GAO: DOE Labs Spent $542M on Internally Directed R&D Projects in Fiscal 2015
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GAO: DOE Labs Spent $542M on Internally Directed R&D Projects in Fiscal 2015


research and development RDThe Energy Department‘s national laboratories have invested a combined $542 million in laboratory-directed research and development programs during fiscal 2015, which accounted for 4.2 percent of their budgets for that year, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

A DOE policy allows its federally funded research facilities to allocate up to six percent of their total annual operating and capital funds to LDRD initiatives, GAO said Friday.

The agency said contractors run national laboratories to perform studies in the national nuclear security, environmental, scientific and energy areas for DOE and other federal agencies.

GAO found during an audit that DOE’s funding limit for LDRD programs is higher than the funding caps the Defense Department has set for two similar programs at DoD.

DoD can invest up to 3 percent of its basic research budget in R&D programs authorized under the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act‘s Section 219 and up to 2.5 percent of that money in In-House Laboratory Independent Research initiatives, the report states.

SEC Enforcement Division Asset Mgmt Unit Co-Chief Marshall Sprung to Retire in April
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SEC Enforcement Division Asset Mgmt Unit Co-Chief Marshall Sprung to Retire in April


Securities and Exchange CommissionMarshall Sprung, the Securities and Exchange Commission‘s co-chief of the enforcement division asset management unit, will leave the agency in April.

He joined SEC in 2003 and has since led investigations of investment advisers for numerous misconduct incidents that involved valuation, disclosure, conflicts of interest, fund governance and the advisory contract approval process, SEC said Monday.

Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said that Sprung aided the unit grow its knowledge and led efforts to adopt data-driven approaches.

He also received numerous awards during his stint with the agency such as the SEC Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Leadership and the Arthur F. Mathews Award.

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CNAS to Form Task Force for DoD-Industry Collaboration Project
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CNAS to Form Task Force for DoD-Industry Collaboration Project

CNAS to Form Task Force for DoD-Industry Collaboration ProjectThe Center for a New American Security has launched a new project that will employ the help of a task force comprising industry leaders that will work to develop a new vision for collaboration between the Defense Department and industry partners.

CNAS said Wednesday the “Future Foundry: Forging New Industries for Defense” project will be led by Ben FitzGerald, CNAS technology and national security program director and senior fellow.

The task force will be joined by nine industry leaders and co-chaired by William Lynn, DRS Technologies CEO and a former deputy defense secretary secretary; and Sean O’Keefe, a retired NASA administrator and former CEO of Airbus‘ North American subsidiary.

The project seeks to build on the CNAS team’s two-year research on the challenges facing the global defense industry and in relation to the DoD’s technological efforts, the organization added.

The members of the task force are:

  • Denis Bovin, a senior adviser at Evercore
  • Marta Dassu, senior director of European affairs at The Aspen Institute
  • John Fenwick, a co-founder of Terra Bella
  • Nate Fick, CEO of Endgame
  • Mark Koro, vice president for government affairs at Qualcomm
  • Mike Leiter, executive vice president and head of integration at Leidos
  • Ellen Lord, CEO of Textron‘s systems segment
  • Greg Mallory, global aerospace and defense leader at BCG
  • James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox

 

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Ashton Carter: US to Deploy THAAD Weapon System for Defense in South Korea
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Ashton Carter: US to Deploy THAAD Weapon System for Defense in South Korea


Ashton Carter
Ashton Carter

Defense Department Secretary Ashton Carter has said at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York that the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea will push through, Reuters reported Friday.

David Brunnstrom writes Carter added that China, which has raised concerns over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense deployment, should assist in efforts to counter North Korea’s missile development activities.

“It’s a necessary thing,” Carter said of the planned THAAD deployment.

“It’s between us and the South Koreans; it’s part of protecting our own forces on the Korean peninsula and protecting South Korea,” he added.

North Korea’s missile tests spurred talks between the U.S. and South Korea, but China opposes the agreement over concerns that THAAD could be used to spy on the latter’s territory, Defense News said Friday.

The THAAD system features six truck-mounted launchers, 49 interceptors, a fire control and communications unit and an AN/TPY-2 radar, Aaron Mehta wrote.

Carter has said he believes China can work either with the U.S. and South Korea or bilaterally with North Korea to address the missile concerns, the report said.

David Shulkin: New VA Initiatives Aim to Increase Veterans’ Access to Care
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David Shulkin: New VA Initiatives Aim to Increase Veterans’ Access to Care


medical health doctorDavid Shulkin, undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, told an Association of Health Care Journalists conference Friday that VA has launched new efforts to help military veterans access primary and mental healthcare services.

“We are working to rebuild the trust of the American public and more importantly the trust of the veterans whom we are proud to serve,” Shulkin said Friday.

VA aims to increase the number of medical centers that provide same-day appointment services, if necessary, to veterans through MyVA Access program.

The program is part of a broader initiative to transform VA into a customer service-focused department.

The department has also started to deploy the Veteran Appointment Request App that will work to help users view, book or cancel appointments with healthcare providers.

VA also piloted a new scheduling software program designed to help veterans to check wait times at various hospitals in real time as well as to help clinicians minimize scheduling errors and allow department personnel to monitor demand, supply and usage of healthcare services.

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NIST, Industry Discuss Proposed Updates to Cybersecurity Framework; Donna Dodson Comments
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NIST, Industry Discuss Proposed Updates to Cybersecurity Framework; Donna Dodson Comments


Donna Dodson
Donna Dodson

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has gathered industry participants at a workshop meant to review the proposed changes to the NIST cybersecurity framework, FedScoop reported Thursday.

Greg Otto writes that NIST held the workshop at its Gaithersburg, Maryland-based campus to discuss feedback gathered from various organizations that responded to its December 2015 request for information on best practices for using the framework.

“[There] are opportunities to make small changes, clarifications and maybe to expand some areas where it could be appropriate… versus [creating] a framework 2.0,” NIST Chief Cybersecurity Adviser Donna Dodson told FedScoop.

The RFI was also intended to gauge what parts of the framework organizations have adopted and to determine the portions that need updating, according to the report.

Boeing, AT&T, CompTIA and NASCIO were among the organizations that submitted proposals on the cybersecurity framework, FedScoop reports.

CBO: US Deficit Hits $457B in First Half of Fiscal Year 2016
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CBO: US Deficit Hits $457B in First Half of Fiscal Year 2016


budget analysis reviewA Congressional Budget Office report says the U.S. budget deficit for the first half of the government’s 2016 fiscal year is about $18 billion more than the $439 billion shortfall the agency recorded in the first half of FY 2015.

CBO said Thursday the amount of revenues the government has earned from individual and corporate income taxes and other sources grew 4 percent over the past six months to approximately $1.5 trillion.

Federal outlays also climbed 4 percent in the six-month period to $1.9 trillion, driven primarily by increased interest payments on the public debt and spending levels on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs, the report states.

The government incurred a $104 billion deficit during the month of March, a $15 billion increase from the prior-year period’s figure.

The amounts of government revenue and spending in the past month were $229 billion and $334 billion, respectively, CBO noted.

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Reuters: Air Force Fields B-52s to Qatar to Support Campaign Against Islamic State Group
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Reuters: Air Force Fields B-52s to Qatar to Support Campaign Against Islamic State Group


Air Force logoThe U.S. Air Force deployed an undisclosed number of Boeing-built B-52 bombers to Qatar in a move to support defensive operations and respond to future contingencies in the Middle East against the Islamic State militant organization, Reuters reported Saturday.

Andrea Shalal writes Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of the Air Forces Central Command, said the command plans to use the aircraft to support weapons delivery mission as well as perform close-air support, maritime and strategic attack operations in the region.

Lt. Col. Chris Karns, a spokesman for the Central Command, told Reuters that the service branch will not use the bombers in carpet bombing operations since the Islamic State organization does not assemble in large groups.

The B-52 aircraft has eight Pratt & Whitney-built TF33-P-3/103 turbofan engines and is designed to carry up to 70,000 pounds of air-launched cruise missiles, bombs, miniature air-launched decoys and other weapons.

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US to Allocate $120M in 2016 Military Aid for The Philippines
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US to Allocate $120M in 2016 Military Aid for The Philippines


military in trainingThe U.S. government will grant approximately $120 million in military aid to the Philippines in 2016 at the largest amount of support in approximately 15 years , Reuters reported Friday.

Manuel Mogato writes Jose Cuisia, Philippine ambassador to the U.S., told American Chamber of Commerce members in Manila Friday the Philippines is negotiating with the U.S. terms to  a fourth Hamilton-class ship in an effort to patrol waters.

Cuisia said the aid from the U.S. government will help support the Philippines’ defense and security efforts, Reuters reported

Cuisia added the annual military aid increased to $79 million from an estimated $50 million in 2015 while an additional $42 million will be given to Manila under the new U.S. Southeast Asia Maritime Initiative, Mogato wrote.

John Sopko: Spending Audits, Anti-Corruption Efforts to Continue in Afghanistan
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John Sopko: Spending Audits, Anti-Corruption Efforts to Continue in Afghanistan


John Sopko
John Sopko

John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, has said Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has launched efforts to address corruption involving monopolies and oligarchs that draw off money from U.S. and Afghan contracts, Defense News reported Monday.

Sopko told Defense News reporter Jen Judson in an interview that corruption is one of the problems Afghanistan’s unity government currently faces amid a drawdown in U.S. troops and security challenges in the country.

“One of the things that came out of my meeting with [Ghani] is that we worked out an arrangement where he is going to give my people full access to the Kabul bank records to try to track down the money and recover it for the Afghan government and the Afghan people,” Sopko said.

He told Defense News that his team has begun to conduct financial and program audits of the projects launched by the now-defunct Task Force for Business and Stability Operations within the Defense Department.

TFBSO closed in 2015 five years after it was launched to help Afghanistan in its economic rebuilding efforts.

Sopko noted that his office also plans to carry out an audit of the Kajakai Dam construction project and Promote, an education initiative that the U.S. Agency for International Development launched for Afghan women.

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