Report: House Panel Advances $82B Military Construction, Veterans’ Benefits Bill
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Report: House Panel Advances $82B Military Construction, Veterans’ Benefits Bill


Capitol_BuildingThe House Appropriations Committee took up a bill that allocates $81.6 billion to finance military facility construction projects and veterans’ benefits programs for fiscal 2017, Defense News reported Thursday.

Joe Gould writes that spending plan is about $1.8 billion more than the amount Congress authorized for the current fiscal year.

The House adjourned for a two-week recess without taking up an FY 2017 budget resolution, Gould reports.

The report said a floor vote on the blueprint has been stalled by House Republicans’ debate about whether they should stick to a $1.07-trillion government spending deal that President Obama and then-House Speaker John Boehner agreed upon in late 2015.

Gould cited disagreements over the use of the Defense Department‘s overseas contingency operations account to fund military programs.

NASA to Host International Space Apps Challenge in April; Deborah Diaz Comments
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NASA to Host International Space Apps Challenge in April; Deborah Diaz Comments


deep_spaceNASA will host an international challenge that aims to produce technologies that contribute to space exploration efforts that could benefit life on Earth.

Participants from 72 countries will work to develop mobile applications, hardware, software, data visualizations and other platforms during the International Space Apps Challenge from April 22 to 24, the space agency said Wednesday.

“We’re reaching out to women’s organizations influential in the data and maker communities to participate, and we encourage women-led teams in the hackathon,” said Deborah Diaz, NASA chief technology officer for IT.

The event will focus on 26 challenges in the areas of aeronautics, Earth science, space technology, the journey to Mars, the solar system and beyond and the International Space Station.

NASA said over 200 sources will be available as references to answer space exploration questions to support the projects of participating scientists, entrepreneurs, educators and students.

The event will also feature a Data Bootcamp that is open to the public for an opportunity to learn coding and data skills and will be streamed live from Pasadena, California.

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DOJ: Chinese National Enters Guilty Plea in Transport Aircraft, Fighter Jet Data Theft Case
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DOJ: Chinese National Enters Guilty Plea in Transport Aircraft, Fighter Jet Data Theft Case


cyber-hack-network-computerA Chinese national has entered a guilty plea in California for his involvement in a conspiracy to steal military technical information through intrusions into U.S. defense contractors’ computer networks and transmit the stolen data to China.

The Justice Department said in a release posted Wednesday Su Bin, a China-based businessman in the aerospace and aviation sectors, admitted to stealing data related to the C-16 transport aircraft and other fighter planes.

Su Bin — also known as Stephen Subin and Stephen Su — filed his plea agreement with U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder for the Central District of California Wednesday.

According to the agreement, Su conspired with two China-based individuals between October 2008 and March 2014 to breach into the computer systems of Boeing and other contractors in order to access data in the U.S. Munitions List and sell the data for financial gain.

Su agreed to be transferred to the U.S. in February following his arrest in Canada in 2014.

“Cyber crime represents one of the most serious threats to our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker of the Central District of California.

“Today’s guilty plea and conviction demonstrate that these criminals can be held accountable no matter where they are located in the world and that we are deeply committed to protecting our sensitive data in order to keep our nation safe.”

The cyber division within FBI’s Los Angeles field office continues to investigate the case in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force’s office of special investigations.

Snyder is scheduled to issue her ruling on Su’s case in July.

Su faces a five-year prison sentence and a fine of $250,000, according to DOJ.

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Commerce Dept Names Kiersten Todt Nat’l Cyber Commission Exec Director
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Commerce Dept Names Kiersten Todt Nat’l Cyber Commission Exec Director


Commerce-DepartmentCommerce Secretary Penny Pritzker has appointed Kiersten Todt, former managing partner and president of Liberty Group Ventures, as executive director for the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday Todt will work with DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and help the commission devise near- and long-term strategies to secure public and private computer networks.

“Kiersten’s experience in both the public and private sectors make her uniquely qualified to assist the commission as it develops and recommends an agenda to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity,” noted Tom Donilon, chair of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

Todt most recently led Liberty Group Ventures’ efforts to help clients develop risk and crisis management platforms in the cyber, homeland security, infrastructure, higher education and emergency management areas.

Before that, she held positions at Good Harbor Consulting and Business Executives for National Security as well as served as consultant at government-backed Sandia National Laboratories and an adjunct professor at Stanford University.

Her past work also includes stints at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, former Vice President Al Gore’s domestic policy office and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Terry Halvorsen: Legislation Needed to Bolster DoD’s IT Workforce
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Terry Halvorsen: Legislation Needed to Bolster DoD’s IT Workforce


Terry Halvorsen
Terry Halvorsen

Terry Halvorsen, the Defense Department‘s chief information officer, has called for legislative action to help DoD attract and retain information technology professionals, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

Scott Maucione writes Halvorsen told the House Armed Services Committee’s emerging threats and capacities subcommittee Tuesday he believes compensation package that companies offer to entice talented candidates somehow affects IT recruitment efforts at the department.

“We really want them to come in and sit in a position for a year, being able to execute some decisions within the department and then go back to industry,” noted Halvorsen, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2016.

“I think we’ll need to tweak some of the legislation so that can happen more often.”

Subcommittee ranking member Jim Langevin, D-R.I., told the station he would look into the department’s employee recruitment and retention challenges.

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NIST, NFFF Collaborate on Updated Firefighter Safety Research Agenda
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NIST, NFFF Collaborate on Updated Firefighter Safety Research Agenda


firefighterThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to publish a guide for organizations and individuals involved in projects that aim to reduce firefighter injuries and fatalities in the line of duty.

The edition of the 2015 National Fire Service Research Agenda was created at a symposium attended by fire service and research community representatives with a goal to address firefighter survivability concerns, NIST said Wednesday.

The agenda contains 54 recommendations for individuals and organizations that are looking to perform scientific studies or develop related technologies that support NFFF’s Everyone Goes Home program, NIST said.

NIST said the recommendations touch on projects that are grouped into categories such as data collection and data analysis; problem or program analysis and evaluation; and research to practice projects.

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US, Chinese Officials Commission Nuclear Security CoE in Beijing; Ernest Moniz Comments
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US, Chinese Officials Commission Nuclear Security CoE in Beijing; Ernest Moniz Comments


Nuclear powerplantChina has unveiled a new nuclear security center of excellence in Beijing that aims to support international efforts to secure nuclear materials.

Ernest Moniz, secretary of the U.S. Energy Department, along with senior U.S. officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Defense Department, helped commission the new CoE with the China Atomic Energy Authority, DOE said Friday.

The department said the CoE will serve as a hub for activities related to nuclear security technologies and practices.

“This [CoE] is a world-class facility for Chinese, regional and international nuclear security training and technical exchanges,” said Moniz.

The U.S., through the NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, collaborates bilaterally with at least 21 partner nations in Asia, Africa and the Americas in an effort to bolster nuclear security, DOE noted.

DNN is working with partners on current and future CoEs in Japan, South Korea and Kazakhstan.

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Raquel Bono: 78% of DoD’s FY 2017 Defense Health Budget Request for Patient Care
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Raquel Bono: 78% of DoD’s FY 2017 Defense Health Budget Request for Patient Care


Raquel Bono
Raquel Bono

Defense Health Agency Director Raquel Bono said at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday the military will allocate at least three-fourths of its healthcare budget request for fiscal year 2017 to patient care, DoD News reported.

Terri Moon Cronk writes Bono, a U.S. Navy vice admiral, told lawmakers 78 percent of the $33.5 billion request goes directly to patient care in both military treatment and private sector facilities.

Bono also asked the House Appropriations defense subcommittee to support a carryover authority for DoD in FY 2017 as the department has received in previous years.

DHA provides wartime and peacetime medical support and healthcare services to beneficiaries across the Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

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DoD’s Procurement, Acquisition Policy Arm to Update Contract Type Guidelines
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DoD’s Procurement, Acquisition Policy Arm to Update Contract Type Guidelines


acquisition policyThe Defense Department‘s procurement and acquisition policy organization is looking to update its guidance on types of contracts in an effort to clarify requirements for industry partners, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Meredith Somers writes DPAP Director Claire Grady aims to publish two sets of guidelines that address contract types and source selection respectively before March’s end.

Grady told the Acquisition Excellence 2016 conference Tuesday that DPAP seeks to help clarify industry’s understanding of different contract types to help people become more comfortable in using them.

She added DPAP will host a pricing training symposium with DoD’s office of cost assessment and program evaluation this summer to explain the guidebook for participants.

House Draft Bill Calls for Veterans Affairs-DoD EHR Interoperability Progress
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House Draft Bill Calls for Veterans Affairs-DoD EHR Interoperability Progress


Capitol_BuildingHouse appropriators have drafted new legislation that seeks to limit some healthcare-related funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs until the VA certifies the interoperability of its electronic health records with the Defense Department’s EHR system.

The Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act requires the VA decide on its EHR modernization plan before the agency receives $260 million in appropriations for that initiative, the House Appropriations Committee said Tuesday.

Lawmakers have put language in the bill that requires the VA achieve the certification and milestones on functionality and management, the committee said.

The goal is to help deliver care to veterans through what the committee describes as an “accurate exchange of medical data between the VA, DOD and the private sector.”

The VA would receive $52.5 billion for medical services and $176.1 billion in total FY 2017 funds under the legislation.

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