants to continue to progress the Trump administration’s efforts in 5G communications, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

“From the start, I united OSTP around a clear mission: ensure continued American leadership in emerging technologies,” Kratsios said.

He also intends to pursue include workforce development and the promotion of U.S. manufacturing and industry innovation. Kratsios spent nine years in private sector financial leadership roles before being appointed to his current capacity in 2017.

Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., have reintroduced a bill to codify and reform the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. The FedRAMP Authorization Act of 2019 would allot $25M for the FedRAMP Project Management Office and Joint Authorization Board to address federal cloud requirements, Connolly’s office said Wednesday.

The bill would also create new metrics to guide FedRAMP implementation activities and work to reduce the duplication and redundancy of security assessments across agencies. The legislation would also codify the Office of Management and Budget’s and the General Services Administration’s respective roles in the program.

The government would also form the Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee to facilitate coordination across GSA, other agencies and industry on cybersecurity issues and ways to improve FedRAMP. FedRAMP functions to standardize the security of information technology products used in the federal government.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Russia continues to carry out election interference efforts and that the U.S. considers China as the most “severe counterintelligence threat,” Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee in his testimony Tuesday that the bureau is collaborating with the private sector and other federal agencies to make the public aware of Russia’s influence and misinformation campaigns as well as counter the spread of deepfakes. He noted that the FBI has carried out more than a thousand investigations into economic espionage and intellectual property theft and found that most of them have showed links to China.

“It’s a threat that’s deep and diverse and wide and vexing,” Wray said of China. “Make no mistake, this is a high, high priority for all of us.”

Defense Secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper is calling on the Department of Defense to create a task force to address the issue of contamination from firefighting foam at over 400 military facilities, Military.com reported Wednesday. Esper stated in a memo that the task force will be led by the assistant secretary of defense for sustainment.

The group must submit a progress report to combat polyfluorinated alkyl substances which are linked to cancer and various disorders. Focus areas include health-related assessments on PFAS contamination, metrics for cleanup operations and interagency collaborative efforts.

“We must approach the problem in an aggressive and holistic way, ensuring a coordinated DoD-wide approach to this issue,” Esper said.

Last year, the Pentagon issued a report to Congress stating that the amount of potentially dangerous perfluorinated compounds at 126 military installations have reached critical levels.