President Trump has signed into law the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act containing a provision that mandates the federal government to enable public access to all of its non-sensitive data, the Data Coalition said Monday.

The FEBP Act’s Open, Public, Electronic and  requires the data to be machine-readable and open-license in support of efforts to promote efficiency in government operations and services. The OPEN Government Data Act will additionally create a Chief Data Officer Council and assign CDOs to federal agencies; require regular oversight from the Government Accountability Office; and establish standards for providing public access to federal government information.

 Sarah Joy Hays, acting executive director of the Data Coalition, said the governmentwide law will “transform the way the government collects, publishes and uses non-sensitive public information.”

The data access effort was led by former Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Congress passed the package on Dec. 31, 2018.

The Office of Management and Budget confirmed that federal agencies won’t be required to consider targeted layoffs when the ongoing government shutdown extends to more than 30 days, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

OMB said that shutdown furloughs, also known as emergency furloughs, are not covered by reductions-in-force regulations. These regulations require agencies to terminate targeted groups of employees who have been placed on furlough status for 30 days or more. The partial government shutdown has been ongoing for more than 25 days.

The Office of Personnel Management clarified that RIFs only occur in situations controlled by agencies, such as administrative furloughs aimed at downsizing due to reduced funding, lack of work or any budget situation. OPM noted that RIFs are not applicable during government shutdowns as such situation have an indefinite duration and relies entirely on congressional action not on an agency.

House lawmakers are expected to vote on several bills to end the current shutdown and temporarily fund closed federal agencies this week.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin D-Md., author of the S. 24 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, issued the following statement in response to President Trump signing the bill into law.

A Defense Intelligence Agency report says Chinese leaders implement a strategy to build up regional and global power and influence, the Pentagon reported Tuesday.

“As we look at China, we see a country whose leaders describe it as moving closer to center stage in the world, while they strive to achieve what they call the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,’” said Dan Taylor, a senior defense intelligence analyst at DIA.

“This ambition permeates China’s national security strategy and guides the development of the People’s Liberation Army.”

According to the 125-page report, the East Asian country’s evolving strategic threat perceptions have shaped PLA’s military doctrine and direction and PLA saw its budget rise by an average of 10 percent annually between 2000 and 2016.

The document cited how Chinese military leaders influence foreign and defense policy and how the country uses the “active defense” concept to characterize its military strategy.

DLA said China’s military objective is to establish a combat-effective force that could use integrated command-and-control networks and win regional conflicts.

The “China Military Power — Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win” report also assesses the country’s core military capabilities across various areas such as power projection and expeditionary operations; nuclear weapons and forces; biological and chemical warfare; space and counterspace; cyber space; and denial and deception.
 

An advisory group created by Congress has released a report that calls for the Department of Defense to adopt a “war footing approach” when it comes to the acquisition and delivery of technological capabilities to warfighters to keep ahead of near-peer competitors’ tech advances, National Defense reported Tuesday.

The Section 809 Panel said in the report its 58 recommendations are divided into 12 sections including the Dynamic Marketplace Framework, portfolio management, information technology procurement, budget and acquisition workforce.

For the portfolio management aspect, the panel urged DoD to move from a program-centric execution model to a portfolio execution model and adopt a “defensewide capability portfolio framework” to ensure the deployment of integrated platforms.

The consulting group said the Pentagon should update acquisition regulations to facilitate the procurement of consumption-based platforms and establish a pilot program to streamline contracting work with IT consultants via an online talent marketplace, according to the volume 3 report.

The report also recommends the revision of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act to focus on efforts that seek to improve professional qualifications; creation of a policy to mitigate supply chain and performance risks through requirements documents; and elimination of redundant requirements for documentation.

The third and final report came seven months after the Section 809 Panel released the volume 3 document.
 

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill to the Senate to permanently end the implementation of a government shutdown. The End Government Shutdowns Act would create an automatic continuing resolution to keep federal agencies operating when lawmakers failed to meet budget negotiation deadlines, according to a Senate statement released Friday.

The bill came from Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. 

“Shutdowns inevitably costs taxpayers more money once the government reopens,” Rob Portman said. “We should end government shutdowns for good.” He added the bill would provide lawmakers more time to settle a government budget and give federal workers and their families more stability. 

“When the government shuts down, Americans are deprived of essential services and their tax dollars are needlessly wasted,” Chuck Grassley said.

Portman has been introducing the same bill since he entered the Senate in 2010.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting a briefing on the disclosure of data by wireless carriers, E&C said Friday.

Rep. Pallone urged Pai to identify and discuss actions taken by the FCC to resolve the issue of wireless carriers disclosing the real-time location data of consumers without authorization. Pallone said that unless the government immediately addresses this issue, the privacy and security of wireless phone service subscribers such as military personnel, domestic violence victims, law enforcement staff and government officials will be compromised.

The letter cites the Communications Act of 1996, which mandates wireless carriers and related vendors to protect the information of their customers and obtain consent before sharing such information to other parties. Some wireless carriers have announced their commitment to end unauthorized disclosure in June after Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and the media brought the issue to light in May.