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Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Keep DOD at Pace With Rapidly Changing Tech
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Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Keep DOD at Pace With Rapidly Changing Tech

A legislative proposal by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Angus King, I-Maine, would authorize an independent third-party review to identify the Defense Department’s best practices for buying and modernizing military systems.

Cornyn’s office on Wednesday announced the American Defense Programs, Logistics, and Acquisitions for our Nation’s Security Act.

“By seeking out recommendations for modernizing our military, we work towards making sure our national defense is well-positioned for success in this rapidly-changing threat environment,” the Republican senator said.

The legislation would commission an independent study the Pentagon’s Office of the Secretary of Defense should facilitate to examine DOD programs and recommend strategies on how the department can keep up with technology trends amid the rapid evolution of defense and adversary capabilities.

External national security and technology leaders would lead the research effort.

“This bipartisan bill will help the Department of Defense stay on the cutting edge of rapidly-evolving capabilities, keep our warfighters well equipped, and make sure our nation is ready to address any potential threat,” King commented.

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PSC Backs Materiel Readiness, SBIR Program Extension Provisions in FY23 NDAA; David Berteau Quoted
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PSC Backs Materiel Readiness, SBIR Program Extension Provisions in FY23 NDAA; David Berteau Quoted

The Professional Services Council expressed its support to certain provisions of the proposed National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023 through a letter addressed to leaders of House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

PSC said Wednesday it supports bills that would improve the Department of Defense’s materiel readiness and extend the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) through the end of September 2024.

The council noted that it backs measures that advance national security and intend to help DOD address the impacts of inflation.

“We commend both the House and Senate for drafting strong bills that support national security while also recognizing the critical roles and contributions that contractors play in DoD’s mission success,” said David Berteau, president and CEO of PSC and a two-time Wash100 Award winner.

PSC also stated its opposition to some NDAA provisions, including non-meritorious contract selection processes, certain supply chain provisions, contractor “blacklisting” mandates and the proposed progress payment incentive pilot.

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Chris DeRusha: OMB Guidance Seeks to Improve Software Supply Chain Security
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Chris DeRusha: OMB Guidance Seeks to Improve Software Supply Chain Security

The Office of Management and Budget has released guidance for federal agencies to ensure the security of the software supply chain in accordance with a May 2021 executive order on cybersecurity.

Chris DeRusha, federal chief information security officer at OMB and deputy national cyber director, wrote in a blog post published Wednesday the OMB memo was developed using insights from academia and public and private sectors.

DeRusha, a previous Wash100 Award winner, said the document “directs agencies to use only software that complies with secure software development standards, creates a self-attestation form for software producers and agencies, and will allow the federal government to quickly identify security gaps when new vulnerabilities are discovered.”

According to the memo, federal agencies should comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidance when using third-party software on government information systems.

Within 90 days of the memo’s issuance, agencies should conduct an inventory of all software, including a separate inventory for “critical software.”

The OMB guidance document also directs agencies to come up with a process to communicate relevant requirements to vendors and ensure that attestation letters are gathered in one system.

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Amentum Lands $500M Multi-Award Financial Crime Investigation Contract From Treasury Department; Jill Bruning Quoted
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Amentum Lands $500M Multi-Award Financial Crime Investigation Contract From Treasury Department; Jill Bruning Quoted

Defense contracting company Amentum has won a potential five-year, $500 million contract award from an office within the U.S. Department of Treasury for financial crime prevention and investigation services.

Under the multi-award, blank purchase agreement from the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Amentum will compete for individual task orders to perform various intelligence- and finance-related duties, such as sanctions investigations and enforcement, transaction licensing and analysis of criminal activities, the Germantown, Maryland-based company said Wednesday.

Jill Bruning, president of the engineering, science and technology group within Amentum, stated that the company will draw on an existent track record studying and offering informed advice about “changing financial crimes landscape and illicit financial typologies.”

“We can bring to bear our successful partnerships and collaboration with financial analysis industry leaders, and our extensive knowledge of the many tools and datasets required to safeguard the nation’s financial system against threats,” added Bruning, who is a previous winner of the Wash100 Award.

The work for the contract will be primarily executed by Amentum’s METIS Solutions subsidiary in partnership with international commercial and financial intelligence platform designer Sayari Labs. It will take place in the greater Washington D.C. area, as well as in select other U.S. locations.

Together, Amentum and Sayari are slated to carry out financial cyber investigations of financial and business records; in-depth research and analysis of cyber-rooted crime approaches and trends such as money laundering schemes; cyber target development to locate cyber crime networks; and assessments of burgeoning payment methods such as virtual or crypto currencies to gain a greater understanding of criminal and/or terrorist utilization.

The Department of Treasury reportedly selected Amentum based on their proven ability to locate and catalog cyber evidence and deploy cyber forensics and determine and dissect cyber-related financial typologies, as well as their team’s knowledge of cryptocurrency and blockchain and their facility with intelligence-gathering on the Deep and Dark Web.

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DHS Taps REI Systems, ADG Tech Consulting JV for $110M DevSecOps Contract; Samidha Manu Quoted
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DHS Taps REI Systems, ADG Tech Consulting JV for $110M DevSecOps Contract; Samidha Manu Quoted

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $110 million joint venture contract to the partnered forces of information technology services provider REI Systems and software development organization ADG Tech Consulting.

The contract, which lasts three years, expects ADG-REI Technology Ventures to conduct agile DevSecOps services in order to serve the immigration enforcement objectives of DHS agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, REI Systems said Monday.

“We have a proven track record delivering innovative software solutions that cross many of the markets we serve,” remarked Samidha Manu, vice president of federal civilian services at REI Systems.

Manu also shared that the new contract is a testament to DHS’ trust in REI Systems’ capabilities and their efficient delivery of operational technologies.

With a daily schedule of deliverables, ADG-REI Technology Ventures’ responsibilities will include employing an open-source technology stack, microservices architecture and human-emphasizing design procedures in an agile environment. The companies’ efforts are positioned to create and deploy top-notch business functionalities that are compatible with client-focused frameworks and methodologies. 

DHS has been contracting REI Systems on projects for nearing two decades. The latest award is a function of the USCIS Outcome-Based Delivery and Development Operations Services III initiative, which is intended to bolster law-abiding immigration processes for those coming to the U.S. through technological improvements.

The USCIS joint venture contract comes on the heels of REI Systems’ August win of a platform engineering and technology services contract from NASA. Through this award, REI’s team will build a cloud-based platform that encourages new discoveries in the small business arena, as part of NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer endeavor.

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DOE Selects 38 Projects for $178M Bioenergy Technology R&D Research Program
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DOE Selects 38 Projects for $178M Bioenergy Technology R&D Research Program

The Department of Energy is investing $178 million over a five-year period in 38 projects to research and develop new technologies designed to transform organic materials, including plants, food, waste and microorganisms into bioenergy.

DOE said Tuesday the selected projects will conduct research on the production of renewable bioenergy and biomaterials, the development of quantum-enabled biological sensors, the characterization of gene function in bioenergy crop plants and the role of microbiomes in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients.

The government-funded research programs are expected to support the Biden administration’s goal to achieve a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

“These projects will continue to advance the boundaries of biotechnology and support the emergence of a thriving U.S. bioeconomy that creates good-paying jobs and helps us meet our climate goals,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

DOE released four funding opportunity announcements for the research projects and selected the awardees through a competitive peer review.

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NIH to Invest $130M in Biomedical, Behavioral AI Projects
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NIH to Invest $130M in Biomedical, Behavioral AI Projects

The National Institutes of Health plans to spend $130 million on projects aimed at generating biomedical and behavioral data sets to facilitate artificial intelligence model training for research purposes.

NIH said Tuesday its four-year investment plan for the Bridge2AI program will support researchers as they develop standards, tools and approaches to prepare AI-ready data for the two fields of study.

The agency granted awards to four data generation projects that will apply the “findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable” principle.

Part of the funding has also been awarded to three teams that will create an Integration, Dissemination And Evaluation Bridge Center. Aside from integrating activities and distributing products and training materials, the center will coordinate standards, diversity and ethics to ensure that data sets are ethically sourced.

According to NIH, AI technology has the potential to help researchers pinpoint abnormal changes in the body using voice or other data and understand how genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors work together to influence human health.

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DCSA Introduces National Background Investigation Services Software for Form Collection
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DCSA Introduces National Background Investigation Services Software for Form Collection

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has released a training video introducing a new security clearance application form collection platform that replaces the legacy Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system.

In the video presentation, DCSA provided an overview of the various features and functionality of the National Background Investigation Services program‘s eApp software, which is designed to help accelerate U.S. background investigations.

The agency also demonstrated the differences between the two systems to guide users as they prepare for the future transition from e-QIP.

The NBIS software serves as the federal government’s one-stop-shop system that provides end-to-end personnel vetting. The Defense Information Systems Agency transferred responsibility for the platform to DCSA in October 2020.

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NASA’s Science Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen to Step Down
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NASA’s Science Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen to Step Down

Thomas Zurbuchen is stepping down as associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the end of 2022 after being in the position since 2016.

The space agency said Wednesday Zurbuchen is responsible for overseeing approximately 100 science missions including the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and the landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars.

He also helped select 36 new missions such as the SPHEREx space-based telescope and Mars Sample Return and Dragonfly missions.

Throughout his career, Zurbuchen has authored or co-authored more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals on solar and heliospheric phenomena.

“Thomas has made an indelible mark at NASA – indeed, he has held this job continuously longer than any other person – and I am thankful for his dedication to our agency,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

NASA is conducting a nationwide search for Zurbuchen’s successor.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Establish Space Junk Removal Tech Demo Program
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Bipartisan Bill Would Establish Space Junk Removal Tech Demo Program

A bipartisan group of four senators has introduced a bill that would create a NASA-run demonstration program for systems designed to remove orbiting debris such as obsolete government satellites from outer space.

Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., presented the Orbital Sustainability or ORBITS Act Monday.

They proposed the legislative measure in response to an incident in March 2021, when a large piece of orbiting debris crashed into a farm in Grant County, Washington.

“Space junk is not only dangerous to humans exploring space, it is also a major risk to satellites that people in Wyoming and around the country rely on for basic communication,” said Lummis, a ranking member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Space and Science.

Provisions of the bill include requiring NASA, the Office of Space Commerce and the National Space Council to produce a list of the debris that could endanger orbiting spacecraft.

“This bill will jumpstart the technology development needed to remove the most dangerous junk before it knocks out a satellite, crashes into a NASA mission, or falls to the ground and hurts someone. We must continue to explore space, and we have to do it safely,” Cantwell said.

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