The Defense Department‘s Defense Acquisition Regulations System intends to hold a public meeting on Friday to gather feedback from government and industry professionals regarding the implementation of a policy for issuing performance-based contract payments.

The event will tackle section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and take place at the Mark Center Auditorium in Alexandria, Va., according to a Federal Register notice posted Monday.

The Pentagon also plans to discuss a proposed amendment of progress and performance-based payment systems under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

The proposal would help small businesses to qualify for higher rates on customary progress payment and maximum performance-based payment.

Potential presenters may email proposed presentations to osd.dfars@mail.mil.

Kelly Olson, acting director of the General Service Administration’s Technology Transformation Service, told FedScoop in an interview published Tuesday that GSA intends to provide updates in October on transformation efforts at the Department of Agriculture that serves as the “lighthouse” agency for the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence.

Olson, who took over as interim chief of TTS in August, said GSA is still awaiting data about some of the changes at USDA and how those initiatives would impact service delivery efforts at the department.

She cited her office’s plans as GSA prepares to announce the next agency under the CoE initiative.

“I think that as we move from agency to agency, it is very important to capture what are we learning, what are the best practices, ensuring that what we’re learning at USDA transfers to agency two and agency three,” Olson said. 

Olson also mentioned some of her priorities such as talent recruitment, support to the leadership team and sustainment of momentum for modernization.
 

House and Senate conference members have passed a package of three bills that would appropriate fiscal 2019 funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction, energy and water infrastructure and legislative branch.

The minibus measure would allocate $86.5B in discretionary funds for VA’s health records system modernization effort, Mission Act programs and claims backlog work, the House Appropriations Committee said Monday.

Military construction projects, such as infrastructure upgrades to support deterrence operations, would get $10.3B in fiscal 2019 funds.

The energy and water appropriations bill would earmark $15.2B for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons security initiatives; $7B for the Army Control of Engineers’ flood control and navigation efforts; and $13.5B for electrical grid security and related energy programs.

The legislative branch spending measure would appropriate funds for the Capitol Police, office of employee advocacy and paid internships.
 

Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer, has said government agencies have reached a critical point in efforts to transform processes through innovation, Federal Times reported Tuesday.

“There is always a fear of what’s going to happen if we get things wrong,” Kent told audience at a Professional Services Council-hosted event Tuesday.

“It’s about that vision, it’s about that boldness to change the status quo.”

The Office of Management and Budget issued $45M in grant awards to the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Energy and Agriculture in June through the Technology Modernization Fund.

White House officials have urged other agencies to pursue remaining grants on the initial $100M TMF program, the report noted.

Nextgov reported Tuesday the White House aims to collect input from government, academic and industry professionals on workforce transformation strategies through an executive symposium the administration will host on Tuesday.

William Eggers, executive director of the Deloitte‘s Center for Government Insights, said the government seeks to update the skill set of approximately 300K federal employees over the next three years.

 

The U.S. Army has demonstrated the capabilities of the digital cockpits of two prototype UH-60V Black Hawk helicopters during a recent limited user test.

The LUT involved immersing the two aircraft in various flight simulations to leverage their survivability equipment and trigger pilot actions, the service said Monday.

Derek Muller, UH-60V LUT test officer with USAOTC, noted that the threat simulation used in the evaluation demonstrated a combat-like environment and provided “quality” training for the aircrews.

After the LUT, an aviation test team from the Army Operational Test Command interviewed the UH-60V pilots regarding their experience interacting with the digital platform during missions.

Muller added that data collected during the test will be used to support an Army Evaluation Center study, as well as notify the Utility Helicopter Program Office when to initiate the limited production for the digital cockpit.

Initial operational test and evaluation for the UH-60V is expected to occur in late 2019.

The Government Accountability Office has recommended the Defense Department and U.S. Navy issue an updated or new set of guidelines for developing plans to sustain legacy weapon systems.

GAO said in a report published Monday that the Navy inconsistently documented its sustainment strategies for C-2A, E2C, EA-18G and F/A-18A-D aircraft since 2012.

Meanwhile, the DoD lacks clear guidance on whether developing a sustainment strategy is required and needs to be modified every five years for weapons systems that are already being operated and supported.

The GAO noted that clarifying requirements for documenting sustainment plans for aging systems will allow agencies to check the availability and operating and support costs of aircraft and any associated risks.

For the study, the agency assessed the aircraft availability goals and O&S cost trends of the Navy and U.S. Air Force for a selected pool of fixed-wing planes between 2011 and 2016.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., has introduced a bill aiming to protect U.S. citizens from the damages of an information breach.

The congressman worked with the Financial Services Committee to develop the Consumer Information Notification Requirement Act that would affirm financial institutions’ compliance with data security standards, Luetkemeyer said Friday in a release.

The bill would modify the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to impose standards on data security at financial institutions, and require these institutions to immediately notify consumers in the event of breaches.

The introduction of the new bill comes a year after the reveal of the Equifax breach that exposed the data of 145.5 million people,

Luetkemeyer chairs the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.