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New Data Lab Report Shows Federal Contract Spending Trends Over Time
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New Data Lab Report Shows Federal Contract Spending Trends Over Time


New Data Lab Report Shows Federal Contract Spending Trends Over TimeA new data visualization posted in the Data Lab, which is the brainchild of the team behind the Department of Education’s USASpending.gov, seeks to present changing federal contract spending trends over the years, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

The team also conducted research on how congressional appropriations affect federal contract spending.

According to the report, federal contract spending slumped by 27 percent in 2015 from its 2010 peak, after which it recovered slightly in the years that followed. Data of the last 10 years also showed that spending spiked every September, which is one week before the end of the government’s fiscal year, accounting for 6 to 8 percent of the annual spending in a fiscal year.

As to the impact of congressional appropriations on federal contract spending, the team found out that it does not matter whether a new appropriations bill has been passed or whether a continuing resolution has to be approved to provide for state funds.

There have been some reports of an increase in federal contract spending a week after a CR has been passed, the data showed. “If agencies are unable to issue new contracts because adequate funds are not available under [CRs], needs accumulate, and then are satisfied once funding is available,” a recent Government Accountability Office report read.

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Report: Gen. Paul Nakasone Instructs NSA, Cybercom to Coordinate 2018 Midterm Election Cybersecurity Efforts
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Report: Gen. Paul Nakasone Instructs NSA, Cybercom to Coordinate 2018 Midterm Election Cybersecurity Efforts


Report: Gen. Paul Nakasone Instructs NSA, Cybercom to Coordinate 2018 Midterm Election Cybersecurity Efforts
Paul Nakasone

Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, has instructed both organizations to exchange information and coordinate efforts to deter foreign interference in November midterm elections, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Nakasone, a two-time Wash100 recipient, announced this directive to NSA staff as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to deny allegations that his country influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“Nakasone and the heads of the other three-letter agencies are doing what they can in their own lanes, absent an overall approach directed by the president,” said Michael Hayden, a former NSA director.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Friday warned about cybersecurity threats to the country’s critical infrastructure.

That same day, special counsel Robert Mueller III named the 12 Russian military officers who have been indicted for hacking Democratic National Committee emails during the previous election campaign.

GSA Awards $2B Air Travel Contracts for 2019 City Pair Program
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GSA Awards $2B Air Travel Contracts for 2019 City Pair Program


GSA Awards $2B Air Travel Contracts for 2019 City Pair ProgramThe General Services Administration has awarded air travel contracts worth a total of $2.2 billion to eight carriers for the City Pair Program in 2019, providing a 49 percent discount on airfare rates for every federal government official air travel.

GSA said Wednesday the effort will help the government save $2.4 million in taxpayer money next year.

The agency selected carriers for the program on the basis of the availability of their non-stop service, flights and jet service, total number of flights, average elapsed flight time and service price.

 Implementation of the discount will start on Oct. 1.

The value of the 2019 air travel contracts is an increase from that of the 2018 contracts’, which totaled $2.1 billion.

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Trump Selects Peace Corps Official Steven Dillingham to Lead Census Bureau
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Trump Selects Peace Corps Official Steven Dillingham to Lead Census Bureau


Trump Selects Peace Corps Official Steven Dillingham to Lead Census BureauPresident Donald Trump intends to nominate Steven Dillingham, director of strategic information, research and planning at the Peace Corps, to serve as the Census Bureau’s next director.

The nomination is for a five-year term that would end Dec. 31, 2021, the White House announced Wednesday.

Dillingham previously directed the bureaus of Justice Statistics and Transportation Statistics, as well as led research and planning efforts in the Department of Justice‘s Trustee Program and the Office of Personnel Management.

Before joining the government, he was the deputy director of the National District Attorneys Association and administrator of the American Prosecutors Research Institute.

He is also a senior certified professional under the Society for Human Resource Management.

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Report: Michael Barry Stepping Down as NSC Intell Chief
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Report: Michael Barry Stepping Down as NSC Intell Chief


Report: Michael Barry Stepping Down as NSC Intell ChiefMichael Barry, senior director for intelligence programs at the National Security Council, is reportedly leaving his post at NSC, the Daily Beast reported Tuesday.

A source said Barry will return to the CIA; his move is the latest in a string of departures at NSC as National Security Adviser John Bolton picks his own staff for the council.

Barry is a CIA veteran who was tapped by former national security adviser H.R. McMaster last fall to succeed Ezra Cohen-Watnick for the senior role, which serves as a liaison between the White House and intelligence agencies.

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CMMI Director Adam Boehler Appointed as HHS Senior Adviser
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CMMI Director Adam Boehler Appointed as HHS Senior Adviser


CMMI Director Adam Boehler Appointed as HHS Senior Adviser
Adam Boehler

Adam Boehler, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Deparment of Health and Human Services, will assume the additional role of senior adviser for value-based transformation and innovation.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced on Wednesday Boehler’s appointment as the former’s fourth picked senior adviser, joining Jim Parker, Dan Best and Brett Giroir.

The four advisers will work to support Azar’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis; reduce costs of prescription drugs; manage the cost and availability of health insurance; and transform the value of the country’s healthcare system.

Boehler has been leading CMMI since April, and is the founder of healthcare firms Landmark Health and Avalon Healthcare Solutions.

Margaret Weichert: White House to Prioritize Cyber, Security Clearance Reforms in Gov’t Reorganization
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Margaret Weichert: White House to Prioritize Cyber, Security Clearance Reforms in Gov’t Reorganization


Margaret Weichert: White House to Prioritize Cyber, Security Clearance Reforms in Gov't Reorganization
Margaret Weichert

Margaret Weichert, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, said at a Senate panel hearing Wednesday the Trump administration will start its government reorganization effort with transferring authority of security clearances and standardizing cyber jobs, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

She told Senate Homeland Security Committee members the White House has begun to review skill gaps in the federal cyber workforce as part of a push to systematize job categories for that area.

The report noted the panel’s Democrat members contested that the Trump administration has not provided reasons for planning to implement a governmentwide reform, the reform noted.

Weichert explained at the meeting that the plan is in early stages and that the White House would disclose the data that led to the proposals once finalized.

White House officials developed 32 reorganization proposals, which include merging departments of the Education and Labor and establishing a public-private partnership office that would oversee customer service.

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Report: DHS, GSA Use ‘Commercial Solutions Opening’ Method to Expedite Tech Procurements
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Report: DHS, GSA Use ‘Commercial Solutions Opening’ Method to Expedite Tech Procurements


Report: DHS, GSA Use ‘Commercial Solutions Opening’ Method to Expedite Tech ProcurementsThe Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration have launched efforts to advance the use of “commercial solutions opening” method to speed up the acquisition of innovative platforms and services, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

DHS released in June its guidelines for the CSO contracting method, while GSA unveiled in May the AAS Express program to provide agencies using the procedure access to GSA contracts and resources.

The Defense Department has recently joined GSA and DHS in the adoption of the CSO method by launching a four-year pilot program that will run through Sept. 30, 2022.

DoD issued in June a class deviation document that would direct contracting officers to issue “general solicitations” and competitively choose proposals based on a peer-review process as part of the CSO procedure authorized in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

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DARPA to Explore Near-Earth Space Environment Forecasting Concepts
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DARPA to Explore Near-Earth Space Environment Forecasting Concepts


DARPA to Explore Near-Earth Space Environment Forecasting ConceptsThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has introduced a program to explore concepts and tools to predict near-Earth space conditions within a one-hour to 72-hour timeframe.

DARPA said Tuesday it will hold a Proposers Day on July 31 in Arlington, Va., to provide details of the agency’s Space Environment Exploitation program.

“We currently have capability to predict and track big space weather events like sun spots, coronal mass ejections, or solar winds that can wreak havoc on critical space assets in higher space orbits,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. David Lewis, a DARPA program manager.

Lewis added the agency cannot predict local and smaller space environment disturbances near the planet such as magnetic substorms and auroral-E activity that can interfere with space-based and ground assets.

The SEE program seeks to explore forecasting concepts that would apply existing ground- and satellite-based data, as well as develop non-traditional sensing concepts and sensors.

DARPA plans to examine machine learning and training methods in an effort to virtually extend the life of satellite measurements and increase the number of satellites virtually for sampling.

The agency noted it will seek technical expertise in ion, magnet and thermospheric physics and chemistry; scalar, tensor and vector computer processing science and engineering; machine learning or training; and system integration.

DoD Restructures Research & Engineering, Acquisition Offices
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DoD Restructures Research & Engineering, Acquisition Offices


DoD Restructures Research & Engineering, Acquisition OfficesThe Defense Department has issued a memo that details the reorganization of the offices of the undersecretary of research and engineering and undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a spokeswoman for DoD, told the publication that Congress and Defense Secretary James Mattis have been notified of the July 13 memo signed by Patrick Shanahan, deputy defense secretary.

Michael Griffin, head of the R&E office, will perform technical risk reviews and provide advice to DoD secretary on potential capability issues with programs.

Griffin will have a deputy undersecretary who will oversee five offices: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; Missile Defense Agency; Defense Innovation Unit Experimental; Strategic Capabilities Office; and the Strategic Intelligence Analysis Cell, according to the organizational structure obtained by Defense News.

The R&E’s research and technology unit has five assistant directors focused on cyber, microelectronics, quantum science, directed energy and machine learning/artificial intelligence, while the advanced capabilities division has assistant chiefs focused on space, autonomy, hypersonics and networked C3.

The memo noted that a deputy undersecretary will directly report to Ellen Lord, DoD undersecretary for A&S, and oversee several offices, including the industrial base office.

Three assistant secretaries will be responsible for sustainment, acquisition and nuclear, chemical and biological programs, while four directors will manage international cooperation, special programs, joint rapid acquisition cell and strategy, data and design, according to the organizational chart.

Lord and Griffin are both 2018 Wash100 recipients.

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