GAO: Bid Protests Fell 12% in Fiscal 2021
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GAO: Bid Protests Fell 12% in Fiscal 2021

The number of disputed federal contract awards reached 1,897 during the government’s 2021 fiscal year, down 12 percent from the 2,149 cases filed in the preceding year, according to an annual bid protest report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

GAO submitted data to Congress showing FY 2021 was the third year in a row challenges to contract terms or awards have decreased. Procurement law experts at the government audit office have offered explanations for the decline.

Nextgov reported Ralph White and Kenneth Patton, both managing associate general counsels at GAO, attribute the declining protests partly to enhanced debriefing procedures.

Patton told the publication that the debriefing process offers additional information meant to help companies think over a protest.

He also believes the use of indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts with provisions allowing agencies to buy goods and services from multiple vendors could reduce the number of federal contracting disputes.

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Executive Order Aims to Cut Worker Turnover in Federal Service Contracts
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Executive Order Aims to Cut Worker Turnover in Federal Service Contracts

President Biden has signed an executive order to improve federal procurement by reducing turnover among workers supporting government functions. 

The new policy will offer workers the right of first refusal when a contract changes hands to cut time and costs spent on recruiting and training new employees, the White House said Thursday.

The order will require new contractors to give workers who performed their jobs well on the previous contract the opportunity to keep their jobs to prevent disruptions during the transition and maintain information security.

The move is also aimed at helping produce a diverse pool of skilled and experienced employees who are already familiar with working for the federal government.

“There are about 2 million service contract workers, covering a range of jobs and responsibilities – from maintenance on military bases to call centers to transportation to research and development,” the EO stated.

However, federal service contract workers are disproportionately women and people of color. The order builds on the policies introduced during the Obama administration and is part of a broader effort of the Biden-Harris administration to advance its equity goals. 

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Report: US, China Agree to Hold Arms Control Talks
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Report: US, China Agree to Hold Arms Control Talks

President Biden has agreed to hold arms control talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as China indicates a move to build up its nuclear arsenal, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the two leaders agreed during their virtual summit to move forward with discussions on nuclear strategic stability amid growing concerns about Beijing’s accelerated pace of adding more warheads to its nuclear stockpile.

The Department of Defense estimated in a recent report that China could increase its nuclear warhead from its current count of 350 to 700 in six years and 1,000 by 2030.

The U.S. has a much larger weapons arsenal with about 3,750 warheads, but government officials and defense experts say the Pentagon has concerns about the motive behind China’s rapid development of missiles.

In its newly released annual report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said Beijing’s nuclear buildup suggests it could be intended to support a “new strategy of limited nuclear first use” that would enable Chinese leaders to deter U.S. intervention in a war over Taiwan.

The two leaders have yet to decide on a format for the discussions, but a Chinese official told WSJ that the parties could engage in a Track II dialogue that would involve defense experts from the private sector and academia.

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Gen. Paul Nakasone Highlights Need for Deeper Cross-Sector Collaboration Against Cyberthreats
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Gen. Paul Nakasone Highlights Need for Deeper Cross-Sector Collaboration Against Cyberthreats

Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of U.S. Cyber Command and a five-time Wash100 Award recipient, said the U.S. government should further strengthen partnerships with companies and academia amid evolving cyberthreats and strategic challenges facing the country, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Nakasone, who also serves as director of the National Security Agency, said NSA is advancing efforts to counter cyber threats by working with over 100 companies in the defense industrial base and their security providers through the Cybersecurity Collaboration Center and has contracts with over 1,800 businesses and academic institutions.

“The technology, services and products provided via these partnerships underpin all of our operations and provide robust security to our nation,” Nakasone added. He also mentioned NSA’s partnership with the National Cryptologic Foundation.

“The NCF will create opportunities for the public and private sectors to engage on cybersecurity and national security issues,” Nakasone said. “This is a force multiplier for us, and especially for our ability to enhance a cybersecurity education across the country.”

Nakasone also discussed how China and other nation-states impact U.S. national security through misinformation and disruptive operations.

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Joint Advisory Warns of Iranian Government-Backed Cyberthreat Actors
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Joint Advisory Warns of Iranian Government-Backed Cyberthreat Actors

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI and cybersecurity agencies of Australia and the U.K. are warning that an advanced persistent threat group that has ties to the government of Iran is exploiting Microsoft Exchange ProxyShell and Fortinet vulnerabilities to gain access to networks of critical infrastructure organizations.

The Iranian government-backed APT group is targeting organizations in transportation, health care and public health sectors and is using initial access to deploy ransomware, exfiltrate data and conduct other follow-on operations, the agencies said Wednesday.

A joint advisory from the agencies listed several tactics, tools and techniques APT actors use to secure initial access into organizations’ systems.

The agencies are urging network defenders to patch and update systems, enforce backup and restoration procedures and policies, implement multifactor authentication and network segmentation, reduce risk of phishing and secure remote access, among other mitigation measures.

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Wally Adeyemo: Digital Assets Present Economic Opportunities, Financial Crime Risk
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Wally Adeyemo: Digital Assets Present Economic Opportunities, Financial Crime Risk

Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Department of the Treasury, said digital assets such as cryptocurrency offer opportunities for economic growth and could also pose financial crime risks, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Adeyemo told CNBC in an interview during his visit to the United Arab Emirates that countries should collaborate and urge digital asset creators to comply with anti-money laundering policies.

The Treasury official predicts the U.S. dollar to remain a dominant global currency despite the growing interest in virtual assets and ongoing efforts of global central banks to develop their own digital currency.

He also noted that the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package President Joe Biden signed into law Monday has the potential to attract investments from other governments.

“As our economy grows, it is an opportunity for the global economy to grow and as that happens, the dollar will remain the dominant currency in the world as well,” Adeyemo said.

He does not expect central bank currencies such as Russia’s digital ruble to affect the U.S. sanctions policy as restrictive measures will still have an impact on the designated countries’ economies.

“As long as we make the investments that are needed, we are still going to have the ability to use our sanctions regime to make sure that we prevent the thing that it was created to prevent,” Adeyemo explained.

Wally Adeyemo: Digital Assets Present Economic Opportunities, Financial Crime Risk

The Potomac Officers Club will hold its Digital Currency and National Security Forum on Jan. 27 to discuss the implications, risks, opportunities and challenges digital currencies pose to the future of the U.S. economy and national security.

Sign up for this event to hear from government and industry leaders including keynote speakers National Cyber Director Chris Inglis and Juan Zarate, global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer at K2 Integrity.

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Gillian Bussey: DOD Eyes Reusable Hypersonic Aircraft
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Gillian Bussey: DOD Eyes Reusable Hypersonic Aircraft

Gillian Bussey, director of the joint hypersonics transition office at the Department of Defense, said DOD is interested in reusable hypersonic vehicles and space launch systems, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

“In terms of reusables from a military perspective … the fastest air-breathing manned jet engine or jet powered systems were spy planes, so SR-71,” Bussey said Monday during her speech at a conference.

“One can imagine going faster and having a hypersonic spy plane. You can imagine a reusable system that can fly around and drop payloads and come back, or a hypersonic system that can carry other hypersonic systems,” she added.

Bussey said she believes DOD should set a clear direction for applications it wants to invest in amid a plethora of ideas when it comes to reusable hypersonics.

She discussed the four phases of the Pentagon’s hypersonic research strategy and cited that most of the projects are in “phase two, shifting to phase three.” Phase 2 focuses on the development of defensive and offensive system prototypes, while Phase 3 deals with the deployment of elements of platforms in limited quantities.

Bussey said the U.S. Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon program is close to reaching the third phase. “We’re looking at having that fielded in the next year or two,” she said of LRHW.

She added that 37 science and technology projects valued at about $53.4 million have been selected by her office for investment and that her organization is more focused on how to make weapon systems operational and effective against targets.

Space Acquisition Forum

GovCon Wire will hold its Space Acquisition Forum on Jan. 19. Click here to register for the virtual forum to hear from defense officials as they share their insights on military acquisition reform and modernization efforts.

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Senate Confirms Rear Adm. Nancy Hann to Lead NOAA Corps, Marine & Aviation Office; Gina Raimondo Quoted
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Senate Confirms Rear Adm. Nancy Hann to Lead NOAA Corps, Marine & Aviation Office; Gina Raimondo Quoted

Rear Adm. Nancy Hann has received Senate confirmation to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) and the agency’s Commissioned Officer Corps.

She will oversee NOAA’s fleet of nine aircraft, 15 survey ships, uncrewed systems, 1,000 civilian personnel and 330 uniformed officers under NOAA Corps and OMAO, the agency said Wednesday.

“From flying into hurricanes to crewing remote explorations to the deepest depths of the ocean, the NOAA Corps drives NOAA’s science forward,” said Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce.

Hann most recently served as NOAA Corps’s deputy director and OMAO’s deputy director for operations. Her career at NOAA also includes work as a pilot, flight meteorologist, liaison to U.S. Pacific Command and executive officer for the agency’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic.

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LMI CEO Doug Wagoner Discusses Company Growth; Data Analytics During Baird’s 2021 Government & Defense Conference
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LMI CEO Doug Wagoner Discusses Company Growth; Data Analytics During Baird’s 2021 Government & Defense Conference

Doug Wagoner, president and CEO of LMI as well as a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, sat with Jean Stack, managing director for Baird and a previous Wash100 Award winner, during the latter’s 2021 Government & Defense Conference on Wednesday to discuss the latest news and key initiatives that LMI has been focused on over the past year. 

Baird’s Government & Defense Conference provides a forum for discussion on key industry trends and market outlook, as well as networking with industry executives, government officials, and capital providers. 

During the fireside chat, Doug Wagoner talked about the company’s growth strategy and focus towards establishing the company in new markets towards its greater 2025 growth goals. In addition, Wagoner and Stack discussed LMI’s data-driven approach towards its company culture as well as the impact of data analytics, AI and machine learning towards reaching those goals. 

Wagoner also touched on the challenges of moving LMI from a non-profit based organization into one based on growth and profit as well as the impact of receiving the Washington Post’s Top Workplace for Large Companies honor 

“That was a great surprise. We are so proud of that,” Wagoner emphasized. It was our first year applying for the honor itself and I figured, ‘It’s our first year and it’d be great to be placed on the list.’ We had no idea that the Washington Post had placed us in the top spot until it was unveiled. It’s been a tremendous honor and has definitely helped us in recruiting and other critical areas.”

The event was available for in-person attendance and was also offered virtually for top executives to have access to the impressive presentations & fireside chats, industry panels, and networking opportunities.

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BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker Talks BlueHalo Effect, Mission Priorities At Baird’s 4th Annual Government & Defense Conference
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BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker Talks BlueHalo Effect, Mission Priorities At Baird’s 4th Annual Government & Defense Conference

BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker spoke at Baird’s 2021 Government & Defense Conference on Wednesday to discuss BlueHalo’s “generationally important” core mission areas, recent growth metrics, development projections and notable technological advancements as the platform enters its third year and continues to deliver on its mission of transforming modern warfare.

Moneymaker began his BlueHalo presentation with a look into how the company’s culture and strategic efforts are aligned with closing the gap between where the U.S. currently stands and where it needs to be regarding its national security posture on a global scale.

“We curate the threat, the domains and the technologies into what we call the BlueHalo effect,” Moneymaker shared. “Simply put, that is a protective ring around everything that we hold dear. It is our namesake. We deliver on that through a culture of inspired engineering and the ability to move at the speed of mission.”

To explain how BlueHalo advances its mission, Moneymaker noted that the company’s extensive network of infrastructure facilities, spanning over half a million square feet around the country, helps BlueHalo make significant advancements across its primary mission areas of directed energy and counter UAS; space priority; space technology; cyber and SIGINT; autonomy; and advanced RF.

“So how do we continue to innovate and keep pace with the mission? Frankly, I think it starts with having underpinned infrastructure, differentiated lab infrastructure and facilities across each one of the major areas that we focus on,” Moneymaker added, noting that these facilities provide BlueHalo’s customers with greater confidence in the company’s ability to deliver at scale.

To close his address, Moneymaker emphasized the critical importance of BlueHalo’s workforce which is comprised of over 1,300 “highly cleared, highly credentialed” employees, 35 percent of whom hold advanced degrees, and 100 of whom hold PhDs.

“I often tell our folks, we don’t make toasters. We don’t write insurance software. There’s nothing wrong with either of those two product lines, but what we do matters. That’s what gets us up every morning,” Moneymaker said in closing.

Baird’s fourth annual Government & Defense Conference offered a variety of virtual, in-person and hybrid events including industry panels, fireside chats and insightful company presentations across the government contracting sector.

The networking event gathered elite industry executives, government agency leaders and capital providers to discuss key industry trends and market outlook.

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