Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, have introduced a bill to establish a global election security program under the State Department, the Office of Amy Klobuchar said in a press release Friday.

The Global Electoral Exchange Act will award grants to U.S. nonprofit organizations that specialize in election security to facilitate the exchange of relevant information with similar entities in partner nations.

The bill proposes to host foreign representatives that hold election administration duties including government officials, judiciary members and poll workers to participate in studies involving election procedures.

Additionally, a network called Global Electoral Exchange Program Alumni will be created within the State Department to support continuing exchanges of information on issues such as disinformation campaigns, audits and voter database security.

The department will submit reports on the program to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Administration and Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Rules and Administration every two years.

The House unanimously passed a similar legislation sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

Klobuchar noted that the bill comes after reported threats to U.S. election security from Russia and Iran.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said the service has received congressional backing to continue its space mission amid the continued push of the Trump administration to establish a Space Force, Space News reported Monday.

Air Force leaders already informed lawmakers about its strategies, concepts of operations and programs to maintain U.S. dominance in space, according to the secretary. 

Wilson said the service received significant support from Congress, particularly for funding in fiscal year 2019 for space-related efforts. 

“The fact is we were able to build very broad consensus and significant support in the Congress without controversy in the fiscal year 2019 budget,” she said. 

Lawmakers approved Air Force’s proposals to add $7B to space programs over the next five years and to reallocate $5B from other accounts. 

Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein in late November then ordered a 90-day study to determine space budget priorities, strategies and programs for fiscal year 2021. 

President Trump plans to submit a proposal to Congress in early 2019 to request the establishment of the Space Force. 

Gen. Stephen ‘Seve’ Wilson, Air Force vice chief of staff, told National Defense in an interview published Monday that the service has initiated efforts to accelerate the acquisition process in order to expedite the delivery of capabilities to warfighters.

He noted that Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, came up with an idea to have the service sign 50 contracts in 50 hours in a move to speed up the procurement process.

“We actually did 104 contracts in 40 hours [during a contracting sprint with small businesses in November],” he said.

“So being able to use your government credit card and say, ‘Bring in an idea,’ and say, ‘That’s good, let’s be able to fund that.’”

The Air Force plans to hold in March a pitch day for non-traditional partners and Wilson said the service has earmarked approximately $40M in funds for projects that will be selected at the event.

He discussed the role of the rapid capabilities office in the B-21 bomber program and the potential impact of the planned cut to the fiscal 2020 defense budget on the Air Force’s readiness and modernization efforts.
 

The House of Representatives passed a bill to reauthorize the federal chief information officer in a move to fortify the nation’s cybersecurity.

The Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018 would grant the executive with authority to report directly to the Office of Management and Budget‘s director as a presidential appointee, Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas said Friday. The bill would also appoint a federal chief information security officer to assist the federal CIO and require the submission of an information technology streamlining plan. Hurd and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill. introduced the bill.

“Americans should be able to trust their government to keep their information safe,” said Hurd.

“By codifying and reauthorizing the federal CIO and CISO roles, we will continue streamlining government IT processes,” said Kelly.