Quick Hits

*** From FITARA scorecards to the White House? It turns out that one of Capitol Hill's leading IT experts is mulling a White House bid in 2024. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a three-term member who isn't running for re-election in 2020, said "I will think about it" when asked at an event hosted by the Texas Tribune last week if he was considering a run at the presidency. Hurd, a former CIA officer, got into IT policy right off the bat when entering Congress in 2014, as chair of a subcommittee charged with federal technology policy.

*** New Office of Personnel Management Director Dale Cabaniss released guidance last week to agency heads seeking updates to agency performance management and termination policies and procedures in furtherance of the President's Management Agenda. Per the guidance, agencies have until April 30, 2020 to submit to OPM a review of whether internal agency policies are a barrier to addressing poor performance either through discipline or dismissal, to remove such barriers that aren't required by law or regulation and to issue guidance to agency managers about new policies for implementing performance improvement plans.

*** A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to federal bid rigging charges in what prosecutors say is an ongoing investigation into a larger conspiracy to game the General Services Administration's online public auctions. According to the charging document, Igor Yurkovetsy plotted with other electronic bidders to coordinate lowball bids on targeted surplus GSA computer equipment lots at multiple agency sites nationwide over six years. The alleged conspirators split up the equipment for resale.