FCW Insider: Sept. 10

DOD refreshes acquisition policies

The Defense Department released a long-awaited update of policies governing its buying practices, with an eye to rapid technology acquisition.

Kessel Run works through growing pains

The Air Force's deputy CIO, Lauren Knausenberger, said the military branch's popular software factory has been a "victim of its own success" as it navigates trying to keep the spark as it gets bigger.

Cyber, but in space

A White House memo proposes that space-based technology must have cybersecurity built in at the design stage while also allowing flexibility for operators to adapt on the fly.

Don't expect finished defense bill soon

Rep. Mac Thornberry, the House Armed Services Committee's ranking member, said the November elections could hold up negotiations over key provisions in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

Quick Hits

*** AT&T might be back in the running for a Social Security Administration telephony contract worth more than $500 million. Washington Technology has more.

*** A group of 11 lawmakers from the National Capital Region urged Trump administration officials to let federal employees and service members decide for themselves whether to participate in a payroll tax deferment. In an Sept. 8 letter led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), lawmakers urged the administration, "to immediately reverse course and pursue an opt-in system that will allow federal employees to freely choose whether or not to have their payroll taxes deferred."