The Government Accountability Office evaluated four software-intensive space programs of the Department of Defense and found the initiatives are struggling to involve end users in software development efforts. The reviewed programs are the Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Center Mission System Increment 2, the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System, Space-Based Infrared System and the Next Generation Operational Control System, according to a GAO report published Monday. 

Aside from the lack of early and continual involvement of users in software development, the reviewed space programs failed to give end users opportunities to provide feedback and integrate user feedback into subsequent development. “This was due, in part, to the lack of specific guidance on user involvement and feedback,” GAO said in the report.

GAO called on the Pentagon to ensure that its software development guidance offers direction on how and when to engage system users as well as ways to document and communicate feedback to stakeholders during the development process.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the federal government should increase efforts to protect agencies, industry, academia and the public from hackers supported by other countries since the U.S. today “is not prepared” for a foreign cyber attack, The Hill reported Monday.

“It’s not just U.S. troops and government agents on the frontlines anymore. It’s U.S. companies. It’s our schools and gathering places. It’s ordinary Americans,” Nielsen said during a speech at the George Washington University.

The call comes after other federal officials warned that hackers backed by countries like Russia, China and North Korea pose major threats to the U.S. Despite the growing threats, Nielsen said that the U.S. government did “far too little” to boost cybersecurity. The Department of Homeland Security is working with the Department of Defense to address cyber threats targeting the government and the local supply chain.

“Let me just send one last message to our cyber adversaries,” Nielsen said. “We are watching you. And no matter what malware you develop, I promise you, the engines of our democracy are far stronger and far more resilient than any code you can write.”

The Department of Defense and civilian agencies would receive $87.8 billion in combined funds for information technology spending under President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2020. Civilian agencies would get $51 billion in IT budget for fiscal 2020 and DoD would also receive $36.7 billion, according to supplemental budget information in the White House’s Analytical Perspectives report. 

The report says the president’s proposed FY 2020 budget includes funds for more than 7,600 IT investments at agencies supporting IT security, infrastructure and management, mission delivery and administrative services and mission support. The Department of Homeland Security would get $7.1 billion, or 14 percent, of the proposed total IT budget for civilian agencies.

The president’s budget would allocate $6.1 billion for IT programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs and $5.6 billion at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The State Department and NASA would respectively get $2.3 billion and $2.15 billion in IT funds, while the General Services Administration would receive $648 million for FY 2020, according to the report.
 

The Government Accountability Office called on the Department of the Interior and the Small Business Administration to improve federal ethics training programs and report on the performance of political appointees in the executive branch.

A report issued Friday revealed the lack of a single source of publicly available, comprehensive and timely data on appointees at the two departments. 

“The public has an interest in knowing the political appointees serving and this information would facilitate congressional oversight and hold leaders accountable,” the report said.

SBA was also cited for not providing written procedures for initial ethics training to new political appointees. The GAO added the Interior is facing human capital and retention challenges in its ethics programs. There are full-time positions still vacant that support such programs.

“Federal ethics programs seek to safeguard the integrity of governmental decision-making,” the report said.

The government watchdog recommended that Congress consider a bill that would require the publication of political appointees serving in the executive branch as well as improvement in ethics program policies and procedures.

Sens. Mark Warner and Susan Collins unveiled a bipartisan bill which seeks to secure the integrity of security clearance procedures.

The Integrity in Security Clearance Determinations Act will allow, deny or revoke security clearance requests through the use of a published criteria to allow objectivity, accountability and transparency with the process, Warner’s office said Thursday.

The bill will bar agencies from punishing whistle blowers through the use of security clearances and prevent the executive branch from nullifying clearance requests via constitutional rights. In addition, it will also allow government employees to appeal denials for security clearances.

“This bipartisan bill would make the current system more fair and transparent by ensuring that decisions to grant, deny, or revoke clearances are based solely on established adjudicative guidelines,” Collins said.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., introduced a bill that aims to support the government’s investment in digital services including corresponding personnel and technologies.

The Digital Service Act would allocate $50M in annual funds for the U.S. Digital Service and $15M in annual grants for equivalent efforts in state and local governments, Harris’ office said Thursday.

The proposed legislation would also mandate that at least 50 percent of each grant is used for personnel. Grant recipients would report results every two years.

“The Digital Service Act will help harness top talent for the government, save taxpayer dollars and put the power of technology to work on behalf of the American people,” Harris said.

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit, supports the bill.

Jeff Schlagenhauf, associate director for economic policy with the Office of Management and Budget, noted at a recent Bipartisan Policy Center event that the government is facing obstacles on implementing evidence-based policymaking, FCW reported Friday.

The proposed evidence-driven process includes establishing a government-wide data advisory committee and identifying chief data officers and their learning agenda, he said.

Diana Epstein, leader of the OMB evidence team, said there is no consistency across government agencies regarding use of evidence-based methods in the government’s business functions. She noted her office is working on integrating evidence-based policymaking into budgeting operations and other existing processes.

OMB has been conducting a forum that enables agencies to present their own decision-making processes every month. The office also launched an intranet page to help agencies manage the effort.

An Air Force official said the military branch is planning to expand its “pitch day” concept across the country, National Defense reported Friday.

Will Roper, assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics for the Air Force and a 2019 Wash100 winner, noted that officials plan to hold events in cities and other areas where the service does not have a presence. He added that USAF is considering a “pitch bowl” concept that will serve as a major competitive event for companies seeking to present their ideas and technologies.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, a 2019 Wash100 winner who will retire in May, is expected to announce the host city for the next pitch day. Roper said he is excited to see technologies will be showcased at the event, particularly those involving artificial intelligence.

The Wash100 award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the most influential executives in the GovCon industry as selected by the Executive Mosaic team in tandem with online nominations from the GovCon community. Representing the best of the private and public sector, the winners demonstrate superior leadership, innovation, reliability, achievement and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2019 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 2019.