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House Subcommittee Calls for DoD to Submit Govt, Commercial Satcom Acquisition Strategy
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House Subcommittee Calls for DoD to Submit Govt, Commercial Satcom Acquisition Strategy


House Subcommittee Calls for DoD to Submit Govt, Commercial Satcom Acquisition StrategyThe House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel has released a report that would require the Defense Department to come up with an acquisition strategy that explains how it will buy commercial space systems and services to support its military communications satellites, SpaceNews reported Saturday.

The report was issued alongside the defense subcommittee’s proposed defense policy bill for fiscal 2019.

The report said the subcommittee’s defense spending measure would redirect $49.5 million in funds from “pathfinder” projects toward the establishment of a new “program of record” within the U.S. Air Force for commercial satcom.

“The committee is looking holistically at the space architecture … This is a monumental move by the committee,” an industry official told the publication.

The House Appropriations Committee’s measure builds on the fiscal 2018 defense spending law, which ordered the move of commercial satcom procurement responsibility to the Air Force Space Command from the Defense Information Systems Agency, the report added.

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GSA Begins E-Commerce Portal Implementation Program’s Phase II With 2 RFIs
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GSA Begins E-Commerce Portal Implementation Program’s Phase II With 2 RFIs


GSA Begins E-Commerce Portal Implementation Program’s Phase II With 2 RFIsThe General Services Administration has sought information from industry as part of the second phase of a program to establish an e-commerce platform that federal agencies can use to buy commercial products and services.

GSA issued a request for information on Friday asking e-commerce platform providers to share their data standards; spending trends; cybersecurity; user experience and program design; terms and conditions such as order tracking, issue resolution and delivery.

The agency asked information on product categories, program design and terms and conditions from suppliers that use such portals to sell their products under the second RFI posted Friday.

GSA will hold on Thursday, June 21, a town hall-like meeting for the market analysis and consultation phase and accept responses on the RFIs through July 20, according to the notices.

GSA and the Office of Management and Budget will use the feedback from the RFIs to develop the Phase II report that is scheduled for submission to Congress in March 2019 with plans to come up with a proof of concept before fiscal 2019 ends.

The RFIs for the Phase II came three months after GSA released the implementation plan for the e-commerce portal.

GSA Begins E-Commerce Portal Implementation Program’s Phase II With 2 RFIsExecutive Mosaic‘s Potomac Officers Club will host a forum in Falls Church, Va., on July 18. The “GSA Plans and Priorities Forum” will feature public and private sector leaders to discuss how industry can assist the agency to deliver real estate, acquisition and technology services to the government and the public.

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DoD, NASA, GSA Issue Interim Rule to Ban Use of Kaspersky Lab’s Products, Services
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DoD, NASA, GSA Issue Interim Rule to Ban Use of Kaspersky Lab’s Products, Services


DoD, NASA, GSA Issue Interim Rule to Ban Use of Kaspersky Lab’s Products, ServicesThe Defense Department, NASA and the General Services Administration have introduced an interim rule that seeks to prohibit federal agencies and contractors from using Kaspersky Lab’s software, hardware and services by Oct. 1.

A Federal Register notice posted Friday says the regulation was introduced to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation in compliance with a provision of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

The interim rule would require contracting officers to include the prohibition in solicitations and contracts released on or after July 16 and direct vendors and subcontractors to report any Kaspersky-built products discovered during the contract’s performance period.

The agencies also asked industry input on measures the government intends to implement in order to determine potential challenges to contractors with regard to the identification of “covered articles” under the interim rule.

Interested stakeholders have until Aug. 14 to submit their comments, which will be used by the three agencies to develop the final rule.

The Department of Homeland Security issued in September 2017 a binding operational directive that requires agencies to discontinue the use of Kaspersky Lab’s anti-virus platforms and related products within 90 days to protect their information systems from potential security vulnerabilities.

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Report: Trump Taps Kathy Kraninger to Lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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Report: Trump Taps Kathy Kraninger to Lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau


Report: Trump Taps Kathy Kraninger to Lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Kathy Kraninger

Kathy Kraninger, an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, has been picked by President Donald Trump to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bloomberg reported Sunday.

Lindsey Walters, a spokeswoman for the White House, said in a statement Kraninger is “a staunch supporter of free enterprise” whose management experience would help advance reforms initiated by OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, who has led CFPB since November 2017 on a part-time basis.

Kraninger will succeed Mulvaney as the consumer watchdog’s permanent head once confirmed by the Senate.

She has managed budget matters for financial regulators since joining OMB in 2017 and previously served as a staff member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and an official at the Department of Homeland Security prior to OMB.

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Anthony Vinci to Step Down as NGA CTO; Cindy Daniell Named Agency Research Director
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Anthony Vinci to Step Down as NGA CTO; Cindy Daniell Named Agency Research Director

 

Anthony Vinci to Step Down as NGA CTO; Cindy Daniell Named Agency Research Director
Anthony Vinci

Anthony Vinci, chief technology officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, is due to step down from his position on July 7 and will return to the private sector.

NGA said Friday Vinci helped establish public-private partnerships and led its efforts to implement artificial intelligence, automation and augmentation technology platforms during his tenure as CTO.

He assumed the CTO role in February after he previously served as associate director for capabilities and director of plans and programs at the agency.

Vinci is the founder and former CEO of crowdsourcing technology developer Findyr.

Anthony Vinci to Step Down as NGA CTO; Cindy Daniell Named Agency Research Director
Cindy Daniell

Cindy Daniell, director of advanced technology programs at SRI International, joined NGA on June 11 as director of research.

She brings to the agency more than two decades of program management experience in areas such as imaging sensors, signal processing and compression, surveillance technology for geo-referenced intelligence and solar energy.

 

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DOE Taps NY-Based Public Corporation to Head Offshore Wind R&D Consortium
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DOE Taps NY-Based Public Corporation to Head Offshore Wind R&D Consortium


DOE Taps NY-Based Public Corporation to Head Offshore Wind R&D ConsortiumThe Department of Energy has selected the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to lead an $18.5 million offshore wind research and development consortium of stakeholders from government, industry and academia.

The consortium will seek to uncover new approaches for wind resource and site characterization and develop technologies for installing, operating, maintaining and managing supply chain of offshore wind plants, DOE said Friday.

Efforts will focus on four key research areas: deep water, locations with unfamiliar seabed conditions, hurricane impact on the East Coast and challenging environments for at-sea installation and operations.

The department will also obligate additional $2 million to support the consortium’s activities conducted at DOE national laboratories.

“Through this consortium, DOE seeks to support fundamental research to accelerate the development of affordable offshore wind technologies,” said Timothy Unruh, deputy assistant secretary for renewable power at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

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GAO: DoD Should Address Data, Workforce Issues to Better Assess Industrial Base Risks
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GAO: DoD Should Address Data, Workforce Issues to Better Assess Industrial Base Risks


GAO: DoD Should Address Data, Workforce Issues to Better Assess Industrial Base RisksThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to leverage existing supplier information from program offices in order to meet the requirement for a repository of supplier data needed to assess potential risks to the defense industrial base.

GAO said in a report published Wednesday that DoD should ensure a workforce mix of contractors and government personnel with the required skills and capabilities in order to facilitate access to business-sensitive information necessary to develop the data repository for risk analysis.

The agency made the recommendation after it found that the Pentagon’s manufacturing and industrial base policy office relies on contractors who have limited access to such sensitive data.

The report cited obsolete items, disaster-damaged facilities, loss of equipment or skills, limited production capacity, financial viability of suppliers and foreign dependence as some of the risks to the industrial base.

The congressional watchdog reviewed 33 completed investment projects between fiscal years 2014 and 2017 and found that MIBP’s investment programs chose those projects to help maintain current suppliers; build up efficient production processes; and create new domestic sources of supply.

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House Appropriations Committee OKs Bill for $150M Addition to Technology Modernization Fund
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House Appropriations Committee OKs Bill for $150M Addition to Technology Modernization Fund


House Appropriations Committee OKs Bill for $150M Addition to Technology Modernization FundThe House Appropriations Committee has cleared a bill that intends to add $150 million for fiscal year 2019 to a government fund that serves to provide working capital for agency information technology modernization efforts, Federal Times reported Thursday.

The Technology Modernization Fund was authorized under the Modernizing Government Technology Act that Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, co-introduced in 2017 to support IT infrastructure updates across the federal government.

Federal Times notes the latest bill covers the shortfall in the proposed $250 million annual budget for TMF after only $100 million was obligated for the fund in fiscal 2018.

The departments of Housing and Urban Development, Energy and Agriculture received the initial batch of TMF funding earlier this month.

In a similar effort, the White House, USDA, the General Services Administration and industry partnered to establish an IT modernization center of excellence that seeks to help agencies upgrade or replace legacy systems.

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DOE Taps University of Utah for $140M Geothermal R&D Project; Rick Perry Comments
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DOE Taps University of Utah for $140M Geothermal R&D Project; Rick Perry Comments


DOE Taps University of Utah for $140M Geothermal R&D Project; Rick Perry Comments
Rick Perry

The Energy Department will provide up to $140 million in continued funds for the University of Utah to research and develop geothermal systems over the next five years.

DOE said Thursday it picked an area outside of Milford, Utah, as the location for Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy field laboratory after a three-year process of planning, site characterization and competition.

“Funding efforts toward the next frontier in geothermal energy technologies will help diversify the United States’ domestic energy portfolio, enhance our energy access, and increase our energy security,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Researchers can use the FORGE facility to create, test and update geothermal systems or engineer manmade  geothermal reservoirs.

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Dean Peters: NAVAIR to Establish Guide for Fleet Readiness Center Modernization Investments
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Dean Peters: NAVAIR to Establish Guide for Fleet Readiness Center Modernization Investments


Dean Peters: NAVAIR to Establish Guide for Fleet Readiness Center Modernization InvestmentsThe Naval Air Systems Command will create guidelines for the allocation of fiscal year 2018 funds for the upgrade of facilities at Fleet Readiness Centers.

Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander of NAVAIR, told the U.S. Naval Institute the command will initially conduct a baseline assessment of some 800 critical components that average 25 years at three FRC locations, USNI said Thursday.

He noted that the locations are the FRC East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, FRC Southeast at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and FRC Southwest at Naval Air Station North Island.

FRC East uses a 50-year-old water tower for T-64 engine nozzle qualifications, FRC Southeast has an avionics maintenance facility without air conditioning and FRC Southwest uses an environment control ventilation system that fails once a week.

The command will also baseline 71,000 pieces of equipment across the depots, whose average age is 58 years, for the facilities modernization plan, Peters added.

Augmentation of the FY 2018 funds helped NAVAIR repair the equipment for critical test and support at the three depots and will allow the command to enhance the overhaul operations of the FRCs, Peters said at a hearing of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee.

In FY 2017, the FRCs completed 485 of 487 aircraft such as F/A-18A-D Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

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