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Jayanta Bhattacharya to Lead NIH Following Senate Confirmation
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Jayanta Bhattacharya to Lead NIH Following Senate Confirmation

The Senate has confirmed Jayanta Bhattacharya as the next director of the National Institutes of Health by a vote of 53 to 47. He is set to take over as head of the NIH, a role held by Matthew Memoli since January 2025 in an acting capacity.

Bhattacharya’s Credentials

Bhattacharya, whom then President-Elect Donald Trump nominated in November 2024, serves as a professor of medicine at Stanford University, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute and director of Stanford’s Center on the Demography and Economics of Health and Aging.

The newly-confirmed NIH director is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research and at Acumen.

He holds a doctorate degree in economics from Stanford University and a doctor of medicine degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Priorities as NIH Director

During his confirmation hearing on March 5, Bhattacharya told Senate lawmakers that his priorities as NIH director would include a greater emphasis on chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.

Bhattacharya also said the NIH should be more open to dissenting perspectives regarding scientific issues. Bhattacharya himself held dissenting views regarding the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as articulated in an open letter released in October 2020 called the Great Barrington Declaration, which he co-authored.

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Greg Autry Nominated for NASA Chief Financial Officer
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Greg Autry Nominated for NASA Chief Financial Officer

Greg Autry has been nominated by President Donald Trump for chief financial officer at NASA on March 24.

The agency said Tuesday NASA acting administrator Janet Petro issued a statement announcing the nomination. According to Petro, if confirmed, Autry will be responsible for handling over $25 billion in funds for Moon and Mars missions and other projects.

“With his previous experience as the White House liaison during President Trump’s first administration, as well as his extensive experience in space policy, I look forward to welcoming Greg as our next CFO,” said Petro. “If confirmed, we will work together with the current Trump Administration to ensure NASA’s success in maximizing efficiencies, refining our processes and remaining effective stewards of every tax dollar invested in our agency,” she added.

Who Is Greg Autry?

Autry is currently an associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at the University of Central Florida. As the university’s Space Czar, he is tasked with developing strategies and maintaining partnerships with industry and government space agencies. He is also a visiting professor at Imperial College London and a member of the board at Elevated Materials.

He spent nearly three years as the business case subcommittee chair responsible for assessing business cases in proposals for the agency’s In Space Production Applications. Autry was also chair of the safety working group advising the Office of Commercial Space Transportation of the Federal Aviation Administration and was part of the NASA Agency Review Landing Team.

His career in the academe includes stints with the Thunderbird School of Global Management, University of Oxford, International Space University, University of California’s Paul Merage School of Business and Chapman University.

Autry was previously nominated for CFO at NASA in 2020 but was unconfirmed.

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GSA’s Stephen Ehikian on Centralizing Procurement, Advancing GenAI
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GSA’s Stephen Ehikian on Centralizing Procurement, Advancing GenAI

Stephen Ehikian, acting administrator of the General Services Administration, said streamlining and centralizing procurement and rationalizing IT infrastructure and software as a shared service are part of his vision for GSA.

Centralizing Government Procurement

In a blog post published Tuesday, Ehikian wrote that GSA has started an initiative with four agencies to centralize the procurement of common goods and services in accordance with a recently signed executive order.

To streamline the procurement process, he said GSA is working with Federal Acquisition Regulation council partners to restore merit-based opportunity in contracting and updating compliance standards to accelerate the adoption of best-in-class technologies.

The agency is also working to improve its technology infrastructure for procurement to improve vendor management, reduce paper-based workflows and enhance data-driven decisions.

Advancing Generative AI, Breaking Down Data Silos

As part of GSA’s IT infrastructure rationalization effort, the acting chief said the agency will continue to pilot generative artificial intelligence to enable contracting officers and acquisition officials to search across acquisition policies, internal directives or circulars, and code generation.

Ehikian noted that the agency is working to break down data silos to improve collaboration, enhance communication and prepare for future AI opportunities.

Other initiatives under this effort are driving automation and reimagining the FedRAMP authorization process to accelerate secure cloud adoption across agencies. 

The GSA official said the agency also aims to optimize software and cloud spending by “conducting a line-by-line evaluation of every technology solution, ensuring we only pay for the licenses that we use and eliminate redundant systems.”

Other GSA Initiatives

Ehikian said his vision for the agency includes optimizing GSA’s federal buildings portfolio and embracing the agency’s model of efficiency.

Initiatives to optimize the agency’s buildings portfolio include reducing deferred maintenance liabilities, increasing office occupancy and advancing greater interoperability between agencies.

GSA will also assess its operations and consolidate shared services to realize efficiencies.

“My goal is that GSA returns to our founding mission of streamlining federal operations, consolidating resources and efficiently providing essential services that allow government agencies to focus on their core missions,” Ehikian wrote. 

“GSA is the tip of the spear – we’re setting the example for other agencies and serving as a collaborative partner to help them cut wasteful contract spending, right size the federal real estate portfolio and deploy software to drive efficiency and productivity,” he added.

Attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit on April 24, and hear experts discuss how emerging technologies are reshaping government operations. Register now!

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DOD Considers Turning Advana Into Program of Record
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DOD Considers Turning Advana Into Program of Record

Breaking Defense reported Tuesday that the Department of Defense indicated in an internal memo its intent to make the Advana big-data platform of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, or CDAO, into a formal program of record.

What Does the DOD Memo Say?

Steven Morani, acting under secretary of defense for sustainment at DOD, signed the memo on March 13, directing the CDAO Component Acquisition Executive, or CAE, to submit within 30 days drafts of a capability needs statement, program roadmap, program cost estimate and “other supporting documentation” to determine whether to turn Advana into a program of record.

Morani wrote that the DOD acquisition and sustainment team should submit within 60 days “courses of action for my approval regarding pausing the issuance of any solicitation covering Advana efforts sponsored or executed by the CDAO CAE, acquisition pathway(s), program management appointment and a transition agency for Advana.”

What Is Advana?

Managed by CDAO, Advana is the Pentagon’s enterprise data and analytics environment.

The platform provides DOD users with tools, analytics and services as well as data derived from the department’s over 400 business systems to facilitate data-driven decision-making.

In 2021, the General Services Administration awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $674 million contract to provide maintenance and related support for DOD’s Advana platform.

CDAO’s Plans for Advana Recompete

In September, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office hosted an industry day to discuss its plans for a recompete contract as part of efforts to scale Advana and work with additional vendors, particularly small businesses and nontraditional contractors.

Breaking Defense reported the potential 10-year Advana multivendor recompete contract could be worth up to $15 billion.

Find out more about how data analytics, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could be leveraged to transform government operations at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit on April 24. Secure your spot now!

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MDA Plans Live Hypersonic Missile Defense Demo
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MDA Plans Live Hypersonic Missile Defense Demo

The Missile Defense Agency is planning a live hypersonic missile intercept demonstration after the test completion of a simulated engagement Monday using Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Combat System. In an MDA statement Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, MDA director and a Wash100 awardee, stressed the critical need for defense against the “increasingly dangerous threat” of hypersonic missiles.

“The Aegis Weapon System will play a vital role in the next-generation integrated air and missile defense system, and (the) test demonstrated key achievements as we continue to partner with the Navy in advancing our nation’s counter-hypersonic capabilities,” the MDA chief noted.

Test Elements Aboard USS Pinckney

Monday’s Flight Test Other-40, or FTX 40, was performed aboard USS Pinckney (DDG 91) wherein an updated Standard Missile-6 was deployed for the simulated engagement against an air-launched medium range ballistic missile with a Hypersonic Target Vehicle-1 front end. The test used the Sea Based Terminal Increment 3 function incorporated in the latest Aegis software framework. Also known as Stellar Banshee, the test also enabled data collection for the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor demonstration satellite.

FTX-40 follows through on FTM-32, a 2024 SBT Increment 3 flight test experiment aboard an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for the detection, tracking, engagement and SM-6 interception of an MRBM target at its flight’s terminal phase. The live hypersonic missile intercept demo that MDA plans next will be called Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-43, or FTM-43.

In April, a fully virtualized Aegis Combat System was deployed from the USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) to intercept an air target with a missile during the final phase of a combat system qualification trials that made the vessel the first U.S. Navy ship operating the Aegis system.

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Defense Leaders Discuss Skills-Based Hiring at DOD
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Defense Leaders Discuss Skills-Based Hiring at DOD

The U.S. military’s transition to skills-based hiring requires an overhaul of existing processes, according to defense officials. At a recent event, hiring managers from the Navy, the Air Force and the Marines shared required changes to improve personnel recruitment processes at the Department of Defense.

Modernizing the Hiring Process

The Marine Corps has already implemented skills-based hiring practices, with hiring managers conducting a pre-employment test that consists of work samples, case studies and skills-based interviews, shared Jing Deng, the service branch’s chief human capital officer for intelligence and cyber and workforce director. 

Jane Rathbun, chief information officer at the Navy and a two-time Wash 100 Award recipient, advocated for the return of the civil service tests, which were in place back when fewer people had college degrees. 

“Whether they have a piece of paper or not should not matter,” she commented. 

Rathbun added that the military should adopt rapid hiring. Currently, it takes an average of 80 days to fill an empty position, which the official says is “way too long.”

Meanwhile, Venice Goodwine, Air Force CIO and also a Wash100 awardee, decried the long processes job applicants endure when using the USAJOBS website, which is the federal government’s platform for hiring opportunities. 

Goodwine also commended the DOD Cyber Workforce Framework, which standardizes knowledge, skills and abilities across the entire department. She said the framework has made cyber incident response easier.

“Now, when you have these cyber events like SolarWinds or Log4j, and we require a certain skill set, we can just send out one meeting call, and they’ll all come,” Goodwine said.

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GSA Announces Multiple Award Schedule ‘Rightsizing’ Initiative
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GSA Announces Multiple Award Schedule ‘Rightsizing’ Initiative

The General Services Administration has launched a rightsizing initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Multiple Award Schedule, or MAS, Program.

In a statement published Monday, Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, said the rightsizing effort presents an opportunity for the agency to prioritize fiscal responsibility and value in contracting.

What Does the Rightsizing Effort Entail?

Under the rightsizing initiative, GSA will allow MAS contracts that do not meet the sales thresholds to expire, eliminate low-demand items that fail to bring meaningful procurement benefits, reduce redundancies with other procurement channels and address noncompliance of MAS contractors, including performance concerns.

GSA will also remove inefficiencies, simplify processes and ensure proper alignment of oversight and management within the MAS program.

“With these actions, we can put our agency resources where they get the most impactful return on investment — and that means the goods and services that are most in demand by federal customers,” Gruenbaum noted.

“By refocusing the program on the items and services the government is actually buying, we can help our industry partners maximize their time and efforts while providing the best pricing possible for these mission-critical needs,” the FAS commissioner added.

What Is the MAS Program?

The MAS program is reportedly the world’s largest commercial acquisition program, recording over $51.5 billion in sales in fiscal year 2024. It helps government customers procure commercial products and services at pre-negotiated prices.

The program also provides government customers access to thousands of vetted vendors, customized terms and conditions, and acquisition and technology guidance.

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Senate Confirms Trump Nominee John Phelan as Secretary of the Navy
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Senate Confirms Trump Nominee John Phelan as Secretary of the Navy

The Senate has confirmed John Phelan, co-founder and chairman of private investment firm Rugger Management, as the new secretary of the Navy. Lawmakers on Monday voted 62-30 in favor of Phelan’s appointment, Senate.gov reported.

Who Is John Phelan?

Phelan is the seventh non-veteran to serve as Navy secretary in the last 70 years, noted Navy Times, and the first since Donald Winter, also a business leader, stepped down from the role in 2009. 

When his nomination was announced in November, then-president-elect Donald Trump touted Phelan’s business background for his selection. 

The chief executive said Phelan will “put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else,” according to Breaking Defense.

Phelan to Prioritize Shipbuilding 

In his opening statement at his confirmation hearing in February, Phelan shared that, if confirmed, he would focus on shipbuilding acquisition programs. 

“The president has been very consistent when he spoke with me: shipbuilding, shipbuilding shipbuilding,” he told lawmakers. 

He also spoke about the military’s current approach to shipbuilding. Phelan commented on the seeming lack of urgency. 

“It’s almost as if you’re waiting for a crisis to happen to ignite things,” he added. 

Phelan is expected to be sworn in as Navy secretary in the coming days.

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2 Army Programs Ready for DOD’s Software Acquisition Pathway
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2 Army Programs Ready for DOD’s Software Acquisition Pathway

Two programs of the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Enterprise, or PEO Enterprise, are looking at other PEO Enterprise initiatives for lessons learned and best practices as they prepare to begin the execution phase under the Department of Defense’s Software Acquisition Pathway, or SWP.

The military branch said Monday the Operational Medicine Information Systems-Army, or OMIS-A, at Fort Derick in Maryland and IPPS-A Increment II are sister programs within the PEO Enterprise’s Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, or IPPS-A, portfolio. 

OMIS-A Preparing to Stand Up in SWP

Over the past year, the team responsible for OMIS-A has been implementing Agile processes and preparing to start from the ground up in SWP.

OMIS-A, which seeks to modernize the Army’s electronic health record software capabilities, has completed its cost analysis requirements description and begun creating its cost position, which seeks to explain the financial requirements for implementing its mission in the SWP pathway, according to Angela Price, the program’s operations officer.

Upon completing the cost position, the OMIS-A team will meet with the Army acquisition executive, or AAE, by late April to secure approval to transition the program to the execution phase.

“Right now, we’re getting our documentation staffed and adjudicated with ASA(ALT) [assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology] and working on signature processes,” said Price.

“Overall, with the Army’s move to Agile and ASA(ALT)’s embrace, the timing is good because we’re making all these changes at once. With new memos and guidance coming out weekly, we’re having to embrace the whole Agile methodology. This is not just about software development — We’re having to adapt to changing policies. It’s keeping us sharp. We’re stretching our brains every day,” she added.

IPPS-A Increment II: Delivering Software at the Pace of Relevance

Lt. Col. Ryan Martin, IPPS-A Increment II product manager, said the program has adopted Agile software development practices and started as if it were already operating under the SWP pathway.

“The SWP provides the authorities and programmatic structure to really leverage industry best practices and modern software development techniques, which are critical for delivering value to users at the pace of relevance, especially in a system as complex and sprawling as the Army’s personnel and pay system,” Martin said.

According to the lieutenant colonel, the IPPS-A Inc II team is developing its cost analysis requirements description and plans to work with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Cost and Economics on the cost position this summer.

The team is scheduled to meet with AAE in December to obtain approval in order to move the IPPS-A Inc II program to SWP’s execution phase.

DOD Secretary’s SWP Memo

In early March, Pete Hegseth, DOD secretary and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, issued a memorandum directing the department to adopt SWP to speed up the development, procurement and delivery of software and other weapons systems to warfighters.

In line with the SWP adoption, the memo titled “Directing Modern Software Acquisition to Maximize Lethality” calls for the Pentagon to align its contracting strategies and maximize its use of contracting authorities, such as the commercial solutions openings process and the other transaction authorities.

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Army Summit on June 18 and hear industry and government leaders discuss modernization imperatives, emerging threats, national security priorities and more. Register now!

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FedRAMP 20x to Accelerate Secure Cloud Adoption Through Automation
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FedRAMP 20x to Accelerate Secure Cloud Adoption Through Automation

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program will collaborate with industry and other key stakeholders to develop and iteratively improve a cloud-native authorization approach, called FedRAMP 20x, as part of efforts to accelerate secure cloud adoption across federal agencies.

The program said Monday the FedRAMP 20x framework will advance automation to enable companies to continuously validate the security of their cloud offerings and will be updated annually to encourage security improvements.

“Our partnership with the commercial cloud industry needs serious improvement. Strengthening this relationship will help us fulfill our commitment to cutting waste and adopting the best available technologies to modernize the government’s aging IT infrastructure,” Stephen Ehikian, acting administrator of the General Services Administration, said in a statement published Monday.

“FedRAMP 20x will give agencies access to the latest technology now — not months or years down the road,” Ehikian added.

Where Are the Goals of FedRAMP 20x?

FedRAMP 20x will reduce red tape and accelerate approvals by advancing automation. It will also simplify security requirements to speed up the authorization of new cloud services within weeks.

Under the new framework, FedRAMP will provide more flexibility and promote better collaboration between federal agencies and cloud service providers. The program will also host public working groups to collect industry feedback, provide technical guidance and promote pilot programs.

“We’re not just modernizing a process; we’re reimagining how federal cloud security can work and providing agencies the ability to determine their own risk posture,” said Thomas Shedd, director of the Technology Transformation Services and deputy commissioner of Federal Acquisition Service at GSA.

“FedRAMP 20x represents our commitment to cutting through complexity, empowering innovation, and ensuring that security keeps pace with technological advancement. FedRAMP 20x will keep driving faster, smarter, and more customer-focused service for years to come,” Shedd added.

Other FedRAMP Changes in 2025

FedRAMP said it will pursue the development of new paths that eliminate inefficiencies and focus on security and establish policies and standards that enable private innovation to build the solution.

The new FedRAMP Program Management Office will now operate with a smaller team focused on addressing the agency authorization backlog and providing community support and technical assistance to establish standards.

Register now for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit on April 24. Hear experts as they discuss how emerging technologies and the latest tech advancements are reshaping government operations.

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