Quick Hits

*** The Government Accountability Office declined a protest from vendor Salient against awards made in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's $2 billion, 10-year Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS) contract. Five awards were made to vendors under the BOSS contract this April.

*** The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced the expansion of a partnership with the Social Security Administration that allows applicants for lawful permanent resident status to apply for a Social Security number as part of the same status adjustment process.

"Eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and optimizing collaboration across public-serving agencies is a key priority for this agency and the Biden-Harris administration," USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said in a statement.

*** A new report from the Partnership for Public Service found a dramatic uptick in the number of Senate-confirmed positions in government and increases in the time it takes for officials to win Senate confirmation.