Congress wants the Department of Veterans Affairs to use automation to deal with a growing backlog of benefits claims enabled by the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, which widened eligibility for soldiers exposed to toxic substances. The law requires VA to develop a Veterans Benefits Administration modernization plan that incorporates automation to accelerate claims […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency aims to complete the migration of all its grant programs from legacy systems onto a single IT platform, called FEMA Grants Outcomes, by April 2024. In a recent Senate hearing, FEMA Chief Information Officer Charlie Armstrong told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s emerging threats subcommittee that the […]
Mark Munsell, head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Data and Digital Innovation Directorate, said that artificial intelligence development will continue despite fears about its potential harms. Speaking at the recent GEOINT Symposium, he reasoned that current object identification and analysis capabilities are insufficient and improvements will come from maturing the technology. According to Munsell, the […]
The Department of Defense MyTravel program has been canceled and will no longer be operational effective Sept.13, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros said in a memorandum dated May 24. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Federal News Network via email lower than expected travel volume led to the program’s cancellation. […]
The U.S. Army is seeking a contractor that would serve as a third-party purchasing agent for cloud services. According to an Army presolicitation, the contractor will procure cloud services on demand and renegotiate rates to help the military branch get the best value for money and ensure competition. The presolicitation also stated that the contractor […]
Jennifer Swanson, the Army’s deputy assistant secretary for data, engineering and software, said software is the most critical capability that the Army can have in a contested fight against a sophisticated enemy. At the Army’s recent technical exchange meeting in Philadelphia, Swanson said that while the force is not 100 percent sure of what an […]
The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center is assessing how generative artificial intelligence can support defense acquisition and contracting processes, according to Lt. Col. Robert Solano, a commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency. In a USAASC commentary, Solano noted that some acquisition officials believe that generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can help write contract requirements, […]
The United States Postal Service has awarded Verizon Business a potential $10-year, $145.7 million contract to support the agency’s migration to a new cloud platform. The cloud transition will enable USPS to speed up its integration of artificial intelligence capabilities for providing better responses to inquiries, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction, Verizon said. According to Maggie […]
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is planning a program that would integrate new forms of artificial intelligence and other technologies that would speed up the patent application process, ease access to the national intellectual property system and reduce the costs associated with patent searches. Under the Track Three Pilot Program, the USPTO plans to […]
Leaders from various intelligence agencies recently spoke on hurdles to establishing secure and reliable cloud access to information technology services and classified data. Fred Ingham, a CIA employee assigned to serve as the National Reconnaissance Office’s deputy chief information officer, cited limited governance as one reason for a lack of multicloud or hybrid cloud infrastructure […]
