The Department of Energy’s Office of Science will award 111 grants worth $24 million to small businesses in 30 states and the District of Columbia to advance clean energy research and development.

DOE said Tuesday the selected projects will receive Phase I R&D funding under the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs to develop computing, advanced materials and scientific instrumentation in support of the department’s clean energy goals.

Among the selected small businesses are Caporus Technologies, which will develop new silicon-based detector technologies to enable radiation-hard sensors in high energy physics; EnviTrace, which will create artificial intelligence-powered software for urban data analysis; and Greenpath Systems, which will validate a virtual flow metering system for geothermal applications.

The Phase I awards are worth $200,000 on average and will run for a period of 6 to 12 months.

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking companies that provide novel turnkey design and construction services for net-zero buildings.

The agency announced Friday that it is looking for vendors with techniques to improve energy and water efficiency in new facilities owned by the Department of Defense.

DIU said it prefers a nine- to 12-month project that includes advanced energy and water metering and construction materials with “low” global warming potential. Companies with experience in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, principles and Energy Use Intensity standards are at an advantage.

The chosen contractors will be tasked to design, build and commission child development centers on about 40,000 square feet of space at either Joint Expeditionary Base in Little Creek, Virginia or Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.

Proposals are due by Jan. 19, according to DIU.

The Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration have proposed a rule that intends to improve consistency and transparency within the Federal Acquisition Regulation or FAR by closely aligning procurement and nonprocurement procedures on suspension and debarment.

The proposed rule intends to amend FAR in response to the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee’s recommendations, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

According to the notice, the U.S. government uses debarment and suspension procedures to safeguard its business interests. The suspending and debarring official uses two tools with immediate exclusion effect and those are a proposal for debarment and a suspension.

Under the proposed rule, the FAR Council will maintain the use of such tools to provide the suspending and debarring official with the leeway to pick which tool is appropriate for a specific situation.

Instead of an immediate exclusion, the proposed measure suggests the use of a pre-notice letter by the suspending and debarring official.

Proposed changes to FAR include the addition of new definitions for the terms suspending and debarring official; administrative agreement; conviction; pre-notice letter; and voluntary exclusion, as well as an updated definition of civil judgment.

Comments on the proposed rule are due March 11.

The Government Accountability Office has found that civilian agencies’ implementation of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, or FISMA, was mostly ineffective due to various challenges, including gaps in standards, quality control and management accountability.

In a new report, GAO recommends that the Office of Management and Budget collaborate with agency partners to enhance FISMA metrics to address risks, performance goals, workforce issues and agency size.

Inspectors general of 15 of the 23 civilian agencies reported that their agencies did not have effective information security programs in fiscal year 2022, according to GAO’s analysis.

Only eight agencies saw improvements in the effectiveness of their information security programs during the same year, with officials attributing the success to internal communication, leadership commitment and centralized policies and procedures.

NASA’s Artemis II and Artemis III missions will be launched in September 2025 and September 2026, respectively, as the agency addresses challenges observed in the program’s inaugural expedition.

NASA announced Tuesday that it adjusted its lift-off targets for Artemis II and III to ensure the safety of their crew, and to give time for SpaceX and Blue Origin to refine the development of future Artemis human landing systems.

The agency is implementing lessons learned from Artemis I, whose spacecraft heat shield lost char layer pieces during the mission. NASA is also currently testing and qualifying components such as critical environmental control and life support systems, batteries and air ventilation and temperature management circuits.

“We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”

The federal government reported receipts amounting to $1.1 trillion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 and outlays amounting to $1.6 trillion, resulting in a budget deficit total of $509 billion.

The federal budget deficit for the first three months of FY2024 is roughly 21 percent higher than the deficit for the same period in FY2023, the Congressional Budget Office said in its December budget review, which was issued Tuesday.

Receipts for Q1 FY2024 are 8 percent higher than the receipts for Q1 FY2023. The CBO attributed a large portion of the increase to the postponement of some tax deadlines for taxpayers in federally-declared disaster areas. Taxes that would otherwise have been paid in FY2023 were moved to FY2024.

Outlays for Q1 FY2024 are 12 percent higher compared to the same period in FY2023. The CBO pointed to two major contributing factors. First, due to a significant increase in interest rates, net interest on the public debt hit $221 billion, an increase of about $73 billion. Second, due to the need to facilitate the resolution of bank failures in FY2023, outlays for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reached $59 billion, an increase of about $62 billion.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivered a keynote address at a symposium on Tuesday and stated that she has three priorities for the U.S. Navy — warfighting, warfighters and the foundation that supports them.

For the warfighting aspect, Franchetti told the audience at the symposium that she wants the service to bring a “decisive combat power,” the Navy said Tuesday.

“We will prioritize the readiness and capabilities required to fight and win at sea, and the logistics and shore support required to keep our Navy fit to fight,” she said.

Other efforts include advancing naval integration with the U.S. Marine Corps, aligning warfighting initiatives with the Joint Force and driving interoperability with allies.

For the second priority, the admiral said she wants to strengthen the Navy team by advancing the use of principles of mission command to empower leaders, providing education and training to sailors and civilians and recruiting and retaining talented individuals.

When it comes to the last priority, Franchetti stated that she wants the service to earn the trust and confidence of the American people by working with Congress to support the Navy, collaborating with industry and academia to address challenges and advancing integrated deterrence.