Quick Hits

*** Customs and Border Protection officials offered  more detail about the goals of their $1.8 billion agile software contract with CACI. Border Enforcement Applications for Government Leading-Edge Information Technology (BEAGLE) will inject agile software development into IT across CBP's components, including development, maintenance and enhancements for Border Patrol CBP’s Air and Marine Operations software applications, an agency spokesperson said in a Nov. 13 email to FCW. The contract, quietly awarded earlier this months, is the successor to its 2013 Border Enforcement Management Systems vehicle.

*** The Office of Personnel Management is tapping its partnership with the General Services Administration's Centers of Excellence program to modernize two legacy applications: the Federal Annuity Claims Expert System desktop app that helps Office of Personnel Management staffers adjudicate retirement claims and the associated OPM Calculator app. The contracts are being opened only to vendors on GSA's Alliant 2 contract vehicle.

*** The Senate Commerce Committee advanced a bill to improve the cybersecurity workforce in part through opportunities for federal service. The HACKED Act, short for Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education Act, expands existing cybersecurity education programs sponsored federal agencies including NASA, NIST and the National Science Foundation.