The House voted 342-85 Wednesday evening to pass a stopgap spending bill that would fund the operations of the federal government through Dec. 9 and prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1, The Hill newspaper reported Wednesday.

Sarah Ferris and Cristina Marcos write the Senate initially rejected the proposed legislation Tuesday but approved it Wednesday after House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) struck an agreement to pass a bipartisan amendment to a House water resources bill that would authorize $170 million in funds to address lead contamination in Flint, Michigan.

Mike DeBonis also reports for The Washington Post that the stopgap funding bill would allocate $1.1 billion to stop the spread of the Zika virus and $500 million to fund emergency flood relief efforts in Louisiana and other states.

Veterans programs would also receive a full year of funding under the proposed measure, DeBonis writes.

The report said the House deal could help pave the way for the inclusion of the Flint aid package in the final water projects bill as both chambers of Congress work to reach a compromise on both versions of the proposed measure.

The Government Accountability Office has called for a streamlining in the market access commitments of government procurement agreements.

GAO released a report on Tuesday that details the provisions and market access schedules of select international procurement agreements across six agreements in an effort to identify similarities and variations.

The report covers agreements such as the 1994 GPA and the 2014 revised GPA, NAFTA, the South Korea-FTA, the Colombia-FTA, and the Australia-FTA.

GAO found the World Trade Organization’s agreement on government procurement and other U.S. free trade agreements’ government procurement chapters contain similar text and commitments.

The government watchdog also concluded that a number of differences existed because of new technologies reflected in later agreements.

Vice Adm. Luke McCollum, formerly deputy commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, has transitioned into a new post as chief of Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force.

McCollum relieved Vice Adm. Robin Braun during a change of command ceremony at Admiral Leutze Park on the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, the Reserve Force Public Affairs said Wednesday.

A 1983 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, McCollum was designated surface warfare officer in 1985 and took his first assignment aboard USS Blue Ridge.

His sea tours include tenure at the USS Kinkaid and USS Valley Forge, with deployments to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and operations off South America.

He was also the commander of Maritime Expeditionary Squadron 1 and Combined Task Group 56.5 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008.

McCollum has held flag officer assignments with the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

The Department of Homeland Security has solicited input from the critical infrastructure sector for a study that seeks to validate existing and future positioning, navigation and timing requirements.

DHS released Sept. 22 public notice in the Federal Register to invite industry to participate in the study meant to address the need for precise timing within the critical infrastructure sectors.

DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate and the National Protection and Programs Directorate’s Office of Infrastructure Protection will coordinate with the Transportation Department, which also seeks to implement PNT requirements for the transportation sector, to facilitate the study.

The department aims to use study findings to support PNT services development efforts, according to the notice.

DHS said the research project will initially focus on timing requirements within the electricity and wireless communications sectors.

Interested organizations or individuals can submit input through Feb. 28, 2017.

Lt. Gen. Nadja West, surgeon general of the U.S. Army and commander of Army Medical Command, has pinpointed readiness as the single number one priority for the command during a forum held Thursday in Washington, the Army News Service reported Saturday.

David Vergun writes West told audience at a forum hosted by the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare that she believes the service branch’s medical readiness is a three-pronged effort.

She said the first element calls for a medically-ready force that is prepared to perform any operation and the second prong seeks a medical capability for future Army and joint force missions.

West added the third element of the branch’s medical readiness should focus on taking care of soldiers and their families.

The report said Army researchers currently develop new technologies at various laboratories across the U.S. in efforts to help protect soldiers in the battlefield.