FCC launches its Space Bureau

• The full rankings and analysis of the government's Best Places to Work are out today and the results are not so good. Agencies took another hit in the governmentwide employee engagement and satisfaction score. The Partnership for Public Service reported a roughly 1-point drop in the 2022 results, following a hefty 4.5-point decrease a year ago. Just 19 out of 74 agencies in the rankings either increased or held steady in their Best Places to Work engagement scores. The Partnership said the results are a "warning signal" for federal leaders, as agencies continue to compete with the private sector for workforce recruitment and retention.
  (2022 Best Places to Work results are a ‘warning signal’ for agency leaders - Federal News Network)
• Agencies are getting some updated guidance to help them with their zero trust security plans. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has added more details to its Zero Trust Maturity Model. CISA rolled out Version 2.0 of the model yesterday. It was first published in 2021. CISA Director Jen Easterly said the updated document adds an initial stage of maturity to help agencies start their zero trust journey. “We found that it was too high a leap to go from traditional to advanced, so we now we have the initial stage,” Easterly said. The updated model also adds more detail around adopting key security measures, like multifactor authentication.
  (CISA’s updated zero trust model aims to help agencies walk before they run - Federal News Network)
• The Federal Communications Commission officially launched its Space Bureau yesterday. The FCC also held a kickoff event for its Office of International Affairs. The two new offices are a result of the reorganizing of what was formerly the FCC’s International Bureau. The new Space Bureau is expected to handle issues like satellite licensing and orbital debris rules. Julie Kearney will serve as the first chief of the Space Bureau. She previously worked in the private sector for a number of companies, including Twilio, Loon and National Public Radio.
  (FCC Announces Staff for Office of International Affairs & Space Bureau - FCC)
• Lawmakers are revisiting a law to stop illegal opioids from coming through the mail. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) are leading a new bill to update the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention or STOP Act, that Congress passed in 2018. The STOP Act 2.0 would allow the Postal Service, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to enter into partnerships with private parcel services, to develop technology and processes that would help identify the origin of illegal opioid shipments. The original STOP Act required other countries to provide advanced electronic data on all packages coming into the country via USPS.
  (Klobuchar, Capito Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Tackle Illegal Opioids Entering the U.S. - Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.))

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• The Office of Management and Budget is close to finalizing new requirements for software security. OMB expects to give vendors and agencies their first glimpse of a new software attestation form in the coming weeks. Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said the draft form, required by the White House's September 2022 memo, will be open for comment after its release. He said the initial goal of the self-attestation form is to ensure that when agencies buy commercial software, vendors are following secure development practices. He said they are not starting with third party audits, but the requirements will be meaningful and mandate vendors sign the form.
  (AFCEA Tech Summit 2023 - AFCEA DC)
• The Defense Department is offering a new roadmap for funding conservation projects near military bases. The Resilience Project Funding Guide provides details about funding resources from over 25 federal and non-federal conservation programs. The money goes to supporting cost-sharing agreements between military services and other governmental organizations, who partner with private conservation groups. Installations and partners can use the guide to review funding opportunities for developing nature-based solutions near installations and ranges that support military missions, preserve habitats and increase climate resilience.
  (DoD Releases 2023 REPI Resilience Project Funding Guide - DoD)
• The military's new electronic health record, called the MHS Genesis, is raising concerns among DoD leaders that more potential recruits will be disqualified based on their medical histories. Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said yesterday the Army will evaluate how MHS Genesis affects recruiting. The platform, more than past systems, presents a more complete look at a candidate’s medical history, exposing problems the recruit might not have disclosed. Camarillo said the Army will not lower standards, but at the same time it may have to issue waivers for many minor physical or mental health issues that turn up in a recruit’s medical history.
  (AUSA Coffee with Gabe Camarillo - Gabe Camarillo)
• A watchdog report has found that the Postal Service met its legal requirements estimating the environmental impact of its Next-Generation Delivery Vehicle fleet. The USPS inspector general’s office found the agency adhered to the National Environmental Policy Act, when it did an environmental impact review of its next-generation fleet. That review is at the center of three federal lawsuits, filed at a time when USPS planned for electric vehicles to make up about 10% of its new fleet. USPS now expects EVs will make up 75% of its next-generation fleet.
  (USPS IG report clears agency’s vehicle environmental study central to 3 lawsuits - Federal News Network)
• Agencies have 105 questions to answer about their implementation of accessibility requirements under Section 508. The responses are a part of the government's annual assessment of agency compliance with the law. The questions cover 11 different areas, including training, testing and validation and policies and practices. The General Services Administration and the Justice Department will use this information to issue annual and biennial reports to Congress, including a report making all agency responses public. The reporting window opens June 1 and responses to all the questions are due by August 11.
  (Annual Section 508 assessment - Section508.gov)
• NASA has two new leads for its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts. Steve Shih will be the first to serve as diversity ambassador, a new position for the agency focused on external DEIA partnerships. Shih currently works as NASA's associate administrator for diversity and equal opportunity. Elaine Ho will take over that position in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. Ho has previously served as the chief diversity officer at the Department of Agriculture and the IRS.
  (NASA Names Two Diversity Champions for Agency - NASA)

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