Workforce
Federal Call Center Workers Strike Over Pay, Healthcare Costs
Employees at Maximus call centers working on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contracts, conducted a two-day strike this week seeking pay and better healthcare coverage.
Defense
DOD to Debut Virtual Desktops for Certain Highly Classified Programs
The effort, which sunsets "Chinstrap" desktop hardware, has been a key priority in the Pentagon's CIO shop.
Tech
The Navy Needs to Do a Better Job Finding the Right Job for Its Cyber Specialists, Officials Say
Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, told the House Armed Services Committee the Navy has struggled with matching cyber talent with teams.
Tech
GovExec Daily: Former Operation Warp Speed Official Says It Was 'a Model' For Public-Private Partnerships
Courtney Bublé talks to Paul Mango on the podcast about the vaccine development program.
Defense
Lockheed Secretly Worked to Block Airbus’ Influence in Washington—While Teaming on a Major Pentagon Bid
Internal email reveals U.S. company’s pressure to deny Europeans’ application to powerful trade group.
Oversight
Senate Bill to Train Acquisition Workforce on AI gets House Counterpart
The AI Training Act, which passed the Senate last December now has a House companion from Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and James Comer (R-Ky.).
Management
Why Rural Communities Struggle to Bring in Much-needed Federal Grants
A new analysis suggests that over half of communities in the West lack the capacity to take advantage of infrastructure bill funding. Now what?
Management
NASA Chief Calls Out the 'Plague' of Cost-Plus Contracts
The space agency is hoping to increasingly use competitions among top vendors and fixed-price contracts as a new way of conducting business—and cutting steep costs for major projects.
Tech
HBCUs Could Be One Key to Improving Equity in Federal Contracting and Technology
From expanding contracting opportunities for small, disadvantaged businesses to building out a more diverse federal workforce, federal agencies are increasingly aiming to partner with minority-serving institutions to ensure their equity goals are effective.
Management
SBA Looks to Promote Disadvantaged Businesses With 2023 Budget Request
The head of the Small Business Administration told lawmakers the agency is planning to ramp up outreach efforts for small disadvantaged businesses and other firms in need of support to address a 40% decline in small businesses working with the federal government.
Defense
Pentagon Still not Taking Full Advantage of Rapid Acquisition Authorities, Former Official Says
Ellen Lord, the former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment during the Trump administration, told senators "strong leadership" was needed to fully embrace rapid acquisitions policies.
Defense
Boeing’s Low-Ball Defense Bidding Has Come Back to Bite Them
The company has lost billions of dollars and the pandemic is making things worse.
Defense
CEO: Boeing Should Have Rejected Trump’s Air Force One Deal
The company revealed that it has lost $660 million outfitting the next presidential jets—so far.
Tech
Bernie Sanders Wants Amazon Debarred from Federal Contracting
The Vermont lawmaker cites the company's anti-union activity in a letter urging President Biden to eliminate the e-commerce and cloud behemoth from federal contracts.
Management
GovExec Daily: The Louis DeJoy Ethos
Eric Katz joins the podcast to discuss his interview with the postmaster general.
Management
The State Dept. Should Recover Taxpayer Dollars ‘Wasted’ on a U.S. Embassy, Lawmaker Says
The construction of a new embassy compound in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan has been delayed for years.
Workforce
Questions to Ask When Hiring Former Federal Workers
A new bid protest ruling describes some trouble spots companies could run into when hiring former government officials.
Management
GSA Is Launching a New Tool to Simplify the Federal Buying Process
Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Sonny Hashmi said the new buyer experience tool "was built using human-centered design to address pain points in the acquisition process."
Exclusive
Defense
Pentagon Reorganizes Industrial Policy Office to Shore Up Defense Firms, Supply Chain
The restructure gives two new deputies to the assistant secretary for industrial policy—and "dissolves" another.
Management