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Minority Business Dev’t Agency Funds USC to Open LA Business Center
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Minority Business Dev’t Agency Funds USC to Open LA Business Center


investment money exchangeThe Minority Business Development Agency has awarded a grant to the University of Southern California to operate a business center in Los Angeles under a program that aims to help minority-owned companies generate jobs and grow their businesses.

MBDA said Wednesday funding will be spread out over a five-year period beginning April 1.

The Business Center Network program has worked to provide access to technical expertise and resources to minority firms since 2009, the agency said.

MBDA further noted California has an estimated 1.6 million minority companies that employ approximately 1.6 million local residents.

The agency, which is part of the Commerce Department, said it plans to announce additional information on grant winners and opportunities.

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Treasury, OMB: Some Agencies Likely to Miss DATA Act Implementation Deadline
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Treasury, OMB: Some Agencies Likely to Miss DATA Act Implementation Deadline


budget analysis reviewThe Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget have indicated that some agencies are not likely to hit the May 2017 deadline for the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Meredith Somers writes David Lebryk, fiscal assistant treasury secretary, told the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that all agencies have completed the first four of eight steps to implement the new standards for government transparency.

“We have 17 or 18 of the 24 actually come to the sandbox already and actually taken files and put them into the prototype broker,” Lebryk said during the meeting.

OMB Controller David Mader also told Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) that he was unsure whether all 24 of those agencies are going to keep up with the rollout schedule.

Mader said agencies will proceed with full implementation once their financial management system updates and technology patches are in place, Mohana Ravindranath reported Wednesday for Nextgov.

Introduced by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in 2013, the DATA Act seeks to require government agencies to make their spending data available to the public.

GSA Unveils Real Estate Sustainability Practices Tool
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GSA Unveils Real Estate Sustainability Practices Tool


NSF_buildingThe General Services Administration has introduced a new tool intended to help users identify and apply sustainable building practices in the design of workplaces.

GSA said Wednesday the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings developed the Sustainable Facilities Tool website as an interactive tool that is meant to guide users on sustainable real estate operations.

SFTool aims to help project managers understand federal sustainability requirements, inform project planning, raise sustainability awareness among partners and stakeholders and explore green building products.

The website shows the Plan feature to assist users in their exploration of sustainability practices.

GSA also aims to provide opportunities to help users further engage with SFTool.

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Former SEC Senior Counsel Michael Missal Confirmed as Veterans Affairs IG
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Former SEC Senior Counsel Michael Missal Confirmed as Veterans Affairs IG


Veterans Affairs Department logoThe Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama’s nomination of former Securities and Exchange Commission Senior Counsel Michael Missal as the new inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs, The Hill newspaper reported Tuesday.

Jordain Carney writes the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee first approved Missal for the IG post in January to replace Richard Griffin, who held the role on an acting basis until he left the department last year.

The permanent VA IG role has been vacant since George Opfer’s November 2013 retirement after eight years in the post.

House Draft Bill Eyes NRO to Manage Part of Air Force Space Weather Missions
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House Draft Bill Eyes NRO to Manage Part of Air Force Space Weather Missions


satelliteA House subcommittee has drafted a bill that would give the National Reconnaissance Office authority over some of the U.S. Air Force’s space weather programs, Space News reported Tuesday.

The House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subpanel released Tuesday the draft version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2017, which includes a provision that would require the Air Force to develop a plan to facilitate the transfer of procurement and funding functions for some of those programs to NRO, Mike Gruss writes.

The draft bill would hold off half of the $119 million in funds the service branch requested for the Weather Satellite Follow-on program in 2017 until it comes up with a plan for the transition that would occur between 2018 and 2022.

“The committee has been concerned with the Air Force’s lack of planning, coordination and execution of activities to meet the top two Joint Requirements Oversight Council certified requirements for space-based environmental monitoring,” according to a report accompanying the draft legislation.

Such requirements include the provision of in-theater weather imagery and cloud characterization services, Gruss reports.

Army Conducts Underwater Demolition Training Off Hawaii Coast; Charles Masters Comments
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Army Conducts Underwater Demolition Training Off Hawaii Coast; Charles Masters Comments


120330-N-RI884-006U.S. Army divers commenced its annual underwater demolition training at Puuloa Range Complex near Hawaii from April 12 to 14.

During the exercises, members of the 7th Engineer Dive Detachment within the 8th Theater Sustainment Command set off a total of nine explosive charges 65 feet underwater using time-delay fuses, the Army said Monday.

“It entails all of our guys going in and doing their checkoffs for dive as well as getting hands on demolition, making charges, inspecting the charges and then detonating,” said 1st Lt. Charles Masters, the executive officer for 7th EDD and training lead.

The logistics support vessel Harold C. Clinger supported the mission and served as the transportation for the divers and explosives.

Masters noted that the exercises were conducted to train the troops, complete diver checkoffs as well as monitor and collect data on the effect of underwater demolition to marine life using a hydrophone and underwater cameras.

“[We] have a 500-yard radius for mitigation zone for the underwater demolition range where we have three Zodiac boats looking for any marine life that might come into the mitigation zone, where we have to stop the demolition,” he added.

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NIST-Led Initiative Outlines Cybersecurity Education, Workforce Development Efforts in Strategic Plan
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NIST-Led Initiative Outlines Cybersecurity Education, Workforce Development Efforts in Strategic Plan


cyberA National Institute of Standards and Technology-led initiative has unveiled a new strategic plan that seeks to guide and facilitate federal programs in support of a cybersecurity-focused national education initiative.

Rodney Petersen, director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, wrote in an article in the spring 2016 edition of NICE eNewsletter, that the strategic plan details NICE’s objectives, values, mission and vision in compliance with the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014.

Under the plan, NICE will work to develop and promote cybersecurity training, education and workforce development through certifications, performance-based evaluations and implementation of the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework.

NICE will also advance the use of cooperative education initiatives and apprenticeships as part of its initial goal to facilitate skills development and learning.

Another objective in the strategic plan is to support a “diverse learning community” through programs that aim to involve minorities, veterans and women in the cybersecurity workforce.

NICE’s third goal is to provide workforce planning and career development guidance through NIST-sponsored grants such as the NICE Challenge Project and the Cybersecurity Jobs Heat Map.

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Army Corps of Engineers Erects New Wind Turbine for Sustainable Energy Project
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Army Corps of Engineers Erects New Wind Turbine for Sustainable Energy Project


ArmyWindTurbineThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has unveiled a second wind turbine in Utah as part of the Tooele Army Depot’s sustainable energy network project.

USACE said Monday the new 300-foot turbine and the first unit completed in July 2010 will contribute to a $6.5 million sustainable energy network project that aims to generate 2 megawatts of power when it becomes fully operational later this year.

Both two turbines could generate up to 60 percent of the depot’s energy requirements combined, the Army added.

A 1.5-megawatt solar array with 429 Stirling engine solar dishes across 15 acres will also contribute to Tooele’s renewable energy mission of producing its own energy needs come 2020.

The Corps of Engineers’ collaboration with the depot is part of the Energy Conservation Investment Program that aims to support military installations and provide environmental and tactical benefits.

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Frank Kendall: Future of Military Innovation Depends on DoD Budget
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Frank Kendall: Future of Military Innovation Depends on DoD Budget


Frank Kendall
Frank Kendall

Frank Kendall, acquisition chief at the Defense Department, has said the fiscal 2017 DoD budget proposal supports the department’s efforts to help the U.S. maintain a long-term advantage in military technology, DoD News reported Wednesday.

He told the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee Wednesday that DoD requested a $3 billion increase in research and development funds for the next fiscal year.

“This budget increases the use of prototyping, demonstrations and experimentation to help the department more rapidly mature technology and assess the impact these innovative technologies can have on the future force,” Kendall added, the publication reports.

The report said Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Director Arati Prabhakar informed subcommittee members during the same meeting that DARPA collaborates with various companies, universities and laboratories to discover breakthrough technologies that can aid in national security efforts.

She cited an agency-run program that aims to build artificial intelligence-based aircraft technology intended to jam adversaries’ radar systems.

White House Raises Number of Outcome-Based Feasibility Studies Nationwide
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White House Raises Number of Outcome-Based Feasibility Studies Nationwide


WhiteHouseThe Obama administration has increased the number of nationwide feasibility studies intended to help the government pay for services that produce outcomes based on requirements.

With Pay For Success (PFS) the government will pay for social services after specific, measurable, and positive outcomes are reached, as opposed to funding upfront.

The White House announced Tuesday that the PFS feasibility studies across the country have reached 58 with the addition of 25 new studies.

The federal government will fund the studies through the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) program at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The PFS feasibility studies form part of the administration’s initiative to help state and local governments evaluate the use of the PFS program for their priority local challenges.

In additional to the already completed feasibility studies the SIF will also collaborate with a new grantee the Nonprofit Finance Fund to help structure the agreements for nine PFS studies, which is the final step in preparation for project implementation.

SIF grantees engaged in new feasibility studies are:

  •     Corporation for Supportive Housing
  •     Green and Healthy Homes Initiative
  •     Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab
  •     Institute for Child Success
  •     National Council on Crime and Delinquency
  •     Third Sector Capital Partners
  •     University of Utah Sorenson Impact Center

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