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
GOP lawmakers seek industry input on crafting US-first AI regulatory regime
Republican lawmakers used a House hearing to seek input from industry representatives for how lawmakers can craft policies that enable manufacturers to successfully leverage AI.
Contracts
HHS pause on external comms delaying upcoming health summits
Two planned events have been indefinitely postponed as a result of the Trump administration’s freeze on HHS-related mass communications and public appearances.
Companies
MetTel becomes first authorized Starlink partner to offer satellite SD-WAN services
The news makes MetTel the first Starlink authorized reseller for both commercial and government organizations.
Contracts
DHS highlights hiring and project milestones on anniversary of Biden’s AI order
The Homeland Security Department has hired 31 technologists for its AI Corps and completed three pilot projects that have provided “valuable insights into the real-life impact of GenAI tools as well as their limitations.”
Contracts
Inside the HHS reorganization to prioritize AI and emerging tech
Micky Tripathi wears many hats — assistant secretary for technology policy, national coordinator for health information technology and acting chief artificial intelligence officer — as the agency looks to expand its tech leadership.
Contracts
CIA looks to fast track AI adoption through cloud contract
A CIA official said the agency is working with the five recipients of its Commercial Cloud Enterprise contract to “get commercial [large language models] up into our high-side environments.”
Contracts
DOJ suit claims Georgia Tech ‘knowingly failed’ to meet cyber standards for DOD contracts
The Justice Department has joined onto a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two senior staffers on Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity compliance team that was filed in 2022.
Contracts
Air Force seeks secure cloud app to manage flights for govt VIPs
The new tool is critical “due to significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified in the existing scheduling system,” the branch says in a notice for industry.
Contracts
Treasury’s funding request for IRS cloud tech far outpaces other civilian agencies, report says
Treasury’s request is the largest out of a combined federal civilian total of almost $9 billion for cloud-related programs in their fiscal year 2025 IT budget requests.
Contracts