The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

The General Services Administration’s top IT official says GSA did not violate the law when it bought more than 100 China-made video conferencing cameras in 2022 as part of a pilot project.

GSA Chief Information Officer David Shive also says nobody at the agency intentionally misled the contracting officer into approving the purchases.

GSA’s deputy inspector general, however, says officials in the agency’s Office of Digital Infrastructure Technologies (IDT) supplied the contracting officer with “egregiously flawed information” to approve the purchase. Deputy IG Robert Erickson Jr. also maintains that the purchase violated the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.

The issue, simmering since the IG issued its report on the purchases in January, came to a head during a hearing on Thursday before the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology and government innovation committee.

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For a couple of decades, the For Your Benefit show has aired here on Federal News Network. It was regular listening for anyone planning to retire someday. Host Bob Leins broadcast his final show this past Monday. Because he was such a fixture for our listeners and for those of us at the station, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin didn't want Mr. Leins to get away without a final interview.

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The Biden administration's executive order on artificial intelligence handed an assignment to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST is supposed to develop guidance for testing and so-called red-teaming of AI models. NIST has a request for comments about what it's supposed to do. One group responding is the Information Technology Industry Council. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked wit the Council VP Courtney Lang.

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The Secret Service operates a broad range of applications for its diverse missions. The most well-known are guarding executive federal personnel and the integrity of U.S. currency. But it also has its own cybersecurity requirements, for which it has its own SOC or Security Operations Center. For the details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin went in-depth with Roy Luongo, the Secret Service's Chief Information Security Officer.

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On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin:

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Agencies now have some detailed guidance on hand as they map out their plans for better recruitment and retention of military spouses over the next several years.

A strategic plan from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget, published Tuesday, explains how agencies can best bring in and support military spouses working in government.

The strategic plan for fiscal 2024 through 2028 comes after an executive order President Joe Biden signed in June 2023. The order called on agencies to make a bigger effort to recruit and retain military and veteran spouses.

Now with a more specific plan available, agencies have several methods — divided into three major sections — to follow and track progress toward reaching the goals set out in the June 2023 executive order.

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Starting this week, the Defense Department is implementing a major revamp of the regime it uses to test the cyber readiness posture of its commands, bases and agencies, aiming to move from a compliance-focused checklist mentality to one that tries to help commanders understand how their cyber risk actually affects their missions.

The new process seeks to put a friendlier — and hopefully more helpful — face on the Command Cyber Readiness Inspections (CCRIs) DoD has used for more than a decade. In fact, they’re no longer called “inspections” at all. Cyber Operational Readiness Assessments (CORAs) will take the place of CCRIs starting on Friday.

And although a lot is changing under the hood, officials argue the name change is important in and of itself.

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The fix is in for federal small business contracting. And this fix is actually a good one.

Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, are trying to correct a misunderstanding of congressional intent when it comes to how and when agencies should consider price when reviewing proposals for contracts.

Ernst said she believes her bill, the Conforming Procedures for Federal Task and Delivery Order Contracts Act, will let agencies push reviews of cost back to the task order level where it belongs.

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On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin:

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Among the more arcane rules of federal contract protests, a company can't make a money appeal on a protest decision unless that appeal contains a specific dollar amount. It is called the "sum certain rule." But is it really a hard and fast rule? And if not, what does that mean for the government and for contractors? For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Haynes Boone procurement attorney Dan Ramish.

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