Ideas
The real cost of a shutdown: Disrupting the U.S. workforce, innovation and national security
COMMENTARY | A government shutdown hurts government operations, industry and the U.S. economy.
Cybersecurity
CISA issues emergency patching directive for Cisco devices on federal networks
An emerging cyber threat group is exploiting vulnerabilities in Cisco devices, both the company and CISA said. The hackers have potential links to China, according to an analysis put out last year.
Emerging Tech
Lawmakers have filed nearly a dozen quantum amendments to FY26 NDAA
Multiple senators underscored the importance of the U.S. conducting further research and development in the quantum information science and technology industry, and made the case for its importance in defense.
People
Agencies should prep for mass layoffs if shutdown occurs, White House says
OMB is requesting updated reduction-in-force plans even if a shutdown is averted.
Acquisition
GSA inks OneGov deal with Grok AI
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok AI, will be available to agencies for $0.42 as part of the OneGov procurement program.
Ideas
Don’t wait: GovCon must prepare now for a potential shutdown
Congress remains deadlocked and Sept. 30 is a week away. That means contractors should dust off shutdown plans and take immediate action on invoices, contracts and cash flow.
Digital Government
Democratic report: DOGE is risking Americans’ data by operating outside federal law
A report released by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said a lack of restrictions on DOGE employees’ collection of sensitive data can result “in serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities, privacy violations, and risk of corruption.”
Acquisition
GSA launches second phase of FedRAMP 20x backed by OMB
This next step in overhauling the federal government’s cloud security authorization program will pilot authorizations at the Moderate security level.
Exclusive
People
The Interior Department is taking steps to implement layoffs
After a series of delays, DOI is preparing RIF lists as it looks to implement significant personnel cuts in the coming weeks.
Policy
Trump budget office is hiding federal spending information, ethics nonprofit alleges
Federal courts have ordered the Office of Management and Budget to publish information about how agency funding is disbursed, but Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington contends that officials are using footnotes to obfuscate disclosure.
Ideas
China’s AI surge exposes America’s blind spot: research security
COMMENTARY | AI research matters more than ever.
Policy
Facing a shutdown, budget negotiations are much harder because Congress has given Trump power to cut spending through ‘rescission’
Lawmakers are navigating a familiar budget crisis, but a rarely used presidential tool is shifting the balance of power and raising stakes for both parties.
Modernization
VA to focus on EHR deployment first, then innovative additions, official says
Dr. Neil Evans, who is currently overseeing VA’s deployment of a new EHR system, said one benefit of rolling out the Oracle Health software is “we can, in the future, more easily orchestrate and deliver an integrated technological experience.”
Digital Government
IRS announces the phased end of paper check refunds
The Trump White House set a Sept. 30 deadline for the Treasury Department to stop cutting paper checks, although the IRS said it will still be issuing a “limited number” of checks where there is no alternative option.
Emerging Tech
White House instructs agencies to prioritize emerging tech and ‘Gold Standard Science’
The memorandum for fiscal year 2027 science and technology outlines research priority areas, with a concerted effort to move away from diversity, equity and inclusion-based initiatives.
People
As shutdown looms, federal agencies have no public plans for one
How the Trump administration would handle a shutdown and who it plans to furlough remains a mystery.
Defense
Pentagon bans tech vendors from using China-based personnel following a ProPublica investigation
The Defense Department has tightened cybersecurity requirements for its cloud services providers. The changes come after ProPublica revealed how Microsoft’s use of China-based engineers left sensitive government
Acquisition
GSA selects 53 more small businesses for OASIS+
The General Services Administration is preparing formal awards and notices-to-proceed for these companies on the professional services vehicle's 8(a) track.
Acquisition
Meta offers agencies access to its open source AI models through OneGov deal
The agreement will allow government customers to use Meta’s Llama models, which are already publicly available, with the assurance that they meet federal requirements.
Ideas