- The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is starting to enroll more federal employees in continuous vetting. DCSA this week began offering continuous vetting services for non-sensitive public trust positions. Those include jobs in law enforcement, public safety and cybersecurity. Continuous vetting is a system of automated records checks that replaces the need for a periodic background investigation. The system already covers employees and contractors that have access to classified information.
(Continuous Vetting enrollment begins for non-sensitive public trust federal workforce – Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency)
- The U.S. Digital Service is looking back on some of its biggest projects 10 years after its launch. The White House launched the U.S. Digital Service a decade ago, in response to problems rolling out healthcare.gov and other online government platforms. Since its creation, the U.S. Digital Service has helped bring more than 700 tech experts into the federal government. It’s helped the Social Security Administration overhaul its website, and the Department of Veterans Affairs roll out its popular mobile app. The U.S. Digital Service also helped the IRS develop its free, online tax filing platform, called Direct File. The IRS piloted the platform this year, and has made the program permanent.
(10 years of the U.S. Digital Service: Transforming government for the digital age – White House )
- Four best practices have shown to increase public engagement in federal rulemaking. A new report from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) highlights the steps agencies took over the last year that were most successful. These four best practices include conducting early engagement like listening sessions before the drafting of a new rule. Another one that emerged is to demonstrate how the agency took public input into account in finalizing a rule. OIRA charged agencies with improving public engagement in the rulemaking process in a memo from July 2023 that implemented an earlier executive order.
(Strengthening public participation in the regulatory process – Office of Management and Budget)
- Agencies have new expectations for how to address pain points in the federal hiring process. A call to action from the Biden administration asks agencies to reduce unnecessary burdens and time spent during the recruitment process. The strategies to accomplish that are laid out in new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget. The guidance focuses on supporting three key groups that the hiring process impacts: job applicants, hiring managers and HR professionals. OMB and OPM are asking agencies to track and share their progress toward improving the hiring experience.
(Federal hiring ‘call to action’ centers on job applicants, HR workforce – Federal News Network)
- A congressional probe finds that Coast Guard’s cultural failings around sexual misconduct are not limited to the Coast Guard Academy. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs opened an inquiry into the Coast Guard’s mishandling of sexual assault and harassment cases at its prestigious Coast Guard Academy. Senators’ investigation, however, revealed that sexual misconduct is a fleet-wide problem, affecting active duty personnel around the globe. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan directed the accountability and transparency review following the lawmakers’ probe into Fouled Anchor to assess the Coast Guard’s culture and policies.
(Sexual misconduct at Coast Guard is a fleet-wide problem, Senate probe finds – Federal News Network)
- The Pentagon has taken another step toward making the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program a reality. The Defense Department is proposing new CMMC acquisition regulations in today’s Federal Register. The proposed amendment to defense acquisition rules would allow DoD to include CMMC requirements in solicitations and contracts. Comments on the proposed rule are due by Oct. 14. The Pentagon won’t include CMMC in every contract right off the bat — it’s planning on a three-year phased roll out. But defense officials say they want to start including CMMC contracts by next year.
(Pentagon release key CMMC contracting rules – Federal News Network)
- A new mentor-protégé program at the Defense Logistics Agency’s Office of Small Business Programs will incentivize prime contractors to help small businesses improve their capabilities. The new initiative is an extension of a Defense Department pilot program which became permanent under the 2023 defense policy bill. Small businesses will be able to receive support in software, inventory control, manufacturing, test and evaluation and quality assurance. Mentors can also assist small businesses with general business processes, including personnel management and systems compliance.
(DLA to launch mentor-protégé program – Defense Logistics Agency)
- The General Services Administration’s OASIS+ contract gets pulled back into the protest void. Ten small businesses have filed protests with the Government Accountability Office after GSA left them off the OASIS+ small business contract. The complaints to GAO come after GSA made almost 1,400 initial awards on July 30 for this 10-year multiple award contract for professional services. This is the second set of protests GSA has to address against the OASIS+ small business contract. GAO dismissed the first set, filed last September as pre-award complaints. GAO has until mid-November to decide these latest cases.
(OASIS+ small business protests – Government Accountability Office)
- A team of federal agencies are leading the Biden administration’s new strategy to protect communities from extreme heat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with the National Weather Service on a heat-risk tool. It’s a seven-day national forecast of when temperatures may reach harmful levels. The CDC is also leading a heat and health index, showing which communities and ZIP codes are most vulnerable to heat related illness.
(Biden-Harris administration unveils National Heat Strategy to protect community health from extreme heat – Department of Health and Human Services)
- Participants in the Thrift Savings Plan have a new option when it comes to getting notifications from the TSP. When participants receive money from their TSP account, they can now get an electronic message about the payment through the “My Account” platform. Previously, the TSP only sent payment confirmation notices by mail. Participants will still have the option to get the updates either electronically or on paper. They can make changes to their preferences online or by using the TSP mobile app.
(Change to delivery of payment confirmation notices – Thrift Savings Plan)
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