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Reps. Steve Chabot, Nydia Velazquez Ask GSA for Updates on Small Business Contracting Efforts
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Reps. Steve Chabot, Nydia Velazquez Ask GSA for Updates on Small Business Contracting Efforts


acquisition policyHouse Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez (D-New York) have asked the General Services Administration for updates on the agency’s efforts to give small businesses opportunities in competitions for federal contracts.

Chabot and Velazquez told GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth in a letter published April 5 that GSA has made it more difficult for small businesses to do business with federal agencies through the adoption of the Category Management contract vehicles instead of Multiple Award Schedules.

“Many of the new contracting vehicles coming out of GSA have bundled so many goods together in one contract that a lot of small businesses do not have the capabilities to bid for it, despite having previously provided some of the goods or services under the MAS contracts,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers described in the letter their views on the potential impact of GSA’s proposed Transactional Data Rule on small firms as well as the amount of contracts awarded by the agency to small businesses for fiscal year 2015.

“In the last fiscal year, GSA excluded approximately 60 percent of the total dollars spent by the agency when it calculated the eligible small business dollars,” the lawmakers said.

“Based on this data, GSA awarded only 18 percent of its dollars to small businesses rather than the 44 percent published in the Small Business Goaling Report.”

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AT&T’s Christopher Boyer to Chair NIST Information Security Board
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AT&T’s Christopher Boyer to Chair NIST Information Security Board


Christopher Boyer
Christopher Boyer

Christopher Boyer, global public policy assistant vice president for AT&T ‘s services business, has been appointed chairman of the National Institute of Standards and Technology‘s Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board.

NIST said Friday Boyer — an ISPAB member since June 2012 — will succeed Peter Weinberger and serve as board chair until June 10, 2020.

ISPAB advises NIST, the homeland security secretary and director of the Office of Management and Budget on information security and privacy matters across government information systems.

Boyer oversees strategic policy positions associated with cybersecurity at AT&T and also serves as the company’s point of contact to the DHS’ National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council, which advises the president on national security and emergency preparedness.

He also participates in organizations such as Communications Sector Coordinating Council; the National Cyber Security Alliance; and the Federal Communications Commission‘s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council.

Jonathan Woodson Retires From DoD Health Assistant Secretary, MHS Leadership Roles
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Jonathan Woodson Retires From DoD Health Assistant Secretary, MHS Leadership Roles

 

Jonathan Woodson
Jonathan Woodson

Jonathan Woodson stepped down from his former roles of assistant defense secretary for health affairs and head of the Military Health System Saturday, DoD News reported Friday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes that the U.S. Army Reserve brigadier general will return to Boston University’s School of Medicine and will help lead efforts to establish a new institute focused on health systems innovation and policy.

Woodson told DoD News he also plans to resume his military service.

In that interview with DoD News, Woodson discussed the work to stand up in Defense Health Agency that wrapped up in October 2013 as the Pentagon sought to create a single organization to oversee Tricare, medical information technology and other care initiatives for soldiers.

“As our costs rise, it competes with the ability of the rest of the organization to train, man, equip and modernize the force. So we needed to create a new, joint structure that allowed us to make enterprise decisions in an agile way to meet the needs in the future yet control costs and so the Defense Health Agency was born,” Woodson said to DoD News.

Woodson also described six main areas he focused on during his tenure such as modernize MHS, define and deliver medical features and manpower needed, balance force structure, invest and expand strategic partnerships, transform TRICARE and aid the expansion of the global health engagement strategy.

 

NASA to Fund 27 Medical Research Proposals for Long-Duration Human Space Exploration
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NASA to Fund 27 Medical Research Proposals for Long-Duration Human Space Exploration


space-engineeringNASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute have picked 27 proposals from 19 research organizations that seek to examine the potential effects of long-duration spaceflight missions on astronauts’ health and performance.

Research teams will receive funds worth a combined $12 million over a one- to three-year period from NASA’s Human Research Program and NSBRI, the institute said Friday.

The winning projects were selected from 131 proposals that were submitted in response to the Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions and NASA’s Human Research Program Artificial Gravity Opportunity announcements.

NASA will manage 20 of the research efforts and NSBRI will oversee the other seven projects.

According to the institute, research teams will investigate how the space environment can affect astronaut vision, behavioral health and performance, physiology and sensorimotor functions.

They aim to help build smart medical technologies in support of NASA’s future missions to Mars and other destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Click here to view the full list of investigative teams that were chosen for the joint space medicine research initiative.

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Bureau of Engraving & Printing Looks for New Currency Technology Officer
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Bureau of Engraving & Printing Looks for New Currency Technology Officer


PenMoneyThe Bureau of Engraving and Printing within the Treasury Department seeks a new candidate to fill the role of the agency’s currency technology officer.

A notice posted April 25 on the USAJobs website states that the CTO will oversee BEP’s research and development efforts and serve as chair of the technical and product development committees to review its technology and product investments.

The chosen candidate will also collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to come up with specific goals for technology and product development organizations that focus on identifying, evaluating and developing tools that can aid the agency’s efforts to address U.S. paper currency authentication and counterfeiting issues.

Duties of the selected candidate include developing strategic vision and priorities that align with BEP and U.S. Currency Program needs; working with the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Reserve System’s currency technology office; serving as BEP’s executive leader and owner of the Technology Development Process and Banknote Development Process; and cultivating talent management, the notice said.

BEP also indicated that the future CTO will report to a deputy director or chief operating officer upon the completion of a planned reorganization at the agency.

Maj. Gen. John Wharton: Army Hosts Summit to Promote Innovation
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Maj. Gen. John Wharton: Army Hosts Summit to Promote Innovation


InnovationLightBulbThe U.S. Army hosted a second summit at Aberdeen Proving Ground last month in an effort to promote innovation.

Representatives from the Army Training and Doctrine Command and Army Materiel Command and technology, military and civilian leaders, scientists and engineers gathered at the two-day summit held April 5 to 6, the Army said Wednesday.

“Our goal is to foster innovation,” said Maj. Gen. John Wharton, event host and commanding general of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command.

“The Army Operating Concept defines innovation as the result of critical and creative thinking and the conversion of new ideas into valued outcomes,” he added.

Paul Jaffe of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory also gave a speech on the U.S. Navy‘s current projects, including a concept called Space Solar that works to capture solar energy in space to be transferred through microwaves onto infrastructure on Earth.

He noted that this Navy concept looks to address issues regarding fossil supply used for energy.

Army officials added that the next summit is projected to commence on August when the organizers look to expand collaboration with partners in industry and academia.

The service branch holds the innovation summit every quarter as part of its Innovation Campaign, Wharton said.

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HASC OKs Purchase of 18 RD-180 Rocket Engines As Amendment to 2017 NDAA
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HASC OKs Purchase of 18 RD-180 Rocket Engines As Amendment to 2017 NDAA


rocket-launchThe House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to a defense policy bill that would allow the Defense Department to buy up to 18 Russian-built RD-180 engines for use on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, Space News reported Thursday.

Mike Gruss writes Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) introduced the amendment to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act hours before the committee voted 60-2 Thursday to advance the bill to the full House.

ULA, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, uses the RD-180 engine on its Atlas V rocket that works to launch U.S. satellites into space for military and intelligence missions.

According to Space News, the U.S. Air Force has been calling on Congress to permit ULA to import approximately 18 RD-180 engines in order to facilitate competition for launch contracts until ULA’s Vulcan rocket is certified and ready to send payloads into space by 2022.

Colin Clark also reported for Breaking Defense that Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), a ranking member of HASC, introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would authorize $100 million in funds to research and develop an upper stage, launch vehicle, strap-on motor and other launch system components.

Such an amendment seeks to ease a plan by HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama), chairman of the HASC strategic forces subcommittee, to limit R&D funds to rocket engines, Clark writes.

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Army Gen. Vincent Brooks Becomes US Forces Korea Commander
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Army Gen. Vincent Brooks Becomes US Forces Korea Commander


Vincent Brooks
Vincent Brooks

U.S. Army Gen. Vincent Brooks officially took the post of commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Combined Forces Command and United Nations Command in a ceremony held Saturday at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea.

The Defense Department said Brooks succeeded Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who will serve as commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commanderat NATO.

Brooks was nominated to the post in March and previously served as U.S. Army Pacific’s commanding general.

“In the present day, the challenges continue to rise, but so does the strength of this alliance and the resolve of the United Nations,” said Brooks.

“We must look into the future with clear eyes, confronting the challenges to peace and prosperity, and doing so in a spirit that is becoming of those who served and sacrificed before us.”

DoD says the 36-year Army veteran has taken command of every level of the service branch, served on the joint staff and held the role of deputy director of operations at U.S. Central Command.

Profile: Michael Brown, CIO of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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Profile: Michael Brown, CIO of Immigration and Customs Enforcement


Michael Brown
Michael Brown

Michael Brown serves as the chief information officer of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He previously worked as executive director of the information technology services office at the Department of Homeland Security where he formed and led an $800 million per year organization that worked to deliver IT services across DHS.

Brown also directed the enterprise infrastructure projects office at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and oversaw CBP’s modernization efforts in tactical communications and IT infrastructure including e-mail and border patrol networks.

Prior to that, he headed more than 600 government and contractor employees as CBP’s systems operations branch director and also managed computer center, call center and network operations as well as nationwide field support.

The 30-year IT vet joined the U.S. Customs Service in 2000 where he developed and maintained software for the import/export and enforcement systems and led a team that specialized in electronic data interchange.

Brown held a 21-year career at the U.S. Navy where he supported the IT program executive office, the Naval Reserve Force, the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the Naval Sea Systems Command.

 

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NIST Report Eyes ‘Quantum-Resistant’ Cryptography
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NIST Report Eyes ‘Quantum-Resistant’ Cryptography


SecurityLockA report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology explores algorithms that can help mitigate the potential threats quantum computing poses on cryptography.

NIST said Thursday the Report on Post-Quantum Cryptography outlines the agency’s plans to secure electronic information in the advent of quantum computers and suggests that organizations switch to safer encryption algorithms.

“There has been a lot of research into quantum computers in recent years, and everyone from major computer companies to the government want their cryptographic algorithms to be what we call ‘quantum resistant,'” said NIST mathematician Dustin Moody.

“So if and when someone does build a large-scale quantum computer, we want to have algorithms in place that it can’t crack.”

He added that the forward-looking approach to the protection of systems from quantum attacks is important because the selection of appropriate cryptographic systems could take up to 20 years.

NIST said it also looks to launch an open collaboration initiative with the public to create and vet cryptographic methods that could repel quantum attacks.

Moody noted that the public competition will likely have more than one winner because quantum computers could break into multiple systems and would therefore require different protection techniques.

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