Biden administration wants to get women closer in pay parity with men

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• The Office of Management and Budget tapped nine senior executives to lead the President’s Management Agenda’s three priority areas. The workforce area will be led by OPM, DoD and the Labor Department. The customer experience area will be led by the Agriculture Department, GSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Meanwhile, Commerce, HHS and DHS will oversee the business of government efforts. OMB Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller wrote in a blog post that each of the leaders are members of the President’s Management Council and will use that body to establish the strategic vision, and drive implementation and progress across the government. OMB announced the initial vision for the PMA in November. The more detailed PMA is expected later this year.

• A new effort from the Biden administration aims to get women closer in pay parity to men. Two initiatives seek to prohibit use of a people’s prior salaries when hiring them. The Office of Personnel Management will propose a rule to ban use of prior pay in agency hiring. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council will do so for contractors. In the meantime, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is out with a directive for contractors to do annual pay audits to make sure everyone is paid equitably.

• The Office of Management and Budget gains a permanent director. The Senate confirms Shalanda Young to lead OMB on a permanent basis, after serving as its acting director. President Joe Biden originally named Young to serve as deputy OMB director, but nominated her for the top job after his first pick, Neera Tanden, withdrew her nomination. Young is the first Black woman to lead OMB.

• There’s another new CIO in the intelligence community. La’Naia Jones is the new chief information officer and the director of the Information Technology Enterprise (ITE) within the Directorate of Digital Innovation at the CIA. She took over for Juliane Gallina, who moved to a new role in February. Gallina is now the deputy director of the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation. Jones who came to the CIA last month, was the deputy CIO at the National Security Agency for the past year. She also served as the deputy CIO of the intelligence community in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for two years.

• Federal contractors have a new guide for ensuring they’re protecting sensitive data on their networks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology released a new publication for “Assessing Enhanced Security Requirements for Controlled Unclassified Information.” NIST’s guide can help determine whether organizations are using effective security controls. The cybersecurity measures are intended to defend against more advanced hacking attempts. The assessment guide is also crucial to the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

• Lawmakers look for more progress on security clearance reform. The 2022 Intelligence Authorization Act directs agencies to publish guidelines and standards to implement Trusted Workforce 2.0. The initiative is aimed at streamlining and updating government-wide security clearance policies. But lawmakers want more information on the multi-year reform effort. The intelligence bill also directs an independent study of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, including an assessment of “how effective such initiatives are or will be in determining who should or should not have access to classified information.” (Federal News Network)

• The Census Bureau is looking for tech experts to take on data innovation projects in government. The bureau is accepting applications for its Emerging Technology Fellowship, which gives private-sector experts and opportunity to pitch new projects for funding. Fellows will also meet with leading federal experts in data science and artificial intelligence. The bureau is looking for fellows who can help it automatically detect changes in satellite imagery, and develop the next-generation of privacy-enhancing technologies. The bureau will accept applications through March 21.

• A filthy, dilapidated U.S. Park Police facility has a member of Congress demanding an investigation. Congressman Jody Hice (R-Ga.) ranking member of the subcommittee on Government Operations, asks Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for answers about a dispatch facility in Northeast D.C. that’s full of mold and bird droppings. And about lack of staff, training, and equipment for effective police work in the D.C. region national parks. The conditions were uncovered last week by Interior Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt. Hear an interview with him at Federal News Network’s Federal Drive page.

• The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency is getting a head start on building a new constellation of small satellites that’ll eventually be able to track and target missiles from space, even hypersonic ones. What SDA calls the “tracking layer” had already been in the planning stages, but a $500 million infusion of funds from the omnibus spending bill President Joe Biden signed yesterday lets the agency accelerate its plans. SDA plans to use other transaction agreements to get started on prototypes. The $1.5 trillion omnibus has a boost for the Defense Department’s space efforts. Congress is giving the military about $1.3 billion more than the Defense Department requested for the Space Force and its programs. Those extra funds will go specifically into developing weapons systems. About half a billion dollars will go to missile tracking satellites being tested by the Space Development Agency. Other funds will go for an extra GPS satellite. DoD is particularly concerned about space assets as Russia is threatening eastern Europe.

• Last week, two airmen were the first service members to fly an electric aircraft with military worthiness. The project is part of the Air Force’s Agility Prime program, which aims to build a new class of air mobility systems with industry. The aircraft has a recharge time of less than an hour, but can fly at 150 knots and has a range of 250 miles.

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