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• Service members may see bigger bonuses coming their way in the near future. The Senate version of the 2023 Defense authorization bill budgets for higher enlistment and reenlistment bonuses for specific jobs in the military that are not being filled. It’s part of the reason why the Senate Armed Services Committee wants to give the Pentagon $45 billion more than it requested.

• The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are proposing differing topline numbers for the Defense budget next year. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2023 Defense authorization bill allows for $817 billion in Pentagon spending. On the other hand, the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the bill trends closer to what the Biden Administration requested with $772 billion. The discrepancy could lead to disputes over the yearly defense policy bill. Last week, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Calif.)  said he expects an amendment that will increase the House bill’s topline. (Federal News Network)

• The Defense Department wasted an estimated $5 million in a single year by buying items it already had in its inventory. That’s according to a DoD inspector general’s review of the Defense Logistics Agency’s excess property program. The IG found the military services bought more than 130,000 items that were already in like-new condition at DLA warehouses in 2020. The report found one main reason is that the services’ ordering systems don’t communicate with DLA’s excess inventory database.

• The Defense Logistics Agency’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer Lindsey Saul said data analytics are the “weapon system of the future,” and DLA is preparing for that day. She said DLA is working on a strategy to increase its data maturity level from two to three. To do that, DLA is preparing its data for cross functional applications and collaboration. It’s already gotten a head start with programs for COVID 19 response, and with the Advana analytics platform. (Federal News Network)

• The Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Inspector General is using data to analyze issues geospatially. Renata Miskell, the OIG’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer, said they’re using predictive analytics and location data to map out risky Medicare and Medicaid providers. That’s helping the Office of Investigations better target their investigations. “It’s one thing to look at spreadsheets and another thing to look at a map,” she said.

• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is set to get some new ideas on how to address its recruiting challenges. CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee meets on Wednesday to consider its very first slate of recommendations. These include suggestions on CISA’s cyber workforce. Wednesday’s meeting will also feature discussions around improving national cyber hygiene, as well as vulnerability discovery and disclosure recommendations.

• The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council is reviewing a dozen different proposed rules to improve how agencies manage and protect their supply chains. Jeff Koses, GSA’s senior procurement executive, said in his 30 years in government, he’s never seen so much focus on any one topic. The FAR cases mostly fall into one of four categories: identifying risks, protecting sensitive information, exclusion orders and additional high risk procurements. Koses said he expects many of these FAR Cases to be ready for public comment or finalized by late fall.

• The Commerce Department was able to see early drafts of the President’s Management Agenda which helped it incorporate the initiatives into its own strategic plan. NASA said it also stuck close to the PMA for it’s strategic plan. Along with the Evidence Act, federal performance management leaders say these directives put additional weight behind their own messages of data-driven decision making and incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility principles. But they still face the same challenges of more requirements without the extra funding. (Federal News Network)

• Around 3,600 allegations of prohibited federal workplace practices are one step closer to seeing the light of day. Merit Systems Protection Board members Tristan Leavitt and Raymond Limon have decided on about 200 federal labor cases. That’s before the Senate confirmed MSPB’s third and final member, Cathy Harris. She told Federal News Network the board is now working through an initial “mix” of cases. Those include new and old cases, ones that may issue employee backpay and some whistleblower cases. Harris said her confirmation could help MSPB get through the backlog more efficiently. (Federal News Network)

• Another group of employees at the Bureau of Land Management elects to unionize. In a unanimous vote, BLM frontline workers in Taos, New Mexico, elected the National Treasury Employees Union as their representative. This is the third group from BLM to join NTEU in the last 18 months. The employees will be part of the New Mexico chapter, merging with their counterparts in Santa Fe. Tony Reardon, the NTEU’s national president, said this vote represents a growing movement of federal employees joining unions.

• Security clearance reform efforts are moving forward quickly. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is adding four new categories of alerts to its continuous vetting program this year. And more agencies are also adopting DCSA’s continuous vetting service. Heather Green, the assistant director of vetting risk operations at DCSA, said the agency is focused on growing its personnel security services. “It’s an extremely exciting time. We’re seeing that reform and transformation is here. And we’re seeing the impact of that change in our personnel security process,” Green said. (Federal News Network)

• Three proposed locations for a new FBI headquarters in suburban Maryland and Virginia are still viable sites for the agency to relocate. The General Services Administration told lawmakers in a phone briefing Friday that sites in Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia continue to meet the agency’s mission needs. The FBI has been working with GSA, as the federal government’s landlord, on plans for a new consolidated headquarters for nearly two decades. The Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations are both vying for the new FBI headquarters to be built in their state. (Federal News Network)

• GSA makes the final set of awards under a governmentwide small business contract. Joining the other 1,047 firms to have won a spot on the 8(a) STARS III contract are 61 small businesses. The General Services Administration announced the third and final cohort of awardees on Friday. 8(a) STARS III is a governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services. GSA made two other sets of awards, the first coming in June 2021 and the second coming in February. Over the last year, agencies have awarded more than 150 task orders worth more than $180 million through 8(a) STARS III.

• The IRS is using AI-powered bots to set up payment plans with taxpayers over the phone. Individuals who owe less than $25,000 to the IRS and who receive a mailed notice from the agency, can now call an AI powered bot and set up a payment, all without having to wait on the phone to speak with an IRS employee. Taxpayers can name their own price for the payment plan, as long as they pay their balance within the timeframe of the relevant collection statute or up to 72 months. The IRS expects the bots will free up time for IRS employees to handle more complex requests from taxpayers calling the agency. (Federal News Network)

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