Lawmakers are concerned about the lack of data on USPS carrier accidents and deaths

• Nearly 80 people have died in accidents involving postal trucks in the last three years. Lawmakers claim this is an incomplete picture of the data. The House of Representatives passed the Postal Death Reporting Act, which would require the USPS to collect, track and publicly report all deaths caused by vehicles carrying mail. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) introduced the bill. A recent inspector general report found that USPS does not have a single written policy requiring it to track trucking accidents and fatalities.
• Small business advocates are raising concerns about the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy said the CMMC requirements may be too costly for many smaller businesses. The Office has provided formal feedback on the Department of Defense’s proposed CMMC rule. The requirements could come into effect later this year. However, the SBA’s advocacy office said that before finalizing the regulations, the Department of Defense needs to provide more details about how it will help small businesses comply with the CMMC.
• The Army has outlined its initial considerations for a new contract to build an agile software development pipeline for recruiting. The Army Training and Doctrine Command requires an integrated enterprise system that leverages new business practices to modernize its recruiting capabilities to meet the Army’s force requirements. To this end, the Army Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems is developing a new contract to support the Army Accessions Information Environment (AIE). PEO-EIS has released the draft tender for a Multiple-Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, which requires an agile acquisition approach. In the draft RFP, PEO-EIS wants vendors to deploy DevSecOps and agile development to quickly introduce new recruiting tools that include prospecting, interviewing, and processing. Comments on the draft tender must be submitted by May 17th.
• The Department of Defense has secured funding for the first tranche of the Replicator Initiative. To fund the program, the Department received $300 million from the 2024 Defense Budget Draft. The Department of Defense also leveraged existing authorities to bring in the additional $200 million needed. These investments will bring together products and capabilities from a wide range of technology companies. The initial technologies under the Replicator Initiative include unmanned surface vehicles, unmanned aerial systems and counterrotating unmanned aerial systems.
• Some lawmakers want to put the Transportation Security Administration’s use of facial recognition on hold. Fourteen senators are calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to address the issue as part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. They say the TSA’s plans to expand facial recognition to hundreds of airports should be halted until Congress can exert more oversight. TSA currently uses the technology to verify travelers’ identities at 25 airports. Lawmakers who oppose facial recognition claim that the increasing use poses a threat to Americans’ privacy and civil liberties.
• Do you know federal acquisitions staff who have excelled in program management, small business contracting, procurement equity or sustainability? Then why not nominate them for the 2024 Chief Acquisition Officers Council Excellence Awards? This annual program recognizes acquisition professionals who contribute to outstanding acquisition improvements through Better Contracting Initiative strategies or other efforts. Award categories also include Innovation, Data and Technology, and Category Management. Nominations are due by July 31 and the CAO Council will honor the honorees in October.
• The National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy are lending their supercomputing capabilities to 35 artificial intelligence projects. This is all happening as part of the National AI Research Resource to give federal agencies the opportunity to share AI capabilities with researchers working on this new technology. Projects include the use of AI to identify agricultural pests and ways to secure medical imaging data when AI is involved.
• Most National Guard personnel conducting space missions would rather retrain or retire than join the Space Force. An internal Air National Guard survey found that up to 86% of all Guard space professionals would prefer to remain in the National Guard and retrain for other missions. Air Force officials recently sent a proposed law to Congress that aims to bypass governors in 14 states and move units with space missions within the Air National Guard to the Space Force. The governors of 48 states and five territories sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling for the proposed legislation to be halted immediately.

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