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Report: Federal Agencies Issue Updated Guidance to Prepare for Possible Govt Shutdown
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Report: Federal Agencies Issue Updated Guidance to Prepare for Possible Govt Shutdown


Report: Federal Agencies Issue Updated Guidance to Prepare for Possible Govt ShutdownFederal agencies such as NASA, General Services Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday released updated guidelines that offer information on offices and activities that would continue in the event of a government shutdown later this week, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Lawmakers have until Friday to decide on another continuing resolution to extend federal funding through Dec. 22.

GSA said in its guidance that offices such as the Technology Transformation Services and office of information technology are supported by working capital funds that allow them to continue operations in the event of a shutdown.

GSA’s chief acquisition officer, associate administrator and some personnel who support procurement and contracting work will be exempted from the possible shutdown.

NASA would continue to provide transportation and resupply support to the International Space Station and maintain operational satellite missions, according to the agency’s guidance.

HUD issued a contingency plan saying it will maintain help desk support operations and access to standard applications if the department faces a lapse in appropriations, the report added.

Congressional leaders and President Donald Trump agreed to meet Thursday to reach a budget deal for fiscal 2018.

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Army Pilot Program Aims to Train Civilian Tech Professionals in Cyber Operations
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Army Pilot Program Aims to Train Civilian Tech Professionals in Cyber Operations


Army Pilot Program Aims to Train Civilian Tech Professionals in Cyber OperationsThe U.S. Army has introduced a pilot program that aims to hire and train technology professionals from the private sector as lieutenants for cyber operations in a bid to increase the number of the service branch’s cyber personnel, FCW reported Tuesday.

The Cyber Direct Commissioning Program seeks civilian talent to help the Army Cyber Command develop tools that can support operations of the Cyber Mission Force and fulfill gaps in 14 skill areas such as software operations, security engineers, software designers and product managers.

The program is meant to open opportunities for non-military cyber professionals to join the Army and help the service branch produce cyberspace technology platforms and services.

Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, Army Cyber Commander, said the program will run for five years and annually recruit five officers tasked to report at Army installations in either Georgia and Maryland.

Nakasone added he expects the command to hold its first board gathering in January and start to commission eligible participants for the officer training program in February.

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Report: Election Experts Call for US Voting System Security Funding Boost
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Report: Election Experts Call for US Voting System Security Funding Boost


Report: Election Experts Call for US Voting System Security Funding BoostSome election experts have urged Congress to give states additional funds to secure voting machines against state-sponsored hackers, USA Today reported.

Matthew Blaze, an associate professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, told a House committee during a Nov. 29 hearing that successful breaches of electronic voting systems “might leave behind little or no forensic evidence.”

Blaze added that the lack of evidence could make it impossible to determine actual election results or detect that an attack has occurred.

Edgardo Cortes, commissioner of Virginia’s Elections Department, called on lawmakers to mandate certification of all voting systems used in federal elections to establish a security baseline that all states must comply with.

Cortes also asked Congress to develop an accreditation system for training state election administrators to ensure that they have skills and knowledge necessary to facilitate a secure election.

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Peace Corps DC Headquarters Move Planned for 2019
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Peace Corps DC Headquarters Move Planned for 2019


Peace Corps DC Headquarters Move Planned for 2019The Peace Corps will relocate its headquarters from a northwestern to a northeastern location in Washington, D.C. after the General Services Administration signed a new lease agreement for the government-run volunteer organization.

GSA announced Monday that Peace Corps will occupy a 173,000-square-foot facility at One Constitution Square beginning in late 2019.

The organization’s future main office will be renamed the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps HQ and the building is certified as compliant with the Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Peace Corps will join several federal agencies that lease office space within the NoMa district such as the Justice Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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Matt Goodrich: FedRAMP Creates Playbook to Help Accelerate Agency Cloud Adoption
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Matt Goodrich: FedRAMP Creates Playbook to Help Accelerate Agency Cloud Adoption


Matt Goodrich: FedRAMP Creates Playbook to Help Accelerate Agency Cloud Adoption
Matt Goodrich

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has created a playbook meant to help agencies navigate through the government’s cloud authorization process, GCN Magazine reported Monday.

The FedRAMP Agency Authorization Playbook describes three phases of the authority-to-operate process, as well as the roles cloud service providers, agencies and third-party assessment organizations should play.

Matt Goodrich, director of FedRAMP, told GCN in an email the playbook is designed to help agencies address cost and schedule challenges related to cloud adoption efforts.

The program updated its provisional authorization process and “tailored” baseline earlier this year as part of efforts to simplify the approval process for commercial cloud offerings.

CBO: Defense Base Budget to Hit $688B by 2027 Under Trump’s Military Spending Plan
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CBO: Defense Base Budget to Hit $688B by 2027 Under Trump’s Military Spending Plan


CBO: Defense Base Budget to Hit $688B by 2027 Under Trump's Military Spending PlanThe Congressional Budget Office has said the Trump administration’s goals to increase the U.S. military size, readiness and capabilities would result in a base budget of approximately $688 billion in 2018 dollars by 2027.

CBO said in its December 2017 report the number of individuals who will serve in the military would rise by 10 percent or about 237,000 people under the administration’s defense goals.

Other factors that would drive cost increases after 2018 include the U.S. Navy’s plan to boost its fleet of combat ships to 355 and the military’s procurement of new weapons and increased research spending on future weapon systems, according to the agency.

CBO predicts the cumulative costs of meeting the current administration’s 2018 goals for the military through 2027 would be $683 billion higher than the projected costs of the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2017 defense plan.

The agency also estimates that the implementation of the Trump administration’s plan to increase the size of the armed forces would result in $342 billion in costs between 2019 and 2027.

The total projected national defense costs would exceed the budget caps by about $295 billion from 2018 through 2021 if the Defense Department’s costs increase at the rate of inflation, the report added.

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Trump to Nominate Michael Griffin as DoD Research & Engineering Head
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Trump to Nominate Michael Griffin as DoD Research & Engineering Head


Trump to Nominate Michael Griffin as DoD Research & Engineering Head
Michael Griffin

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Michael Griffin, former NASA administrator, as undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, Defense Systems reported Monday.

The Defense Department created Griffin’s potential new position, along with the role of undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, as a result of the reorganization of the department’s acquisition, technology and logistics organization.

If confirmed, Griffin would serve as CTO as well as oversee the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Griffin led NASA from 2005 to 2009 under the administration of George W. Bush.

He also served as associate administrator for exploration and as chief engineer at the space agency earlier in his career.

Griffin previously served as space department head at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and as president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, a non-profit venture capital firm funded by the CIA.

He also worked at Orbital Sciences Corp., now called Orbital ATK, in various roles such as CEO of the Magellan Systems division and general manager of the space systems group.

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Senate Advances Kirstjen Nielsen’s Nomination for DHS Secretary Post
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Senate Advances Kirstjen Nielsen’s Nomination for DHS Secretary Post


Senate Advances Kirstjen Nielsen’s Nomination for DHS Secretary Post
Kirstjen Nielsen

The Senate voted 59-33 Monday to support the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen as the next Department of Homeland Security secretary, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.

The upper chamber’s vote came three weeks after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Nielsen’s nomination and nearly two months after President Donald Trump selected her for the DHS post.

Nielsen previously served as chief of staff to former DHS Secretary John Kelly and senior legislative policy director for the department’s Transportation and Security Administration.

She was also part of the White House Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush’s administration.

A confirmation vote on her nomination is expected later this week, the report added.

Reports: Trump, Congressional Leaders Schedule Meeting to Discuss Budget Deal
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Reports: Trump, Congressional Leaders Schedule Meeting to Discuss Budget Deal


Reports: Trump, Congressional Leaders Schedule Meeting to Discuss Budget DealSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) will meet with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on Thursday to reach a budget deal for fiscal 2018 in order to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week, Reuters reported Monday.

The scheduled meeting came days after the House introduced a plan to pass another stopgap measure to extend federal funding through Dec. 22 as the current continuing resolution approaches expiration on Dec. 8.

“We need to reach a budget agreement that equally boosts funds for our military and key priorities here at home,” Schumer and Pelosi said in a statement.

Bloomberg also reported that Trump and congressional leaders will discuss a potential deal to increase the budget caps on defense and non-defense spending.

Other matters that are expected to be taken up at the meeting include a possible extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, humanitarian disaster aid and issues over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will also attend the meeting, the report added.

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DoD Aims to Coordinate Tech Projects With Military Labs, Federal R&D Centers
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DoD Aims to Coordinate Tech Projects With Military Labs, Federal R&D Centers


DoD Aims to Coordinate Tech Projects With Military Labs, Federal R&D CentersThe Defense Department has started to draft a list of technologies that DoD aims to acquire in a move to coordinate its research and development projects that of military laboratories and federally funded R&D centers, Defense One reported Sunday.

Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said at the Reagan National Defense Forum that DoD is developing a modernization strategy to help ensure coordination across service branches and the Office of Secretary of Defense.

Lord added she expects DoD to complete the new strategy by 2018.

The report added the new plan will cover mutliple projects from individual military service laboratories, FFRDCs as well as the OSD.

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