According to the DIU, the proposals will address the need for advanced one-way UAS to be utilized in modern warfare and bolster the Department of Defense’s operational capabilities.
The DOD is seeking proposals for ground-launched, one-way UAS platforms that can operate at ranges from 50 to over 300 km and navigate at low altitudes while carrying a payload of 10 to over 25 kg.
These quick-launching UAS should be able to avoid detection by broad-area search systems and stay beyond line of sight in disrupted, disconnected, intermittent and low-bandwidth and Global Navigation Satellite System-denied environments.
Furthermore, the UAS is expected to continue operating even without stable communication with the operator.
Interested vendors have until Oct. 14 to submit their proposals.
The U.S. Department of Education is launching the first testing period for its phased rollout of the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial student aid on Tuesday, with more students set to partake in this beginning testing stage than initially expected.
The department announced in August it would be using a staggered approach to launch the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — or FAFSA — in order to address any issues that might arise before the form opens up to everyone by Dec. 1. The number of students able to complete the form will gradually increase throughout four separate testing stages, with the first one beginning Oct. 1.
The phased rollout makes the form fully available two months later than usual and comes as the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020 — faced a series of highly publicized hiccups that the department has worked to fix.
Earlier in September, the department announced six community-based organizations chosen to participate in the first testing period: Alabama Possible; Bridge 2 Life, in Florida; College AIM, in Georgia; Education is Freedom, in Texas; the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, in California; and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, in Virginia.
“Thanks to the wonderful organizations, we expect closer to 1,000 students in Beta 1 as opposed to the 100 we initially thought,” FAFSA executive adviser Jeremy Singer said on a call with reporters Monday regarding the 2025-26 form.
During this first testing stage, U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said the department will process students’ FAFSAs, “give students an opportunity to make corrections, if needed, and send the records to colleges and state agencies.”
“Colleges will be able to use these same records when it’s time for them to make financial aid offers,” said Kvaal, who oversees higher education and financial aid, including the Office of Federal Student Aid.
Three more testing periods
The department on Monday also named 78 community-based organizations, governmental entities, high schools, school districts and institutions of higher education to participate in its three subsequent testing periods for the 2025-26 form.
Three of the community-based organizations chosen to take part in the first testing period — Florida’s Bridge 2 Life; Texas’ Education is Freedom; and Virginia’s Scholarship Fund of Alexandria — will also participate in subsequent testing stages.
To help students and families prepare for the 2025-26 application cycle, the department said this week it’s releasing a revised Federal Student Aid Estimator, updated resources for creating a StudentAid.Gov account, including a “parent wizard,” as well as an updated prototype of the 2025-26 FAFSA.
Last week, the department released a report outlining 10 steps it’s taking to improve the FAFSA application process. Part of those efforts include the department strengthening its leadership team and working to address issues for families without Social Security numbers when completing the form, in addition to vendors adding more than 700 new call center agents.
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In a Sept. 27 memo, the three-time Wash100 awardee said DOD expects Replicator 2 to help address challenges in the areas of technology innovation, production capacity, force structure, system integration, policies, authorities and open system architecture.
Austin directed Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to oversee the development of a plan for Replicator 2 for inclusion in the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request to Congress.
“My expectation is that Replicator 2 will deliver meaningfully improved C-sUAS protection to critical assets within 24 months of Congress approving funding,” Austin wrote in the memo.
The DOD secretary noted that the director of the Defense Innovation Unit will serve as the office of primary responsibility for the initiative and work with the defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment on the effort.
Austin tasked the military departments of the DOD with the development, production and deployment of Replicator 2-related capabilities.
“The Replicator 2 Initiative will leverage the work of the Counter Uncrewed Systems Warfighter Senior Integration Group, and collaborate closely with other ongoing efforts,” the secretary added.
“As a result of program deficiencies, both administrations assume unnecessary risk by allowing staff who are not fully vetted to handle sensitive personal information and interact with veterans for extended periods of time,” wrote Larry M. Reinkemeyer, the assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations, in the report
Based on estimates of the number of new employees each agency hired in 2021 and 2022, the OIG created a statistical sample of 353 VBA employees and 47 NCA employees to analyze noncompliance with background check requirements. It found the following:
Two of the 353 individuals at VBA did not sufficiently complete employee questionnaires, which prevented their background checks from being initiated. Investigators wrote that “any uninitiated background investigation poses a risk that warrants further attention by VA senior leaders.” Ultimately, both investigations were completed, but only after alerts from the OIG and months after the fact.
Fifty-seven percent of checks for NCA employees were not started within 14 calendar days of their start dates, as required, compared to 2% for VBA employees.
After the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency completes a background investigation for a VBA or NCA employee, the administrations are supposed to adjudicate the investigation’s results — weighing favorable and any unfavorable information — within 90 days. However VBA did not do this in 71% of cases and NCA did not meet that requirement for 58% of employees. Among delayed investigations, the average time was 297 days for VBA and 264 days for NCA.
VBA officials did not maintain investigation documentation in personnel folders for 67% of employees, while NCA did not do this in 44% of cases.
The OIG determined that these issues occurred because VBA and NCA prioritized prescreening new employees over adjudicating post-hire background investigation results. In doing so, this worsened backlogs and constrained oversight.
VBA, in particular, increasingly focused on prescreening to expeditiously onboard employees in response to the hiring surge largely brought about by the 2022 PACT Act, which expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.
VA’s OIG initiated this review following reports in 2018 and 2023 that found deficiencies in the Veterans Health Administration’s employee background check system.
Since that 2023 report, VA has implemented a program to inspect compliance with background check policy requirements and created a central platform for data from such investigations.
With respect to the new report, the OIG recommended that VBA execute a compliance plan that the agency developed for its background check program and ensure that investigations are initiated and adjudicated within required timelines and that documentation is filed properly. For NCA, it suggested crafting a plan to oversee its background check system and evaluating program resources so that related requirements are being met.
VA officials concurred with all of the recommendations.
The Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital has outlined eligibility criteria and started the application process for loans through the launch of its first notice of funding availability, or NOFA.
DOD said Monday the NOFA marks OSC’s first call for applications to scale production and speed up commercialization efforts for critical defense technologies.
“With this Notice of Funding Availability, OSC establishes itself as a credible lending partner for U.S.-based companies that manufacture and produce critical technology components,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.
“This demonstrates that DoD is dedicated to using every tool in our toolbox to secure America’s and our military’s enduring technological advantage,” added the 2024 Wash100 awardee.
OSC will fund the equipment needs of companies to help them advance production across 31 covered tech categories identified as promising critical technologies in the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
In March, OSC received congressional appropriations, enabling it to loan up to $984 million to eligible commercial entities under NOFAs.
In December 2022, Defense Secretary and three-time Wash100 Award recipient Lloyd Austinformed OSC to help attract and scale private capital for national security priorities.
The federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program maintained its streak of modest growth for the third straight month in September, with the investment option posting positive returns.
Leading the way last month were the common stocks of the Thrift Savings Plan’s C Fund, which gained 2.13%. Since January, the C Fund has increased 22.04% in value. Close behind was the S Fund, which is made up of small- and mid-size business investments, increasing 1.55% in September and marking 11.69% in growth so far in 2024.
The fixed income (F) fund continued its upward trajectory in September, gaining 1.34%. Since January, the F Fund has grown 4.52%.
The international (I) fund ticked up 0.77% last month, bringing its performance this year to 11.69% in the black. The TSP’s G Fund, which is made up of government securities, grew by its statutorily mandated rate of 0.33%. Since January, the G Fund has grown 3.31%.
Each of the TSP’s lifecycle (L) funds, which shift toward more conservative investments as participants get closer to retirement, likewise finished last month in the black. The L Income Fund, designed for participants who have already begun making withdrawals, increased 0.72%; L 2025, 0.80%; L 2030, 1.15%: L 2035, 1.24%; L 2040, 1.31%; L 2045, 1.38%; L 2050, 1.44%; L 2055, 1.58%; L 2060, 1.58%; L 2065, 1.58%; and L 2070, 1.58%.
So far this year, the L Income Fund has grown 7.01%; L 2025, 8.02%; L 2030, 11.91%; L 2035, 12.76%; L 2040, 13.59%; L 2045, 14.30%; L 2050, 15.01%; L 2055, 17.41%; L 2060, 17.41%; and L 2065, 17.41%. The L 2070 fund launched in July, and will not have year-to-date statistics available until 2025.
The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General announced Monday that President Biden has appointed Hannibal “Mike” Ware to lead the office on an acting basis, though he will also continue to perform his duties as inspector general overseeing the Small Business Administration.
The Social Security Administration has been without a leader of its watchdog office since June, when then-Inspector General Gail Ennis resigned under a barrage of criticism for her office’s handling of the agency’s improper payments scandal, as well as allegedly fostering a dysfunctional workplace culture, evidenced by a precipitous decline in the office’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey scores and an ongoing legal battle between employees within the office.
In a release announcing Ware’s appointment, the Social Security Administration’s inspector general’s office confirmed that Ware would continue to lead SBA’s oversight office, “providing leadership to both agencies until a permanent SSA inspector general is appointed.”
“I am honored to have the confidence of the president to provide interim leadership within SSA OIG and to simultaneously continue my commitment to the mission of SBA OIG,” Ware said in a statement. “This dual role underscores the importance of strong, independent oversight across federal programs to ensure they operate effectively and with integrity. I am committed to keeping the heads of both establishments and Congress fully and currently informed of the oversight activities and findings.”
Prior to the workplace allegations, Ennis had already drawn fire from members of Congress for her oversight of the Social Security Disability Insurance program and the effort to claw back benefits from Americans who were overpaid through no fault of their own.
Since Martin O’Malley was confirmed as commissioner of the Social Security Administration last December, the agency has issued a number of changes aimed at both finding improper payments more quickly and to make efforts to rectify disability overpayments less painful for a financial vulnerable population, such as capping the default rate at which the agency claws back overpayments at 10% benefits on a monthly basis.
Though Ware stressed that his time at SSA would only be on an interim basis, Biden has yet to nominate a permanent replacement for the Senate’s consideration. According to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, an acting official may serve for up to 210 days, backdated to the start of the position’s vacancy. In Ware’s case, his eligibility to serve in this acting role will expire on Jan. 24, just in time for Vice President Harris or former President Trump to select their own inspector general.
The Federal Communications Commission has announced new rules to open up 1300 megahertz of spectrum in the 17 gigahertz band for use by fixed-satellite systems operating in non-geostationary orbit.
FCC said Thursday the newly adopted rules will enable satellite operators to broaden their ability to deploy high-speed internet access and other advanced services.
According to the commission, the new policy seeks to align the U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations with international allocations to offer a more cohesive framework worldwide for fixed-satellite services in the 17 GHz band.
“Our rules allow a range of use cases from different orbits, bolstering competition in the space economy and creating more opportunities for companies from the United States around the world,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement published Thursday.
Tele-EC is a component of VA Health Connect, a phone service that veterans can contact when they need to speak to a clinical triage nurse regarding a medical situation they are experiencing, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday.
When clinically appropriate, the triage nurse will connect a caller to a Tele-EC provider, who will then evaluate the caller and recommend next steps, including treatment or in-person care if necessary.
“Sometimes, you’re not sure whether what you’re experiencing is a minor emergency or not — and tele-emergency care can help you resolve those questions,” VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said regarding the service, which underwent a pilot program in recent months.
“Veterans can get immediate, virtual triage with a VA medical provider who has direct access to their medical records. This avoids having to potentially drive to the nearest emergency department and wait to be evaluated, if appropriate,” Elnahal explained.
Tele-EC is also accessible via the VA Health Chat app.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Warner, D-Va., have introduced a bill that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and implement mandatory minimum cybersecurity standards for healthcare providers, clearinghouses, health plans and business associates, including those for key entities that are important to national security.
The Senate Finance Committee said Thursday the proposed Health Infrastructure Security and Accountability Act would provide upfront investment payments worth $800 million for rural and urban safety net hospitals and $500 million to all hospitals to implement improved cybersecurity standards.
The legislation would require HHS to audit the data security practices of at least 20 regulated entities each year and support the department’s security oversight and enforcement activities through a user fee on all regulated institutions.
Under the proposed measure, business associates and covered entities would be required to perform independent cybersecurity audits each year and stress tests to determine their capability to quickly restore service following a cyber incident.
The bill would also remove the statutory caps on the department’s fining authority, require top executives to annually certify compliance with requirements to strengthen corporate accountability and codify the HHS secretary’s authority to provide accelerated and advanced Medicare payments in the event of a healthcare system disruption caused by a cyberattack.
“With hacks already targeting institutions across the country, it’s time to go beyond voluntary standards and ensure health care providers and vendors get serious about cybersecurity and patient safety. I’m glad to introduce legislation that would mandate sensible cybersecurity protocols while also getting resources to rural and underserved hospitals to ensure they have the funding to meet these new standards,” Warner said.
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