The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to update its information security program and move program planning forward for the follow-on Joint Polar Satellite System as recommended in a study by the Government Accountability Office.

In the study posted Tuesday, GAO noted that NOAA’s $11 billion JPSS program has experienced milestone delays, such as a two-year delayed delivery of a JPSS-1 instrument, and a cost growth of up to 16 percent for other components.

GAO also found that although NOAA has implemented key information security policies as the National Institute of Standards and Technology recommended, JPSS has not fully adopted half of the recommended security controls and fully addressed vulnerabilities.

NOAA plans to deploy new JPSS satellites for data continuity, although the report has also indicated that the agency should work on a strategy to address a potential satellite data gap by further assessing the health and service life of the current satellites.

The Federal Communications Commission is looking for a chief data officer for its office of strategic planning and policy analysis.

FCC said in a USAJobs announcement posted Wednesday that the incumbent will require a Top Secret security clearance and work to develop policies on the commission’s national data assets.

The role entails support for strategic policy areas such cross-commission efforts on data management, data quality, data security and the procurement of valuable data, the announcement said.

The chief data officer will advise senior FCC management on data availability and usefulness for commission staff, industry and the general public.

FCC said the incumbent will interact with external stakeholders — including Congress and the Executive Branch — as well as public interest and industry organizations that have a stake in national telecommunications data assets.

The chief data officer will also represent FCC on national data management and analysis policy concerns.

The job offer will be open for applicants until June 10.

Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) have asked the Office of Personnel Management to provide information on how it will set up a new bureau that would oversee background investigations, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Eric Yoder writes the lawmakers told Beth Cobert, acting OPM director, in a letter that they want OPM to provide a timeline for the establishment of the National Background Investigations Bureau that would replace the Federal Investigative Services branch.

The move to replace FIS resulted from an internal assessment following breaches at OPM in 2015 that compromised the personal data of approximately 21 million former and current federal employees, Yoder reports.

McCaskill and Tester also requested updates on information technology systems for the new bureau, approaches to address background investigation backlog, changes to investigative policies, federal contractors and employees as well as annual operating costs, according to the newspaper.

The lawmakers “want to ensure that the NBIB will not simply be a new name for the FIS,” according to the letter.

“It is critical that you make significant structural changes to improve the integrity, management and oversight of the security clearance process,” the senators wrote.

Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) and Tom Carper (D-Delaware) have requested the Office of Management and Budget to provide updates on a pilot program that seeks to reduce reporting costs for federal contractors in compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014.

In a letter published Tuesday, the lawmakers asked OMB Director Shaun Donovan to provide information on how the Office of Federal Procurement Policy would implement the Government Accountability Office’s recommendations for the pilot program.

According to the letter, OFPP launched the pilot initiative to build software designed to help contractors publish reports on a central website.

Johnson and Carper co-wrote the letter with Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

GAO’s recommendations include a redesign of the program to assess data elements and development of a project plan that adheres to pilot project management practices.

The senators called for OMB to submit a plan that details schedules and tasks the agency plans to undertake in order to comply with GAO’s recommendations as well as describe the role of the General Services Administration in the pilot program.

The lawmakers asked OMB to submit its response by May 27, according to the letter.