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DOE Seeks to Advance US Energy Policy Priorities Through Reorganization
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DOE Seeks to Advance US Energy Policy Priorities Through Reorganization


DOE Seeks to Advance US Energy Policy Priorities Through ReorganizationThe Department of Energy has announced plans to reorganize its operational structure in a push to address DOE’s policy goals in accordance with statutory requirements.

DOE said Friday it also seeks to help advance the White House’s strategies to maintain U.S. energy dominance, protect energy and national security resources, spur innovation and improve environmental management outcomes through a reorganization effort.

The department intends to split the current Office of Under Secretary for Science and Energy into two undersecretary positions.

An undersecretary for science will supervise the department’s research, development and environmental cleanup efforts while an undersecretary for energy will focus on energy policy security and reliability, applied technology and certain department-wide management functions.

DOE added it will transfer elements of the portfolio currently managed by the undersecretary for management and performance to the deputy energy secretary.

The department also plans to establish an office of policy to replace the current the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis.

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House Panel Asks GAO to Conduct 5 IT Reviews Related to FITARA Implementation
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House Panel Asks GAO to Conduct 5 IT Reviews Related to FITARA Implementation


House Panel Asks GAO to Conduct 5 IT Reviews Related to FITARA ImplementationThe House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has called on the Government Accountability Office to carry out five new reviews related to the agencies’ implementation of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act.

House panel members told GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro in a letter published Wednesday to determine best practices associated with FITARA implementation and assess agencies’ compliance with the law’s portfolio review requirements to ensure the elimination of duplicative systems.

The lawmakers also asked Dodaro to identify the top 15 to 25 critical IT procurements and submit a report on the status of each acquisition.

GAO should also determine the top 10 programs to modernize legacy systems and assess the strategies and challenges associated with IT human capital as well as offer recommendations, according to the letter.

The lawmakers said they will use the reviews to inform the House panel’s FITARA scorecard and further support its oversight efforts over IT modernization following the passage of the Modernizing Government Technology Act.

The MGT Act is part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2018 that President Donald Trump signed Tuesday.

Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-South Carolina) and Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) signed the letter with Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas), Robin Kelly (D-Illinois), Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina), and Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia).

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James Mattis Cites Iran’s Missile Program, Destabilization Efforts in Middle East
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James Mattis Cites Iran’s Missile Program, Destabilization Efforts in Middle East


James Mattis Cites Iran’s Missile Program, Destabilization Efforts in Middle East
James Mattis

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said Iran has been involved in several destabilization activities in the Middle East that include the country’s ballistic missile support to the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, DoD News reported Saturday.

Mattis told reporters Friday about Iran’s support to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and involvement with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He also commended the presentation of Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, about the Middle Eastern country’s illegal missile weapons program.

“What we are doing in that region is standing by allies and partners, and we’re on one hand exposing, on the other hand helping them build their own capability to reject Iranian influence,” Mattis added.

His remarks came two months after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that President Donald Trump intended to decertify Iran under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act signed in 2015.

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Report: Air Force, Navy Initiate ‘Sixth-Generation’ Fighter Aircraft Concept Devt
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Report: Air Force, Navy Initiate ‘Sixth-Generation’ Fighter Aircraft Concept Devt


Report: Air Force, Navy Initiate 'Sixth-Generation' Fighter Aircraft Concept DevtThe U.S. Air Force and Navy have begun to experiment and plan concepts for a future next-generation fighter aircraft that features capacities beyond the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, Scout Warrior reported Saturday.

The aircraft currently in the earliest stages of conceptual development is projected to emerge in the mid 2030s and the two service branches look to determine technologies and features for potential integration into the future platform.

“We have started experimentation, developmental planning and technology investment,” said Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told Scout Warrior in an interview.

Navy officials noted the new platform will succeed the service branch’s current fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft which will be retired in 2035.

Analysts have predicted future sixth-generation aircraft concepts to feature next-generation technologies such as electronically-configured smart skins, maximum sensor connectivity and super cruise capacities, the report noted.

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GSA, OMB to Host Public Meeting on E-Procurement Process Implementation
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GSA, OMB to Host Public Meeting on E-Procurement Process Implementation


GSA, OMB to Host Public Meeting on E-Procurement Process ImplementationThe General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget will hold a public meeting on Jan. 9 in Washington to discuss with industry a provision in the fiscal 2018 defense policy bill about the use of commercial online platforms for procurement processes.

GSA said in a Federal Register notice posted Friday it also wants the public to submit comments on Section 846, Procurement through Commercial e-Commerce Portals, of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that President Donald Trump signed into law Tuesday.

Section 846 requires the GSA administrator to create a program to purchase commercial products through e-commerce sites and directs the OMB director to collaborate with other agencies to implement the provision in three phases.

GSA and OMB will use the stakeholders’ insights from the meeting and public comments to help draft the first-phase implementation plan within 90 days of NDAA’s enactment.

The agencies also have categorized questions into three areas that include program design, buying practices and implementation.

Program design deals with queries related to e-commerce portal providers and incremental approach to the program’s deployment, while buying practices seek to address competition, pricing and delivery and compliance.

Implementation-related questions aim to address changes to the current procurement framework for commercial off-the-shelf items and proposed rulemaking.

All public comments are due Jan. 16, according to the notice.

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Bipartisan Bill Aims to Promote AI Tech Advancement
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Bipartisan Bill Aims to Promote AI Tech Advancement


Bipartisan Bill Aims to Promote AI Tech AdvancementA bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill that seeks to encourage the continued development of artificial intelligence systems.

The Fundamentally Understanding the Usability and Realistic Evolution of Artificial Intelligence Act of 2017 would direct the Commerce Department to create a federal advisory committee to examine opportunities and impacts of emerging AI tools on the lives of people in the U.S., Rep. Pete Olson’s (R-Texas) office said Tuesday.

The panel would recommend ways for the government and industry to collaborate on the development and application of AI technologies, protect individuals’ privacy rights, advocate innovation and global competitiveness for AI technology developers and restructure the workforce that will utilize AI systems.

Representatives from research institutions, universities, civil liberties groups, technology companies, data scientists and agency officials would compose the federal advisory committee.

Olson crafted the FUTURE of AI Act with Rep. John Delaney (D-Maryland) as well as Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Todd Young (R-Indiana) and Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts).

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Army, Marines Collaborate to Develop 3D-Printed Drone Tech
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Army, Marines Collaborate to Develop 3D-Printed Drone Tech


Army, Marines Collaborate to Develop 3D-Printed Drone TechThe U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps have partnered to develop unmanned aircraft systems with the use of three-dimensional printing technology.

Eric Spero of the Army Research Laboratory’s vehicle technology directorate leads a team pursuing the UAS development project at Fort Benning in Georgia, the service branch said Friday.

ARL researchers and Marines work to create an application suite designed to help military personnel to 3D-print UAS technology within 24 hours as needed.

The project is based on an idea that Spero and his team had several years ago during a collaboration project with Georgia Tech.

The Army then approached USMC to collaborate on the production of a software catalog meant to help Marines  select and print the type of UAS needed for a specific mission.

Spero’s team unveiled the project during the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment last year.

https://youtu.be/0erL9bTHvi4

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US Pledges $120M Military Aid Package to Lebanon
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US Pledges $120M Military Aid Package to Lebanon


US Pledges $120M Military Aid Package to LebanonThe U.S. government has offered $120 million in military aid to help increase Lebanon’s capacity to perform counterterrorism and border security efforts.

Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of the U.S. Central Command, unveiled three programs of assistance the Defense Department will provide to Lebanese armed forces as part of DoD’s Building Partner Capacity initiative during his visit to the country, the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said Wednesday.

The embassy said LAF will receive six new MD 530G light attack helicopters along with related equipment and training services worth approximately $94 million.

DoD will also donate six Scan Eagle unmanned aircraft systems and associated equipment and training support worth more than $11 million to support LAF’s command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

The department will also grant more than $16 million in communications equipment, electronics, night vision devices and training services to help increase LAF’s close air and joint fire support capacities.

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White House Plans IT Modernization Center of Excellence
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White House Plans IT Modernization Center of Excellence


White House Plans IT Modernization Center of ExcellenceThe White House has partnered with the Agriculture Department, General Services Administration and the information technology industry to create an IT modernization center of excellence, Nextgov reported Thursday.

The CoE will be established to help federal agencies in efforts to modernize legacy IT systems and will build off of a modernization plan the White House American Technology Council unveiled Wednesday.

Joanne Collins Smee, head of the GSA’s technology transformation service, told NextGov the facility to be housed at the agency will manage function-based talent, service and acquisition vehicles.

The report noted USDA will serve as the center’s testbed with the intent to transform customer services.

USDA plans to implement a two-phase modernization effort that will cover strategy and planning development and implementation processes.

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FCC Votes to Rescind Net Neutrality Rules
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FCC Votes to Rescind Net Neutrality Rules


FCC Votes to Rescind Net Neutrality RulesThe Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to overturn net neutrality rules established in 2015, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Net neutrality rules required internet service providers to guarantee clients equal access to all online content.

The repeal of such rules would allow internet companies to accelerate service for some applications and websites as well as slow or block other sites.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement published Thursday that net neutrality regulations have impacted investments in high-speed networks and forced small internet service companies to delay or cancel upgrades to fiber networks.

Pai noted that the move to repeal such regulations seeks to promote competition among broadband service providers, advance innovation, provide broadband companies incentives to develop networks and help FCC ensure transparency among ISPs.

“Our decision today will also return regulatory parity to the internet economy,” he added.

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