Quick Hits

*** The Defense Innovation Unit is looking for an alternative to its existing Cloud Access Point gateway – a boundary protection system that secures communications between cloud service providers and Department of Defense devices. DIU wants companies to find off-the-shelf commercial solutions that remain continuously updated and compatible with a wide array of managed services and can scale to accommodate 500,000 users and 1 million endpoints. To qualify, a cloud security offering needs to meet DOD Impact Level 2 security and vendors must be "open to pursuing" Impact Level 4 certification. Teaming arrangements are permitted. As with other DIU awards, vendors will be granted Other Transaction agreements to support the development of a prototype, with the possibility of follow-on production awards. DIU is accepting submissions through Nov. 27.

*** A congressionally chartered report from the National Academy of Public Administration recommends that Congress build on existing competencies in science and technology assessment and create a new office to fill gaps at the committee level. The report calls for a new Office of the Congressional Science and Technology Advisor to focus on adding advisors to House and Senate committees with significant portfolios while continuing to support the nascent Science and Technology Assessment role at the Government Accountability Office and rapid reaction policy explainers from the Congressional Research Service. The report also recommends a coordinating council to supervise all these lines of effort.

*** The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is being extended through the end of the 116th Congress, which ends in January 2021. The new committee is charged with upgrading congressional management and human resources policies as well as technology and transparency.