Acquisition
Feds get more guidance on COVID vaccination, testing
The Biden administration is eyeing booster shots for some Americans, but for its vaccination and testing program for federal employees, those who are two weeks out from a completed vaccination are considered covered without a booster shot, for now.
Acquisition
Why VA must keep Vista healthy
The moratorium on further Vista investment put in place three years ago creates major strategic issues for the Department of Veterans Affairs as the agency looks to put Cerner's commercial electronic health record system in place.
Acquisition
TMF, cyber EO drive modernization at Labor, CIO says
The unprecedented investment in IT and cybersecurity resources have provided agencies like the Department of Labor with a historic opportunity to tackle some of their loftiest modernization plans.
Acquisition
Can DOD make buying software easier?
FCW talked with Tory Cuff, senior advisor for agile acquisitions, to get a better understanding of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework's special software pathway and DOD's pilot experiment with "colorless" money.
Acquisition
CMMC board chief talks assessors, IT staff
Matt Travis, the CEO for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, said proper training and IT access to the Defense Department's Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) application, which will house CMMC data, still needs to be finalized for the third-party organizations that will be charged with conducting cyber assessments.
Modernization
Pilot IRS awards five scanning contracts
The IRS is using an innovative procurement program to test and deploy experimental solutions to digitize paper files as part of an agencywide effort to reduce the reliance on non-machine-readable documentation.
Acquisition
IRS looks to experiment with augmented reality
Taxpayers might soon be able to file their financial documents with the help of AR capabilities thanks to an experimental procurement technique the IRS is using to test and deploy innovative technologies and solutions.
Acquisition
Watchdog says contractor oversight was lacking in Afghanistan
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's newest report calls out the government's failure to oversee contractors as a source of waste, fraud and abuse.
Acquisition
DHS eyes CMMC model
DHS' Office of the Chief Procurement Officer issued a special notice Aug. 10, noting that it is looking for a way to check contractors' compliance with its cyber hygiene clauses released in 2015.
Modernization
Microsoft touts top secret cloud ATO
Azure Government Top Secret is now "generally available" for national security workloads, Microsoft announced in a blog post.
Modernization
State Department expands push to the cloud
The State Department wants to go all in on the cloud, starting with a new multiplatform toolset to add flexibility and innovation to IT services.
Acquisition
OMB report highlights major barriers to equity in federal programs
Onerous paperwork, complex requirements and opaque guidelines are just some of the many roadblocks preventing racial equity across government services, a new report says.
Acquisition
New guidance on vaccines and COVID testing for feds and contractors
The White House-led Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce issued additional question and answer style guidance on Friday addressing how exactly the recently-released vaccination and testing requirements will be carried out.
Acquisition
How VA can succeed with its EHR mega-program
The former CIO of the Department of Veterans Affairs offers some ideas for course correction in the agency's flagging $20 billion–plus Electronic Health Records Modernization program.
People
Unions press SSA leaders for a new contract, workplace safety plan
Biden ousted top leaders at the Social Security Administration last month, but some union officials say more personnel change is needed further down the ladder.
Acquisition
DOD could face $4 billion in pandemic reimbursement payments for contractors
According to a GAO report, the Defense Department may have $4 billion in eligible reimbursements for contractors under the CARES Act.
Modernization
Globally connected data can safeguard the defense industrial and technology base
Data can play a critical role in planning and ultimately protecting the nation's valuable talent, resources and supplies.
Acquisition
Agencies have proposed more than $2B in TMF projects since new funding was approved
Federal CIO Clare Martorana told a House subcommittee that 108 project proposals have been submitted to the Technology Modernization Fund across 43 agencies, with 75% focusing on cybersecurity since the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Acquisition
VA to continue pause on Cerner deployment for six more months
At the end of calendar 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs expects to announce a new schedule for the deployment of its $21 billion electronic health record modernization project.
Modernization