Companies

More tech sector collaboration is key to U.S. global leadership, DOD official says

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said “the future of our nation depends” on closer ties between the Pentagon and the private sector.

Contracts

Bipartisan bill strives for ‘more nimble and meaningful’ federal contracting

Legislation from Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, would “streamline procedures” for both solicitation and awards by slimming down the procurement process.

Contracts

Experts expect some support for small businesses facing CMMC compliance

The Pentagon’s draft CMMC rule doesn’t exempt small firms from the security standards for defense contractors and subcontractors, but that doesn’t mean they won’t receive any help meeting the requirements.

Contracts

DOD’s AI adoption efforts are starting to pay off, Pentagon official says

The Defense Department considers emerging technologies at “the center of how we think about planning for what the future of the military should look,” according to the head of the Pentagon’s Force Development and Emerging Capabilities office.

Contracts

Ongoing ‘reset’ looks to put VA’s EHR deployment back on track

An agency spokesperson said VA is "committed to resuming the system rollout" but performance and productivity goals need to be hit before additional deployments are rescheduled.

Contracts

Senate bill would limit federal contracts with foreign-linked biotech firms

The legislation from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., comes after he objected to a more focused provision in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act that sought to limit government contracts with one specific Chinese biotech company.

Contracts

The defense industrial base is 'in crisis,' expert tells Hill panel

The defense establishment is not equipped to develop, acquire and onboard emerging technologies at scale, according to a draft report from the Pentagon, and witnesses at a recent House hearing called for deeper, stronger ties between government and industry.

Contracts

AI’s military use is limited by maturity concerns, CENTCOM official says

A U.S. Central Command official noted that “performance is still quite up and down” with AI, even as officials continue to experiment with the emerging technologies.

Contracts

NIST releases revised cyber requirements for controlled unclassified information

The proposed revisions will ideally serve as a “balanced, strong starting point” for agencies and contractors that deal with sensitive information, a NIST official said.

Contracts

DOD’s new AI and data strategy aims to scale adoption of new technologies

The Pentagon’s new data, analytics and artificial intelligence adoption strategy establishes a “hierarchy of needs” to help the department utilize emerging technologies.

Contracts

VA opposed to new EHR requirements but open to more major acquisition review 

VA officials told lawmakers  Wednesday that they oppose proposed oversight standards for the department’s new electronic health record modernization program.

Companies

Deputy at Pentagon’s data and AI office to depart for Palantir

Greg Little, the Pentagon’s inaugural deputy chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for enterprise platforms and business optimization, is leaving his position at the end of July.

Companies

Congress needs ‘private sector buy-in’ to address cyber workforce shortage

Organizations are working to educate and train the next generation of professionals to fill critical cybersecurity vacancies, but observers also note private sector firms need to change their hiring practices to integrate this pool of talent into the workforce. 

Contracts

VA expects Oracle Cerner to deliver on health record contract despite layoffs

Lawmakers and Veterans Affairs Department officials expect the work to continue as planned, but internal communications indicate that Oracle Cerner laid off the clinical team that worked to implement new electronic health record systems.

Contracts

VA CIO warns against sacrificing 'consistency' for more contractor diversification 

The Veterans Affairs Department is engaging more with smaller vendors to fulfill some of its projects as its chief information officer also is pushing back against calls for the agency to break large contracts into smaller pieces.

Contracts

VA lacks goals to assess satisfaction with new EHR, watchdog finds

The report found the absence of such goals has limited the Veterans Affairs Department's ability to measure user satisfaction with the new electronic health record system.

Podcasts

WT 360's Info Session unpacks the government's two biggest health tech efforts

Adam Mazmanian of FCW and Edward Graham of Nextgov jump in for a review and look-ahead of two ongoing massive electronic health record integrations at the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, the latter of which is the subject of intense scrutiny.

Contracts

VA pauses future EHR deployments under ‘larger program reset’

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it plans to delay future rollouts of the new EHR system until it is confident that the software “is highly functioning at current sites and ready to deliver for veterans and VA clinicians at future sites.”

Companies

Apple VP appointed to lead Defense Innovation Unit

DIU's new director will now report directly to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin part of a leadership “realignment.”

Companies

Economic uncertainty is no barrier to tech investments, DOD official says

The head of the Defense Department office that connects promising companies with private capital said they will “continue to advance these technologies and support DOD operations, even in tougher economic times.”