Contracts
Palo Alto Networks offers discounted cybersecurity solutions to agencies through OneGov deal
Federal agencies can access discounts of as much as 60% for select security offerings as part of the agreement.
Companies
Lawmakers propose requiring agencies, major firms to report AI’s job impact
A new bill from Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would direct covered entities to provide quarterly reports to the Labor Department detailing layoffs and workforce displacements caused by uses of AI.
Podcasts
WT 360: Shutdown fallout, SAIC and market churn lead this episode’s agenda
Carten Cordell and Edward Graham, respectively managing editors at WT’s partner publications Government Executive and NextgovFCW, join Nick and Ross to go over all things shutdown in this episode’s first part. Then for part two, Nick and Ross unpack SAIC’s CEO transition against the backdrop of today’s market landscape.
Contracts
Connolly's successor, James Walkinshaw, looks to carry on his IT and workforce legacy
“A shutdown gives the Trump administration no new legal authority to fire federal workers or to conduct reductions in force,” Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., told Nextgov/FCW in response to the White House telling agencies to implement mass layoffs in the event of a funding lapse.
Contracts
Meta offers agencies access to its open source AI models through OneGov deal
The agreement will allow government customers to use Meta’s Llama models, which are already publicly available, with the assurance that they meet federal requirements.
Contracts
Pentagon halts $15B Advana recompete draft solicitation
DOD was previously looking to bring in new vendors to support its Advana data-analytics platform through a potential 10-year, $15 billion Advancing Artificial Intelligence Multiple Award Contract.
Companies
Trump nominates Ryan Cote to serve as VA’s new IT chief
Cote previously served as the Department of Transportation’s CIO for two years during the first Trump administration.
Contracts
VA is overlooking accessibility requirements when procuring IT, watchdog says
VA’s Office of Inspector General said the agency “did not establish a control environment that makes accessibility a priority” when it acquires new systems.
Podcasts
WT 360: Nextgov/FCW’s Edward Graham on the Veterans Affairs’ contract controversy
Edward Graham, our Nextgov/FCW colleague who covers VA, jumps in to break down why some lawmakers are pressing the department for transparency on its use of artificial intelligence in deciding which contracts to cancel.
Contracts
Lawmakers demand review of VA’s AI-driven contract cuts
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Angus King, I-Maine, said the use of AI to identify agency contracts for termination “adds an entire new level of unease connected to the decision-making, security, governance, and quality control of the entire process.”
Contracts
Democrats raise alarm over AI-driven contract cuts at VA
Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said DOGE’s use of an AI tool resulted in the “wholesale slashing” of VA contracts.
Companies
Salesforce’s AI agents receive FedRAMP high authorization
Salesforce said that its Agentforce platform “has built-in trust standards and a unified approach.”
Contracts
Consolidating IT systems can lead to over $100M in cost savings, GAO finds
The Government Accountability Office’s latest duplication and overlap report said improved federal IT portfolio management could achieve such savings “by reducing duplicative IT investments and halting or terminating investments, when appropriate.”
Contracts
Trump administration unveils multi-billion dollar plan to modernize air traffic control system
“To do it in three or four years, we need all of the money up front,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about the White House’s push to upgrade antiquated air traffic control technologies across the U.S.
Contracts
VA must ‘put onus back on Oracle’ to right EHR deployment, secretary says
VA Secretary Doug Collins told lawmakers he’s focused on addressing internal problems “that really caused the initial problems in the rollout.”
Contracts
VA tech panel’s top Democrat worries layoffs will harm EHR rollout
Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., is concerned that staffing vacancies, coupled with the department’s reduction in force plans, will put “more pressure onto the VA to execute on an expedited calendar for implementation” of its new EHR system.
Contracts
Spending and workforce cuts will harm VA’s modernization work, Democrats say
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said cuts across VA are forcing the department “to decide between keeping staff on the floor, and investing in expensive equipment that may sit idle without enough personnel to operate it.”
Contracts
VA names 9 medical facilities that will receive new EHR in 2026
The department said it plans to deploy the modernized electronic health record at a total of 13 sites next year following a pause on most rollouts of the software that was instituted in April 2023.
Contracts
VA needs updated cost estimate and rollout schedule for EHR, watchdog says
The Government Accountability Office said VA is making “incremental improvements” to its new electronic health record system during an operational pause on additional deployments but added that “much more remains to be done.”
Companies