Federal Newscast

Another potential buyer for CSRA

In today's Federal Newscast, CACI International makes an offer to buy IT contractor CSRA after it had already agreed to a deal with General Dynamics.

Eric White@FEDERALNEWSCAST

March 19, 2018 8:11 am

3 min read

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A new potential offer for IT contractor CSRA has emerged. The $6.8 billion deal with General Dynamics was nearly done, but now CACI International PR offered a $7.2 billion bid. The last-minute bid, if successful, would scuttle General Dynamics’ largest acquisition ever. (Reuters)

The Census Bureau readies the first big test of its 2020 decennial count technology. If successful, it will show that the agency will need to hire only 75,000 enumerators instead of the 600,000 it hired in 2010. The test launches in April to see whether citizens can safely use the internet to send their information. (Federal News Radio)

The General Services Administration is out with its plan to let government agencies start buying products through commercial e-commerce sites. The roadmap won’t be fully implemented until 2020, but GSA officials indicated the plan is not just about Amazon: They said they want to give agency buyers access to as many e-commerce platforms as possible. First though, they said they need Congress to make at least four significant changes to acquisition law. Those changes include a proposed increase to the government’s micropurchase threshold, so that agencies can quickly buy goods worth up to $25,000. (Federal News Radio)

A Naval Research Laboratory satellite is now the longest remaining man-made object in space. The Vanguard I marked sixty years in space on Saturday. The project was launched in 1958 and was designed to observe geophysical phenomena. It was launched during the U.S.’ space race with the Soviet Union.

In forecasting aerospace activity, the FAA reflects its own management challenges. In its latest forecast, the FAA observed steady growth in commercial passenger traffic long term. Short term, by 2022 that is, the agency has predicted a doubling of hobby drones and a fourfold increase in commercial drones operating in the U.S. airspace. That’ll mean nearly three million unmanned aircraft of all sizes. The FAA has the main task of figuring out how drones and passenger aircraft will safely co-exist. (Federal Aviation Administration)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wants more information from the Homeland Security Department about its suspension and debarment program. The DHS Inspector General said the department is inaccurately tracking suspended and debarred companies. The IG said the director of the DHS program recently ignored a recommendation for contractor debarment. McCaskill wants a list of companies that DHS suspended or debarred over the last five years, and details on how long it took to complete the actions. (Federal News Radio)

Three lawmakers make the case for 2019 cybersecurity funding. The Homeland Security Department requested $237 million in fiscal 2019 for the Continuous Diagnostic and Mitigation or CDM program. Congressmen Will Hurd (R-Texas), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) want to make sure they get it. The bi-partisan group of lawmakers wrote to the House Appropriations Committee asking them to ensure DHS gets the full amount next year. The members said CDM is of paramount importance because it gives agencies the ability to monitor and assess threats to their networks in an ever-changing cyber landscape. For 2018, DHS requested $279 million, which Congress has yet to fund. (Rep. John Ratcliffe)

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is again asking the Office of Management and Budget to make agencies’ reorganization plans public. Cummings made his first request back in December. OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said the agency can’t release them because the plans are deliberative. The plans agencies submitted to OMB in September are not “end products” and are part of the changing 2019 budget process. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service sent its 2017 report to Congress. The 20 women panel studied 13 topics for their latest report. This time around the major focus was on gender integration and family care. DACOWITS recommended military branches share best practices for gender integration, and increase childcare resources along with flexible parental leave. (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service)