The Biden administration has proposed new standards for its program to create a national network of 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles by 2030.

The White House said Thursday the Department of Transportation teamed up with the Department of Energy to propose minimum standards and requirements to ensure that the national charging network for EVs is accessible to all U.S. citizens, interoperable between charging companies and with common payment schemes, among others.

DOT said the standards will also set workforce requirements for maintenance, operation and installation to ensure the reliability and safety of charging stations as well as support and generate highly skilled jobs across the country.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizes $7.5 billion to build charging infrastructure for EVs through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program and competitive grant initiative.

Under the NEVI program, states will get $5 billion in formula funding to construct vehicle charging stations across highway corridors.

The law includes $2.5 billion for a competitive grant program to improve EV charging access in underserved communities, support corridor and community charging and enhance local air quality. DOT will begin accepting applications for the grant program later in 2022.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is soliciting public feedback and insights as it works on a national strategy for advancing the use of privacy-preserving data sharing and analytics tools.

OSTP issued the request for information to determine how to pursue the development and use of privacy-enhancing technologies in a way that “maximizes the benefit to individuals and society, including increasing equity for underserved or marginalized groups and promoting trust in data processing and information technologies,” according to a Federal Register notice published Thursday.

The office is seeking information on federal research opportunities that could be launched to accelerate the development and adoption of PETs; technical specifics of PETs that have implications for their development or use; and information on applications, types of analysis or specific sectors that have high potential for the adoption of such technologies.

Interested stakeholders could provide information on federal regulations or authorities that could be launched, modified or used to speed up PET development and adoption; risks related to PET adoption; and best practices that could help facilitate responsible adoption of PETs.

Responses to the RFI are due July 8th.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has handed over to the Department of Homeland Security responsibility over a program composed of more than 455 data layers that cover critical infrastructure for the U.S. and its territories in support of homeland security and defense missions.

The Homeland Security Infrastructure Program, also known as the Homeland Infrastructure Foundational Level Data, provides data layers to support incident response, preparedness and readiness efforts and recovery decision-making at the national, state and local levels, NGA said Thursday.

“This transition shall ensure program efficiencies are gained by centralizing HIFLD data procurement, creation, and dissemination; eliminate potential competing and disconnected NGA and DHS program planning cycles and allow for more successful coordination and collaboration with State and local HS/HD mission partners,” said Rexford Tugwell of NGA’s office of geography.

Since 2002, NGA has been overseeing HIFLD by procuring, reviewing and delivering data layers to support national security and defense missions. The agency’s mission partners on the program include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Transportation, National Interagency Fire Center and North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

With the transition, NGA will eliminate legacy HIFLD services across its domains and cease providing HIFLD data services and content via its digital platforms.

The Government Accountability Office has found that the Department of Defense has made efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of weapons systems, but most of DOD’s major defense acquisition programs continue to face schedule delays.

GAO reviewed 29 MDAPs and found that 17 of these programs reported delays in deploying capabilities in the past year, according to a report published Wednesday.

DOD is also ramping up its use of the middle tier of acquisition pathway in programs, but the congressional watchdog found that programs using the MTA pathway do not intend to secure ample product knowledge before kicking off follow-on efforts.

“This approach increases the risk that these follow-on efforts may encounter cost, schedule, or technical challenges during development or production,” the GAO report reads.

GAO recommended that the Pentagon update its instruction for industrial base assessments “to define the circumstances that would constitute a known or projected problem or substantial risk that a necessary industrial capability may be lost.”

The agency made the recommendation after it found that the department’s instructions do not clearly define certain phrases related to conditions under which programs should carry out industrial base assessments, which seek to help DOD ensure that certain industry capabilities are available and satisfy future and existing national security needs.