Government Matters

General Services Administration cancels Alliant 2 small business contract

Emily Murphy, Administrator of the General Services Administration, provides updates from the General Services Administration about the Alliant 2 small business contract, leadership changes, and reopening strategy

The future of governmentwide acquisition contracts

Jason Miller, Executive Editor of Federal News Network, and Aaron Boyd, Senior Editor at Nextgov, react to the cancelation of the Alliant 2 small business contract and discuss what they expect to see happen in the future

GSA’s Alliant 2 contract for small businesses canceled

Roger Waldron, President of the Coalition for Government Procurement, presents his takeaways from the General Services Administration’s cancelation of its Alliant 2 small business contract

House markup of FY21 budget keeps one percent raise for federal employees

Jessica Klement, Staff Vice President of Policy and Programs at NARFE, discusses the House Appropriations Committee’s markup of the FY21 budget with respect to pay raises for federal employees and potential paths forward

Updates on Future Vertical Lift in the military

Andrew Hunter, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, discusses the Army’s modernization priority of Future Vertical Lift as part of a new approach to defense acquisition, and opportunities and challenges it presents

Working towards a more diverse Air Force

Gen. Larry Spencer (Ret.), USAF, 37th Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, discusses what has been done and still needs to be done for the Air Force to achieve the goal of building a force that looks like America

How defense contractors are preparing for the roll out of DoD’s CMMC

Eric Crusius, Partner at Holland & Knight, discusses the roll out of the DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and explains how contractors across government should prepare to comply with CMMC requirements

Thomas Harker performing duties of DoD Comptroller

Bob Hale, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, discusses how Thomas Harker will continue as Navy Comptroller while performing duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)

Report: Review of agency contingency plans during FY19 partial shutdown

James (Jay) McTigue, Director of Strategic Issues at the Government Accountability Office, presents what GAO found in its review of agencies’ contingency plans for government shutdowns

USCIS furloughs 13,400 employees in light of budget shortfall

Jim Williams, Partner at Schambach & Williams Consulting, discusses the impact of the fee-based U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ furlough of employees due to the coronavirus

Priority action items to implement federal hiring exec. order

Kristine Simmons, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Partnership for Public Service, discusses how President Trump’s executive order will affect hiring at agencies and what they have to do to meet the 120-day deadline

New executive order emphasizes skill over education

Jeffrey Neal, Author of www.ChiefHRO.com, explains how the new executive order focusing on prioritizing skill over education could help agencies develop a hiring process that is more effective than their current system

Staffing the IRS to process tax returns during the coronavirus

Danny Werfel, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, explains that the IRS is moving back up to full staffing and discusses how agencies can navigate bringing people back in a safe way

Utilizing anticipatory intelligence in government

Reggie Brothers, Chief Executive Officer of NuWave Solutions, describes how anticipatory intelligence can be used to help government agencies prepare for future emergency situations, such as pandemics and natural disasters

New executive order urges emphasis on skills over education

Michael Rigas, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, explains the new executive order from President Trump encouraging agencies to base hiring decisions more on skills and less on educational credentials

Budgeting for nuclear projects at NNSA

Frank Lowery, Associate Administrator for Management and Budget at the National Nuclear Security Administration, discusses how a budget increase for the NNSA would support three main mission pillars and contribute to executing the National Defense Strategy

Updates from the House Select Committee on Modernization

Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, and Republican Rep. Tom Graves, Vice Chair, discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the work of the House of Representatives and how technology advancements can be used to better serve constituents

Consumption-based cloud computing services at GSA

Alan Thomas, Former Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, discusses the introduction of consumption-based pricing for cloud computing services at GSA and situations where it could benefit agencies

The Department of Veterans Affairs during the coronavirus

Dominic Cussatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs, goes over the shift to telework at the VA during the coronavirus and IT strategy moving forward

Sammies finalist researches polar ice and climate change

Claire Parkinson, Climate Change Senior Scientist at NASA, discusses her work in sea ice research and the Aqua Satellite Mission at NASA

Updates on provisions for the Air Force in the NDAA

Deborah Lee James, Former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, talks about areas of agreement and disagreement between Congress and the Air Force and the rejection of certain Air Force proposals in the NDAA

Updates on Navy and Air Force depots

Diana Maurer, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at GAO, presents findings from the GAO about aircraft maintenance at Navy and Air Force depots and recommendations for Navy depots to stay on schedule

Takeaways from the Senate’s draft of the NDAA

Brandon Valeriano, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, discusses how the Senate should have addressed coronavirus in its NDAA draft and how priorities should be updated to reflect the events of 2020

New bill could provide visa pathway for national security workforce

Roger Zakheim, Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation & Institute, discusses a new bill that aims to build out the national security innovation base workforce

Avoiding fraud in the CARES Act

Gary Shiffman, Founder and CEO of Giant Oak, Inc., discusses the problem of increased fraud with emergency funding and what can be done to prevent fraud related to the CARES Act

Price ceiling raised on STARS II contract

Joe Jordan, CEO of Actuparo, explains the implications of the fact that the General Services Administration raised the ceiling of the STARS II contract

Preparing for both a pandemic and hurricane season

Dave Grant, Partner at Potomac Ridge Consulting, discusses how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting how agencies are preparing for this year’s hurricane season

Updates from the Veterans Health Agency Innovation Ecosystem

Danielle Krakora, Product Manager at the VA Office of Information and Technology, describes how the Veterans Health Agency Innovation Ecosystem pivoted from creating solutions for veterans to providing protective gear for first responders during the coronavirus

Heightened security risks during the coronavirus

Hugo Teufel, Chief Privacy Officer at CenturyLink, discusses the increase in cybersecurity risks with mass telework and what agencies should consider regarding privacy when collecting personal information from employees