- The Navy has a new strategy for science and technology. Navy leaders called it a “call to arms” that brought together scientists and engineers from across the country to help solve military problems. Areas of focus include autonomy and artificial intelligence, power and energy, manufacturing, and many other issues. Although the plan does not detail how the Navy will advance these goals, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said the new effort will involve the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Navy. He said this includes partnerships with universities. .
- The Air Force’s legislative proposal to transfer the National Guard’s space unit to the Space Force has sparked a backlash among state governors. The National Governors Association called for the immediate withdrawal of the bill that would remove governors’ authority over National Guard troops. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said reducing the governor’s authority over the National Guard would impact military readiness, recruitment, maintenance and National Guard infrastructure across the country. Air Force officials have proposed a bill that would bypass seven state governors and transfer 14 Guard units responsible for space missions to the Space Force.
- Two institutions received additional funding for IT modernization projects. NASA receives its first award from the Technology Modernization Fund. This is the sixth time the Ministry of Labor has received the award in about six years. These are his fourth and fifth awards the Board has bestowed since January 1, continuing his focus on cybersecurity and application modernization. The space agency is receiving $5.8 million to accelerate cybersecurity and network operational upgrades. Labor is receiving $42 million for a workers’ compensation program to replace the outdated Consolidated Federal Employees’ Compensation System. Since receiving $1 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, the TMF Board has currently invested in 43 projects.
- U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) is considering the best way to build future forces by conducting research on future force generation models. The military has typically relied on the military to train and equip its digital warriors. But leaders have pushed in recent years to adopt a more independent U.S. special operations force model. There are also calls for the Department of Defense to establish an independent cyber service. Cybercom plans to brief Pentagon leadership on its findings this summer.
- Chandra Donelson is the new acting chief data and artificial intelligence officer at the Department of the Air Force. In his new role, Mr. Donelson will be responsible for the department’s data management and analysis and implementation of AI strategy and policy. Donelson previously served as the Space Force’s Space Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer and will continue in that role. Her fiscal year 2024 goals include integrating data and AI ethics into the department’s mission systems and programs.
- The Postal Service has been considering raising prices on exclusive mail products since 2020, when it received approval from regulators to set postage rates above the rate of inflation. USPS plans to increase the price of first-class Forever stamps from 68 cents to 73 cents. If approved by regulators, these new USPS prices would go into effect on July 14th. A recent study warns that USPS price hikes are turning away more customers than officials expected. But the USPS said the data behind the study was “significantly flawed.”
- The Department of Veterans Affairs is reviewing more than 4,000 jobs that are at risk of having their pay levels reduced. The six VA jobs being considered include a mix of white-collar general schedule (GS) jobs and blue-collar pay grade (WG) jobs. They include domestic helpers, file clerks, boiler plant operators, etc. VA plans to complete the review of these positions by the end of May. The American Federation of Government Employees said affected employees received notifications by mail. But the union said it had not been notified by the Veterans Administration of the impending downgrade.
- With cyber-attacks on the rise, incident response is a big part of security risk management. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is currently seeking feedback on new recommendations for cyber incident response. This draft guidance is tied to NIST’s recently published Cybersecurity Framework 2.0. The revised publication layout is a new, more integrated model for organizations responding to cyberattacks and other network security incidents. Comments on the publication draft are expected to be submitted to NIST by May 20th.
Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not directed to users within the European Economic Area.
