The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to host its first “pitch day” as part of its Small Business Innovation Research program in March, Fedscoop reported Wednesday.

Fifty-nine companies will deliver pitches to Air Force officers in areas such as special forces, digital technology and command, control, communication, intelligence and networks. Successful firms could receive up to $158,000 as an initial payment for a five-month term.

Ryan Helbach, chief intrapreneur at the Air Force Research Laboratory, said the event will highlight the branch’s ability to “move at the speed of relevance”. He added that the Air Force had to make adjustments to launch the pioneering effort, notably by streamlining contract procedures.

“We need to adapt our business practices to the world that’s around us,” Helbach said.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for multidisciplinary teams to support its programs that integrate quantum concepts into classical systems, the agency said Wednseday.

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The Optimization with Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum devices program addresses combinatorial optimization issues through the use of both quantum information processing and classical-only systems.

Agency officials want to combine classical systems and medium-sized quantum platforms to solve optimization problems. Interested teams must possess significant experience in applied mathematics, computer science and experimental and theoretical physics.

A Proposer’s Day will be held on March 19 in Arlington, VA, to discuss the initiative.

Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the newly-built agency will continue to work on election security as a top priority through 2020, Politico reported Wednesday.

CISA’s ongoing security efforts focus on future elections and protecting the U.S. supply chains, federal networks, industrial control systems and the education sector from cyber threats, Krebs told Politico. Threats from China also remain a concern, the director said. Krebs said CISA is working with the Government Coordinating Council to extend engagement for local and state governments and understand their cybersecurity requirements.

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The agency needs to determine how to replace legacy election systems and promote cyber hygiene and information sharing across agencies for improved security. The Trump administration established CISA in late 2018 under the Department of Homeland Security to boost national security. However, Krebs noted DHS has yet to determine its sources of funding for the election security efforts.

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Visit the Wash100 website to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2019 Wash100 Award. On the website, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2019.

The Government Accountability Office is requesting $647.6M in funds to continue its operations for fiscal year 2020, GAO said Wednesday.

Gene Dodaro, the U.S. comptroller general and head of the government watchdog, said in a testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch that GAO is also requesting for the authority to use $38.3M in reimbursements and offsetting receipts. 

Dodaro noted that the funding would support full-time equivalents and investments addressing GAO’s security needs, building maintenance, information technology and infrastructure. He added that for FY 2020, GAO plans to increase its capabilities to review Department of Defense investments, evolving science and technology issues, rising healthcare costs and cybersecurity development issues.

“The activities planned for FY 2020 will better position GAO to assist the Congress in meeting its legislative and oversight responsibilities, accomplish our mission objectives and goals, and improve government performance and accountability,” he said.

Up to $1.1B in funding has been allocated to the U.S. Air Force in a new Senate bill intending to help the government in disaster-relief efforts, Air Force Magazine reported Wednesday.

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The Air Force budget is part of the $13.6B government-wide funding package to address the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires, among other natural disasters. The bill was introduced by Republican Sens. David Perdue and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Alabama Democrat Doug Jones.

The over $1B budget for the Air Force would fund construction, operations and maintenance of the service’s installations affected during the 2018 hurricane season. Up to $700M would go to planning, design and construction projects for facilities damaged by Hurricane Michael, while the remaining $400M would be for emergency spending. The bill states that the funding could support the service’s construction projects through Sept. 30, 2023.

If signed into law, lawmakers intend to require Air Force officials to submit a plan for how it will spend the funds before releasing the money.