Posts By Ross Wilkers

House Approves Bill to Stop Pentagon Civilian Furloughs

The House on Tuesday approved two amendments to the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill that would ban the Pentagon from furloughing civilian workers for that fiscal year, GovExec reports. Kellie Lunney writes one amendment applies to civilian defense workers placed on unpaid leave and the other amendment covers employees falling under working capital funds.Read… Read more »

Pentagon Audit: Navy Spent $870M on ERP System, Did Not Use Asset Mgmt Function

The U.S. Navy spent $870 million to implement a new enterprise resource planning system but did not use the systems’ asset management functionality to manage military equipment. Department of the Navy Office of Financial Operations officials were supposed to use the ERP system to manage more than $416 million in military equipment assets as countedRead… Read more »

DISA Wants 10 for Cloud Contract, Only 5 Have Passed FedRAMP

The Defense Information Research Agency wants to award 10 positions on a potential $450 million cloud computing products and services contract even as only five companies have gone through the new governmentwide cloud certification process, Federal Times reports. Nicole Blake Johnson writes companies that hold the FedRAMP authority to operate are Amazon Web Services, AutonomicRead… Read more »

Report: CBP to Upgrade Drone Aircraft Payload

The Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Patrol plans to modernize the payload of its unmanned aircraft system in an effort to bolster security, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the Atlantic Wire has reported. Philip Bump writes the upgrade could cover the synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target and micro-motion target indicators, automatic target recognitionRead… Read more »

Report: Commodity Trading Futures Commission to Decide on Cross-Border Policies

The Commodity Trading Futures Commission is slated to decide on policies governing the transaction between foreign companies and U.S. banks, Reuters reported Wednesday. Douwe Miedema writes Chairman Gary Gensler and Commissioner Mark Wetjen will soon agree on cross-territory policies as the temporary respite to these rules is nearing its end. Gensler recently wanted foreign firmsRead… Read more »

DISA Schedules RFP for $427M Enterprise Storage Contract

The Defense Information Systems Agency is set to start accepting proposals July 16 for a potential $427 enterprise storage contract. DISA intends for the contract to have four base years and two one-year options, the agency said in a Wednesday FedBizOpps post. Work under the Enterprise Storage Service II contract will occur at agency sitesRead… Read more »

FTC Member Julie Brill Pushes for Healthcare Data Protection

Julie Brill, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, has expressed support for privacy protection in the healthcare sector amid increasing big data applications, GovernmentHealthIT.com reported June 27. Anthony Brino writes that Brill proposes that consumers regain control over their personal information, determine the amount of data to share and be able choose whether toRead… Read more »

Postal Service Wants $624M for New Autos

The U.S. Postal Service has asked Congress for $624 million to replace 11 percent of its automobiles, GovExec reported Tuesday. Mark Saunders, a USPS spokesman, told GovExec the request is preliminary at this juncture and must go through other prioritization processes before approval. Eric Katz reports the agency expects to spend $3 million for vehiclesRead… Read more »

DISA Kicks Off $450M Commercial Cloud Purchase

The Defense Information Systems Agency has released a draft request for proposals to acquire commercial cloud computing services through 2017 for up to $450 million. DISA is seeking to purchase commercial infrastructure-as-a-service tools and associated support services under the Commercial Cloud Services Provider program, the draft RFP released Monday says. Service lines covered under theRead… Read more »

Anne Rung: GSA Office Supplies Contract Vehicle Saved $200M

A General Services Administration procurement vehicle for office supplies has saved the agency $200 million and supported small contracting businesses. GSA Chief Acquisition Officer Anne Rung announced the number during the Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week Phoenix and Procurement Awards ceremony in Washington, the agency said Friday. Small contractors won 13 of 15Read… Read more »