Companies

Pentagon names new top official for digital and AI

Like her predecessor, Radha Plumb brings commercial sector experience to the role with her background including stints at Google and Facebook.

Contracts

Biden's $1.67 trillion budget boosts tech, AI

The Biden administration’s FY2025 budget request provides agencies with $3 billion “to responsibly develop, test, procure and integrate transformative AI applications across the federal government.”

Companies

Bill enhancing contractor whistleblower protections advances to full Senate

The bipartisan proposal would close loopholes that have left federal contractors vulnerable to retaliation.

Contracts

State is taking an ‘important step’ for planned EHR, as key lawmaker moves to speed it up

State’s Bureau of Medical Services has been working for more than a decade to replace its current paper-based medical record system with an electronic solution to better meet the healthcare needs of its diplomatic corps.

Contracts

A minimum viable CJADC2 is ‘real and ready,’ DOD official says

The initial version of the Pentagon’s effort to create an interoperable information-sharing network across all of its military domains is “low latency and extremely reliable,” according to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

Contracts

US reviews export controls in Britain, Australia for high-tech arms sales exemptions

A State Dept. official told a House panel that work to align AUKUS partners with U.S. export control requirements is ‘going very well'.

Contracts

Contracts featuring automation, built-in security can boost agencies’ cyber defenses, VA officials say

As the federal government looks to harden its cyber resilience, officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs said agencies should work to modernize outdated technologies and ensure that vendor contracts include more rigorous security standards.

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.