GAO: Federal Preparation for Climate Hazards Could Reduce Disaster Costs
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GAO: Federal Preparation for Climate Hazards Could Reduce Disaster Costs

The Government Accountability Office said the U.S. government needs to plan and prepare for extreme weather events caused by climate change in order to significantly reduce its spending on disaster assistance.

In a report released Monday, the agency called for strong leadership and a cohesive, strategic approach to mitigate federal fiscal exposure to climate change.

GAO cited the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which warned that the cost of disaster response and recovery efforts are projected to increase as extreme rainfall or drought become more frequent.

The government watchdog agency proposed establishing a national climate information system, assigning a federal entity to develop and update climate data, and building climate resilience into infrastructure and facility planning.

Lawmakers and federal agencies should review information on the potential economic effects of climate change so they can pinpoint significant risks and formulate better disaster responses, the agency added.

Government spending on disaster assistance amounted to $315 billion between its 2015 and 2021 fiscal years. GAO has petitioned since 2013 to limit federal fiscal exposure through enhanced climate resilience.

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Iridium Announces Operation Pacific Waves; Scott Scheimreif Quoted
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Iridium Announces Operation Pacific Waves; Scott Scheimreif Quoted

Iridium Communications has announced its Operation Pacific Waves (OPW), a series of partnership-driven field exercises involving more than 20 organizations to focus on the Indo-Pacific region, the company reported Wednesday.

“As home to more than half of the world’s population, almost two-thirds of the world’s economy, and some of the world’s largest militaries, the importance of the Indo-Pacific region cannot be understated,” said Scott Scheimreif, executive vice president of Government Programs with Iridium. “We’re especially proud to have new and returning partners eager to participate.”

OPW will deploy Iridium and Iridium Connected equipment in live scenarios highlighting the Iridium network’s resilient, real-time and truly global capabilities. OPW will highlight capabilities that directly support Indo-Pacific mission sets enabled by Iridium’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) contract with the U.S. federal government.

The EMSS contract provides unlimited narrowband subscribers and usage over a secure USG gateway. Innovative technologies and capabilities featured includes Iridium Certus broadband and mid band; Push-To-Talk (PTT). 

“It was a natural step to follow-up the success of Operation Arctic Lynx by exercising Iridium technology in the Indo-Pacific to showcase the Iridium network’s strength in providing real-time interoperability, communications-on-the-move, command-and-control, and developing and maintaining a common operational picture across a vast Area of Responsibility,” Scheimreif added.

Iridium SATCOM field demonstrations will take place, on Sept. 28th and Sept. 30th, 2022, in coordination with an international contingent of organizations including Iridium partners and existing customers like the U.S. Department of Defense, coalition partners and scientific research organizations. 

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Intelsat Attempts to Share Worldwide Internet Connectivity Through Partner2Connect Collaboration; CEO Dave Wajsgras Quoted
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Intelsat Attempts to Share Worldwide Internet Connectivity Through Partner2Connect Collaboration; CEO Dave Wajsgras Quoted

Satellite services company Intelsat has entered into an organization that is operated to boost underserved communities by providing technological resources.

Going forward, Intelsat’s team will work with the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition to bring about positive change through telecommunications services, including by filling in gaps where internet access is scarce and providing disaster relief, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company said Wednesday.

“The Partner2Connect Digital Coalition is a great initiative to accelerate and promote digital inclusion. Contributing to this common goal is part of Intelsat’s mission – and developing innovative, space-based technology that solves complex communications issues is central to our work,” commented Dave Wajsgras, CEO of Intelsat.

Wajsgras, who is a six-time Wash100 Award winner, also said that the collaboration with Partner2Connect is an important cause due to the billions of people internationally who remain without a network connection and thus unable to utilize its benefits, such as work or communication, or health, education and government services.

In their work with the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations, who founded the multistakeholder alliance that is Partner2Connect, Intelsat has made three pledges. The first is to use the company’s software-rooted, multi-orbit 5G unified network to amplify connectivity for communities across the globe. The architecture would reportedly be applicable to various technologies and endpoints.

Intelsat’s second pledge is to install internet access for rurally and remotely located schools over the next two years, hopefully encouraging digital literacy in children at a young age. They plan to ensure connectivity for 100 schools in support of the GIGA endeavor, put forth by UNICEF and the ITU.

Additionally, the second pledge holds that Intelsat is in favor of a memorandum of understanding that will lend a total of $500,000 worth of airtime, along with equipment that could assist during a natural disaster.

Lastly, through its third pledge with Partner2Connect, Intelsat will conduct studies and draw conclusions surrounding space sustainability and satellites as a mechanism for helping with digital transformation.

Wasjgras joined Intelsat from Raytheon Technologies this March.

In April, the company launched a service called Cloud Connect Media aimed to assist programmers securely access Amazon Web Services and the IntelsatOne Media Network.

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Johns Hopkins APL Execs James Miller, David Van Wie Join Defense Science Board
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Johns Hopkins APL Execs James Miller, David Van Wie Join Defense Science Board

James Miller, assistant director for policy and analysis at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and David Van Wie, head of the APL’s air and missile defense sector, have been appointed to serve on the Defense Science Board.

They join the 40-member federal advisory committee providing independent advice and recommendations to the Department of Defense on matters related to science, technology, acquisition process and manufacturing, APL said Tuesday.

Miller, who previously served as undersecretary of defense for policy, is responsible for overseeing the laboratory’s national security and research and development initiatives.

He brings to the board his expertise in missile defense, nuclear deterrence, cyber and space policy.

Van Wie is a four-decade veteran at APL who has previously supported the DSB, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board in various studies.

“The Defense Science Board pulls together distinguished technical leaders from across the community, and we are so fortunate to have James Miller and David Van Wie as members of our new board,” said DSB Chair Eric Evans.

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NASA Releases Revised Objectives for Deep Space Exploration Mission; Pam Melroy Quoted
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NASA Releases Revised Objectives for Deep Space Exploration Mission; Pam Melroy Quoted

NASA has released a revised set of deep space exploration objectives providing a framework for the agency’s Moon to Mars mission after receiving feedback from industry, academia and international partners.

The space agency identified 63 final objectives under four categories of exploration, namely transportation and habitation, Moon and Mars infrastructure, operations and science.

“These objectives are both practical and aspirational, and we were gratified by the thoughtful contributions of our workforce, industry, and international partners who will join us in shaping our future together,” said Pam Melroy, deputy administrator of NASA.

The space agency started working with an Agency Cross-Directorate Federated Board to develop the draft list of 50 Moon to Mars objectives in November 2021.

NASA released the objectives to its workforce and the public in May and released a request for comments in June, which gathered more than 5,000 inputs from industry and other stakeholders.

Transportation Department, Partners to Boost Small Businesses’ Participation in Infrastructure Projects
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Transportation Department, Partners to Boost Small Businesses’ Participation in Infrastructure Projects

The Department of Transportation has entered into partnerships with the Small Business Administration and Minority Business Development Agency to help small and disadvantaged businesses in the transportation industry pursue work on government infrastructure programs.

Under the partnerships, USDOT aims to provide small and minority-owned businesses with improved access to resources and capital and connect them with large companies and transportation modal representatives from state, federal and municipal agencies.

USDOT signed two memorandums of understanding with SBA to increase the bonding capacity of small transportation businesses and facilitate access to private capital from the Office of Investment and Innovation.

MBDA will work with the department to expand the presence of underrepresented minority business enterprises in national transportation supply chains through data sharing and reporting under a separate MOU.

“These new initiatives with our partners at SBA and MBDA will help more small business owners secure federal contracts to modernize our country’s infrastructure for decades to come,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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Consultancy Founder Gabe Klein to Head Joint Energy & Transportation Office
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Consultancy Founder Gabe Klein to Head Joint Energy & Transportation Office

Gabe Klein, co-founder of urban change management consulting firm CityFi, has been appointed executive director of a newly formed coordinating organization between the departments of Energy and Transportation, effective Sept. 26.

He will lead efforts at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to help the U.S. government deploy a $7.5 billion fund for electric vehicle charging systems nationwide under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE said Tuesday.

Under his leadership, the office will aim to help states and localities invest in passenger, heavy-duty and transit vehicles to support the Biden administration’s initiative to ensure underserved communities receive at least 40 percent of gains from climate and clean energy investments by the federal government.

“I will seize the opportunity to steward a critical shift in our transportation economy from fossil fuels to clean, electric energy systems, as there has never been a more important mission in our recent history than solving the climate crisis,” Klein said.

Klein previously served as DOT commissioner in Chicago from 2009 to 2011 and director in Washington, D.C., from May 2011 to December 2013.

He helped the Biden-Harris transition team to develop an all-of-government strategy for fleet electrification.

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Survey: 60% Doubt Federal Cyber Defense Capability
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Survey: 60% Doubt Federal Cyber Defense Capability

Sixty percent of nearly 1,000 Americans from all 50 states who responded to a PC Matic survey do not believe the U.S. government is prepared to defend its assets in the event of a cyber attack.

The 2022 “Americans on Cybersecurity” report showed that public trust in the government’s cybersecurity readiness has eroded by 3 percent compared to last year’s findings, PC Matic said Tuesday.

The number of respondents who believe the federal government should increase measures to protect citizens from internet-based threats increased from 61 percent in 2021 to 66 percent this year.

“In our increasingly reliant cyber world, and especially considering the lack of confidence Americans currently have, preventative cyber technologies must be prioritized and put in place to harden American’s cyber defenses and boost public confidences immediately,” said Rob Cheng, founder and CEO of PC Matic.

PC Matic found public confidence was highest in Washington, D.C., and lowest in Kansas when it comes to state preparedness in information technology security. 

The nationwide survey included IT professionals, 38 percent of whom expressed a lack of confidence in government cyber defense abilities.

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Aerospace Corp. Report: FY23 Budget Request for Space Force Reflects 36% Increase From Enacted FY22 Funding
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Aerospace Corp. Report: FY23 Budget Request for Space Force Reflects 36% Increase From Enacted FY22 Funding

An analysis by The Aerospace Corp.’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy shows that the Biden administration sought a budget of $24.7 billion for the U.S. Space Force for fiscal year 2023, up 36 percent or $6.5 billion from the enacted funding for FY 2022.

The budget request for the upcoming fiscal year highlights the consolidation of defense space activity within the Space Force and growth in missile warning and tracking programs, according to the report.

The center said the transfer of military personnel to the Space Force and the integration of the Space Development Agency with the new service branch represent approximately 53 percent of the requested budget increase for the Space Force.

According to the analysis, the Space Warfighting Analysis Center established by the Space Force in 2021 recommended the development of a constellation of 136 satellites in low-Earth orbit and 16 spacecraft in medium-Earth orbit for missile warning and tracking operations to help the service prepare for advanced missile threats and defend the architecture from such threats.

“Over the next few years, MW/MT programs, given their size and the number of stakeholders reliant on them, will weigh heavily in debates about the future of U.S. space systems. The MW/MT approach may also be a harbinger for broader emphasis within the Pentagon to develop resilient and defendable architectures for other critical space missions,” the report’s conclusion reads.

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Treasury Requests Comments on Digital Asset-Related Illicit Finance Risks; Brian Nelson Quoted
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Treasury Requests Comments on Digital Asset-Related Illicit Finance Risks; Brian Nelson Quoted

The Department of the Treasury is soliciting public feedback on national security and illicit finance risks posed by digital assets in accordance with a recently released action plan and a March executive order on digital assets. 

The department is asking the public to cite illicit finance risks associated with non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance and peer-to-peer payment technologies and suggest additional steps the U.S. government should do to detect, disrupt and deter the misuse of digital assets, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

The Treasury is also looking for ways on how it can effectively support the integration of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism controls into a potential U.S. central bank digital currency design.

Other questions pertaining to AML/CFT regulation and supervision, global implementation of AML/CFT standards and private sector engagement are also listed in the notice.

“Without appropriate controls and enforcement of existing laws, digital assets can pose a significant risk to national security by facilitating illicit finance, such as money laundering, cybercrime and terrorist actions,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“As we work to implement the Illicit Finance Action Plan, hold bad actors accountable and identify potential gaps in existing enforcement, we look forward to receiving the public’s input on this urgent work,” added Nelson.

Public comments are due Nov. 3.

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