GOP senators put hold on over 40 Biden nominees

• Senate Republicans are putting a hold on more than 40 of President Joe Biden’s nominees, half of whom are nominees to the federal bench. But the list includes former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who Biden picked to serve on the Postal Service’s Board of Governors. Senators are also blocking New York real estate developer Jeff Gural’s nomination to serve as chairman of the Public Buildings Reform Board. Gural currently serves as a board member. The board is tasked with recommending underutilized federal buildings that agencies should sell.
  (Senate Conservatives Announce Sweeping Hold Policy On Biden Lawfare Nominees - Sen. Doc Marshall (R-Kan.))
• Some feds continue to see fraudulent deductions from their flexible spending accounts. Some employees saw fraudulent FSAFEDS deductions in their June 7 paychecks. Fraud in the FSAFEDS program was first reported in late May. The Office of Personnel Management still says it has no evidence that FSAFEDS systems have been breached. The fraud is thought to have impacted several hundred federal employees. OPM has paused enrollments in the FSAFEDS program to stem further instances of fraud.
  (Some feds continue to see fraudulent FSAFEDS deductions - Federal News Network )
• For the third time, the incumbent vendor for DoD's nearly $3 billion freight contract has lost a pre-award bid protest for the follow-on award to Defense Freight Transportation Services. Crowley Government Services has been challenging a part of the solicitation that would let the General Services Administration perform contract audits. The Government Accountability Office and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had already declined to overturn that provision of the RFP. This month, the Court of Federal Claims did the same. Crowley also has an appeal pending on that issue — and others — before the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
  (Crowley Government Services v. the U.S. - Court of Federal Claims)
• President Joe Biden has nominated Army Maj. Gen. Paul Stanton to lead the Defense Information Systems Agency. If confirmed, Maj. Gen. Stanton will take over for Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, who has been in the position since 2021. Stanton will also serve as the commander of the Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network located at Fort Meade, Maryland. Stanton currently serves as the commanding general of the Army Cyber Center of Excellence. Prior to his current role, Stanton served as the deputy director of operations at the U.S. Cyber Command and as the commander of the Army Cyber Protection Brigade.
  (Biden nominates next DISA director - DoD)

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• The Republican-controlled House has cleared its version of the 2025 defense policy bill by a slim margin, despite Democratic opposition to provisions related to abortion access; diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and climate change efforts. Only three Republicans opposed the measure and six Democrats voted in favor of it. Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved its own version of the defense policy bill, which is $25 billion above budget caps. House and Senate leaders will begin negotiating the final version of the measure once the Senate clears its version of the bill.
  (House clears its version of NDAA - House Armed Services Committee)
• Brig. Gen. Camilla White is now leading the Army’s program executive office for combat support. She previously served as the deputy of the Army’s program executive officer for command, control and communications-tactical. Prior to that, White completed her assignment as the chief of staff to the Army assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology. White was promoted to the rank of brigadier general earlier this year, becoming the first African American woman to attain the position within the Army Acquisition Corps. White’s program executive office manages a wide range of equipment programs.
  (PEO C3T former deputy to take over PEO for combat support - PEO Combat Support & Combat Service Support)
• The Army is getting serious about moving its networks to the latest generation of internet protocol addressing. A new memo from Army CIO Leo Garciga is telling Army components that by the end of September, all new IT equipment will need to be IPv6-enabled before it is used on Army networks. Also, for any legacy gear that still can't support IPv6, officials will need to have a plan in place to retire those systems by the end of fiscal 2025. That schedule is in line with the Office of Management and Budget's 2020 IPv6 guidance, which called for 80% of government systems to be using IPv6 by 2025.
  (CIO Guidance for Army’s Transition to Internet Protocol Version 6 - U.S. Army)
• The National Security Agency has tapped Kristina Walter to serve as chief of its Cybersecurity Collaboration Center. Walter most recently led the NSA’s Future Ready Workforce Initiative. She is returning to the collaboration center, having previously led its work to secure defense industrial base networks. Walter will replace former chief Morgan Adamski, who was recently named executive director of U.S. Cyber Command.
  (NSA Announces Kristina Walter as the new Chief of Cybersecurity Collaboration Center - NSA)

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