Air Force is changing how it manages space missions

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, the Air Force is overhauling the management of its space missions, including the creation of a new space office at the Pentagon.

• The Air Force said it’s overhauling the management of its space missions, including the standup of a new space office at the Pentagon. The new office will be designated the “A-11,” led by a yet-to-be-named three-star general whose job title will be the deputy chief of staff for space. The standup of what’s likely to be a large new organization comes despite several years of pressure from Congress and the Pentagon itself to reduce headquarters activities, but the Air Force said it’s necessary so that space programs have their own senior advocate in the Pentagon, and acquisition decisions can be made more quickly. (Air Force)

• Elaine Duke is the first deputy secretary under the Trump administration to earn Senate confirmation. The upper chamber approved Duke Tuesday by unanimous consent. This is Duke’s second time through the confirmation process. She also served as DHS undersecretary for management during the George W. Bush administration.

• Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has appointed Dr. Lynda Davis to be the department’s new chief veterans experience officer. Davis comes from the Defense Department. She served as the deputy undersecretary for defense for military community and family policy, and as the deputy assistant secretary for military personnel policy at the Navy. Davis will advise the VA secretary on improving veterans’ customer service experiences. (Department of Veterans Affairs)

• VA seeks a vendor to help defend against 55,000 new malware variants per day and safeguard 750,000 connected network devices. The Veterans Affairs Department is looking for help to run its cybersecurity compliance and analytics platform. VA issued a request for information seeking input from contractors for how they would operate and improve its big data cyber initiative. VA said the cyber platform uses broad-based capabilities to measure the effectiveness of its controls, to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities, to improve audit readiness and compliance, and to monitor the progress of strategic initiatives. (FedBizOpps)

• The IRS hopes private firms will help close the $400 billion tax gap. Tax agency officials announced the third iteration of its private collection agency program. The program is built around four companies taking on thousands of delinquent tax cases for the IRS. (Federal News Radio)

• The Office of Management and Budget is working on new IT capital planning guidance for agencies. OMB Policy Analyst Kelly Morrison said the goal is to standardize the way agencies measure, manage and plan IT investments, and incorporate that data into the federal budgeting process. Agencies should see new guidance by May 5. They’ll have the opportunity to add comments. But OMB will have most of the guidance finished. (Federal News Radio)

• Morrison also emphasized continuity with non-political policies launched during the Obama administration. At the GITEC conference in Annapolis, Kelly Morrison names a couple of initiatives related to information technology. Development of new cybersecurity policy is ongoing. Morrison said OMB worked closely with the CIO Council to develop a cyber status report for the Trump administration. Also continuing, an update to the way agencies do their budget planning for IT projects.

• After news reports surfaced saying senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency withheld information from the agency’s analysis of the HONEST Act, a legislator seeks more information. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) wants all documents related to EPA’s analysis of how much the bill would cost. The HONEST Act calls for making all data EPA uses in decision making public, a move opponents said would impose a high cost on the agency’s modest budget. (Environment and Public Works Committee)

• The Defense Innovation Board is turning its sights on the Defense Department’s data problems. The board is considering a recommendation to create a central repository for the Pentagon’s vast amounts of data. There are still some issues to work out. The board wants to think about security and accessibility before it makes a final decision. (Federal News Radio)

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