GOP Senators urge defense secretary to reinstate military members, issue backpay for vaccine-related discharges

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• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is investigating a cyber incident at one of its subcontractors. A data breach at the company Healthcare Management Solutions may have exposed the personal information of 254,000 Medicare beneficiaries. HMS is a subcontractor to ASRC Federal Data Solutions. CMS said it is still investigating the incident, but initial information indicates HMS acted in violation of its obligations to the agency. The breached data may include names, addresses, social security numbers, and banking information. CMS said no Medicare claims data was breached in this incident.

• The Navy awarded a new 10-year, $5 billion contract to update its on-board communication system. The new contract calls for replacing the existing ship’s networks with Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES). CANES represents a key aspect of the Navy’s modernization planning by upgrading cybersecurity, command and control, communications and intelligence systems, and by replacing obsolete networks. The updated system will consolidate and reduce the number of so-called “afloat networks” that are needed, through the use of a common-computing environment and mature cross domain technologies. Eight companies including BAE, Leidos and Peraton will share the award.

• A group of 11 Republican senators wants the Defense Department to reinstate military members who were discharged after refusing orders to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 repeals the mandated vaccine for military members. The senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting all COVID-related discharges be frozen, and those service members who have already been released get reinstated with back pay and benefits.

• A governmentwide forum of inspectors general is getting new leadership in January. Interior Department IG Mark Greenblatt will serve a two-year term as the new chairman of the Council of IGs on Integrity and Efficiency, known as CIGIE. He’ll take over the leadership role from the outgoing chairwoman, NASA Inspector General Allison Lerner. Greenblatt previously served as CIGIE’s vice chairman and as its executive director. Greenblatt has worked in the federal oversight community since 2003 in both legislative and executive branch positions.

• Two agencies receive almost $15 million to modernize customer experience. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Railroad Retirement Board will receive an influx of funding from the Technology Modernization Fund to address long-standing customer experience challenges. The TMF Board awarded USAID almost $6 million to accelerate the development of its agencywide customer relationship management system. The RRB is slated to get almost $9 million to move major services for railroad retirees from phone and paper to new online systems. This is the first tranche of awards after the Biden administration’s promise last June to spend $100 million from the TMF to improve customer experience systems across government.

• The end of the year brings yet another acquisition in the federal sector. This time L3Harris Technologies is buying Aerojet Rocketdyne for almost $5 billion. Aerojet Rocketdyne provides propulsion systems and energetics to the Defense Department, NASA and other partners and allies worldwide. Aerojet Rocketdyne earned more than $970 million in prime and subcontract awards coming from NASA and DoD last year. L3Harris won more than $2.5 billion in prime contract awards in 2022, but only a small percentage of that came from NASA. The deal is expected to close in 2023.

• About 32,000 feds may soon see bigger paychecks. The President’s Pay Agent approved four new pay localities for feds on the General Schedule. The new areas are Fresno, California; Reno, Nevada; Rochester, New York; and Spokane, Washington. Some existing pay localities will also be expanded. But none of the changes will go into effect until 2024. The pay agent approved the changes based on recommendations from the Federal Salary Council. But in the same breath, the agent restated a years-long call to reform the federal pay system overall. (Pay agent calls for ‘major reforms’ to federal pay system, approves four new pay localities – Federal News Network)

• The General Services Administration is making its first investments in greener federal buildings, as part of a decade-long spending plan for these types of projects. GSA said it will spend $300 million on projects that will maximize the use of low-carbon emission construction materials and retrofit facilities to reduce their carbon emissions. Among the projects, GSA is looking to consolidate office space in Chicago for the Department of Health and Human Services, and upgrade an HHS laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado to achieve net-zero emissions. The agency expects the projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 120,000 metric tons and will save $35 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.

• Lawmakers want to expand on the Biden administration’s push to advance racial equity through federal programs. Two Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee introduced a pair of bills aiming to ensure agencies’ work toward equity stays for the long-run. One piece of legislation would create internal agency equity advisory teams, tasked with leading the charge on programs to advance equity. The other bill would require agencies to include equity-related goals in their future strategic plans.

• The Department of Homeland Security is looking for innovative technology proposals from small businesses. DHS released the fiscal 2023 Small Business Innovation Research solicitation last week. The SBIR program office is awarding funding across multiple research topics,  including real-time detection of cyber attacks, air cargo screening technologies, and digital ID badges for first responders. DHS is accepting proposals through January 17. The first phase of the program will then begin in May.

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