House Appropriations Panel Proposes $89B FY 2018 Discretionary Budget for VA, Military Construction
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House Appropriations Panel Proposes $89B FY 2018 Discretionary Budget for VA, Military Construction


House Appropriations Panel Proposes $89B FY 2018 Discretionary Budget for VA, Military ConstructionThe House Appropriations Committee has introduced a bill that would authorize $88.8 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects and $638 million in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal year 2018.

The committee said Sunday the FY 2018 appropriations bill reflects a $6 billion increase from the enacted FY 2017 discretionary funding.

The proposed legislation would allocate $10.2 billion in total funds for military-related construction projects.

These include $1.4 billion for family housing projects, $737 million for health care facilities, $249 million for Defense Department education facilities and $115 million for the construction of two new barracks to accommodate troops deployed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

VA would receive $78.3 billion in total discretionary funds, a figure that reflects a $3.9 billion increase from the enacted FY 2017 level.

The bill also proposes to allocate $70.7 billion in advance funds for military retirees’ medical programs for FY 2019 and $107.7 billion in advance budget for mandatory benefit initiatives within VA.

The House panel’s proposed bill also includes the following appropriations for VA:

  • $69 billion for medical care
  • $65 million for electronic health records system modernization effort
  • $753 million for construction projects

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Reports: Trump Administration Seeks to Expedite Infrastructure Project Approval Process With New Council
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Reports: Trump Administration Seeks to Expedite Infrastructure Project Approval Process With New Council


Reports: Trump Administration Seeks to Expedite Infrastructure Project Approval Process With New CouncilThe White House will establish a new council to reform the current approval process for highway development and other projects as part of President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure modernization plan, Reuters reported Friday.

President Trump said the council will work to help infrastructure project managers address bureaucracy and create an online dashboard for agencies to track key projects throughout the authorization process.

Reuters reported the administration also plans to set up a new office within the Transportation Department‘s environmental quality council to clarify lines of authority, increase efficiency and simplify government approaches to modernize infrastructure at the federal, state and local levels.

“One of the biggest obstacles to creating this new infrastructure… is the painfully slow, costly and time-consuming process for getting permits and approvals to build,” Trump added, according to the report.

He vowed to penalize agencies that miss deadlines and delay various projects, Government Executive reported Friday.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he will evaluate interagency collaboration between the departments of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture in efforts to eliminate the bureaucratic process, the report added.

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HHS Boosts Communications With Private Sector After ‘WannaCry’ Attacks
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HHS Boosts Communications With Private Sector After ‘WannaCry’ Attacks


HHS Boosts Communications With Private Sector After 'WannaCry' AttacksThe Department of Health and Human Services has worked to strengthen its communications with the private sector following the WannaCry ransomware attacks, MeriTalk reported Friday.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee raised concerns with HHS officials that a similar event could impact U.S. health systems since the U.K.’s national health service was affected during the WannaCry attacks, the report stated.

Leo Scanlon, HHS deputy chief information security officer, said WannaCry gave HHS’ Health Services Advisory Committee the opportunity to create “one-pagers” used to answer small organizations’ questions.

HHS also established the Health Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center — based on the Department of Homeland Security‘s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center — to support communications efforts.

Scanlon noted HCCIC is designed to provide a communication channel from the private sector, “especially the small or medium-size organizations that don’t necessarily know about NCCIC,” MeriTalk reported.

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Army Tests Secure Wireless Package to Boost Mobility
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Army Tests Secure Wireless Package to Boost Mobility


Army Tests Secure Wireless Package to Boost MobilityThe U.S. Army has tested secure wireless equipment designed to help soldiers reduce the time it takes to setup and disassemble a tactical operations center.

The service branch said Thursday the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division trained with the Secure Wireless package at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

Soldiers used the wireless equipment to deliver untethered network connections to the brigade main command post in an effort to support wireless voice, video and data exchange as well as wireless mission command on systems.

“When facing a near peer threat in a complex environment, it is imperative that our operations centers become more mobile with ability to move quickly, and that we have the ability to rapidly collaborate in planning to defeat a near peer adversary,” said Col. Phil Brooks, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

The wireless package is designed to cut command post setup and tear down times by hours as well as lessen the amount of cables and protective flooring that need to be transported from one location to another, the Army noted.

Wireless systems also work to mitigate network downtime and the loss of mission command systems after moving.

The Secure Wireless package includes advanced network operations functions and security features such as the Wireless Intrusion Detection System, which is built to help identify potential hackers trying to breach the wireless network.

The brigade will undergo another NTC training in the fall to test the full operational potential of the secure wireless technology, the Army said.

The military branch has performed risk reduction events of the wireless package with units in Hawaii, Delaware and Texas, among others.

The Army collects soldier feedback from the events to continually develop the wireless technology prior to its official fielding.

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House Bill Would Require DoD to Notify Congress of ‘Sensitive’ Military Cyber Operations
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House Bill Would Require DoD to Notify Congress of ‘Sensitive’ Military Cyber Operations


House Bill Would Require DoD to Notify Congress of 'Sensitive' Military Cyber OperationsThe House Armed Services Committee has introduced a bipartisan bill that would mandate Defense Department officials to inform Congress about the U.S. military’s sensitive cyber operations or weapons within 48 hours of implementation, Nextgov reported Thursday.

The scope of the proposed bill covers all defensive and offensive cyber operations that would occur beyond the Pentagon’s networks and affect international combat activities the U.S. supports.

HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Washington) sponsored the bill along with Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) and Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island), respectively chairwoman and ranking member of HASC’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee.

“While there are programs that must necessarily remain classified to keep the country safe, Congress still has a responsibility to conduct appropriate oversight in order to protect our security and our essential freedoms at the same time,” said Thornberry.

Nextgov reported the bill would also mandate DoD to inform the House and Senate Armed Services Committees of cyber weapon reviews to fully assess a system’s compliance with international laws.

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GAO: NASA, DoD, NOAA Spent $43B on Cost-Reimbursement Contracts for Satellite Procurement Programs
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GAO: NASA, DoD, NOAA Spent $43B on Cost-Reimbursement Contracts for Satellite Procurement Programs


GAO: NASA, DoD, NOAA Spent $43B on Cost-Reimbursement Contracts for Satellite Procurement ProgramsThe Government Accountability Office assessed 19 satellite acquisition programs at NASA, Defense Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and found that the agencies obligated approximately $43.1 billion on cost-reimbursement contracts for such programs.

GAO said in a report published Friday that DoD, NOAA and NASA spent $9 billion on fixed-price-incentive and firm-fixed-price contracts and orders for satellite initiatives.

The congressional watchdog also reviewed 12 satellite programs and found that most of them included on-orbit incentives that “varied widely in terms of the amount at-risk for the contractor and the timing of payments.”

The report showed that the U.S. government’s potential to recover financial investments in the event of a satellite failure is “modest” due to small amounts of on-orbit incentives in contracts.

GAO also called on the government to implement best practices when developing satellites to address potential schedule delays and cost overruns as well as reduce financial losses in the event of a major satellite failure.

Deltek: State Dept, USAID to Get $38B in Total Discretionary Funds Under White House’s FY 2018 Budget Plan
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Deltek: State Dept, USAID to Get $38B in Total Discretionary Funds Under White House’s FY 2018 Budget Plan


Deltek: State Dept, USAID to Get $38B in Total Discretionary Funds Under White House's FY 2018 Budget PlanThe White House’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 would allocate $37.6 billion in total base discretionary funds for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Deltek reported Thursday.

The figure represents a $17.3 billion drop from the enacted level in FY 2017.

The Trump administration also requested $1.9 billion in FY 2018 information technology funds for the State Department and $141 million in IT budget for USAID.

The FY 2018 budget proposal also includes $12 billion in additional funds for overseas contingency operations, $6.9 billion for foreign affairs programs and $1.2 billion for international organizations.

The State Department would also see a $46.7 million drop in development, modernization and enhancement budget, while consular, cybersecurity and enterprise operations programs would receive funding increases under the FY 2018 budget request, Deltek noted.

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Report: Mark Schwartz to Leave Citizenship & Immigration Service CIO Post
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Report: Mark Schwartz to Leave Citizenship & Immigration Service CIO Post


Report: Mark Schwartz to Leave Citizenship & Immigration Service CIO Post
Mark Schwartz

Mark Schwartz, chief information officer of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, will step down from his role seven years after he joined the agency, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

Schwartz is currently negotiating his last day at USCIS and recently joined the board of directors at cloud-hosted online infrastructure services provider DigitalTown, according to the station.

As USCIS CIO, he helped drive the government’s adoption of agile or DevOps methodologies for software and systems development projects, the report stated.

Schwartz previously held a similar position at Intrax Cultural Exchange where he oversaw efforts to replace paper-based processes in the field and abroad with electronic processes.

He also worked as CEO of software and online services provider Auctiva Corp.; consultant at management consulting firm Mitchell Madison Group; and software development director of ClientXChange.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley Asks Trump to Reverse Oversight Request Restriction Policy
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Sen. Chuck Grassley Asks Trump to Reverse Oversight Request Restriction Policy


Sen. Chuck Grassley Asks Trump to Reverse Oversight Request Restriction Policy
Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked President Donald Trump to overturn a policy that seeks to restrict responses to oversight requests from committee chairmen, Politico reported Friday.

The White House and the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel instituted the policy that ignores oversight requests from Democrats and other rank-and-file congressional members.

The policy “harms not just the members who happen to be in the minority party at the moment, but also, members in the majority party who are not currently chairmen,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Trump.

“It obstructs what ought to be the natural flow of information between agencies and the committees, which frustrates the constitutional function of legislating,” he added.

Grassley urged the executive branch to act in good faith when it comes to cooperating with congressional members’ requests.

In addition to the policy, OLC issued a memo in May that restricted ranking minority members and other individual congressional members to carry out investigations and inquiries into executive branch activities and initiatives in the “absence of a specific delegation by a full house, committee, or subcommittee.”

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Report: DoD Elevates Counter-ICBM Capacity Assessment
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Report: DoD Elevates Counter-ICBM Capacity Assessment


Report: DoD Elevates Counter-ICBM Capacity AssessmentThe Defense Department has stepped up its strategy to assess potential systems against intercontinental ballistic missile threats, Reuters reported Wednesday.

DoD elevated anti-ICBM technology assessment efforts following the completion of a simulated ICBM interception test last month at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

A June 6 department memo seen by Reuters says the Boeing-built Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system offers a capacity to protect the homeland from multiple intermediate-range and intercontinental missile threats using basic countermeasures.

Vice Adm. Jim Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said during a congressional hearing the U.S. defense program still has room for improvement despite DoD’s efforts to address challenges related to the system’s reliability over the past five years.

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