The Wrap: Budget Stakes – TSA and DEI; CASC Looks to September

Welcome to The Wrap for Friday, June 23!

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From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:

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TSA Chief Sounds Cyber Warning

With a flat FY2024 budget target for Federal government civilian spending, debt ceiling agreement chickens are beginning to come home to roost. One such bird landed this week, with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief David Pekoske telling House Homeland Security members that brewing moves to claw back raises for some TSA employees will cut down on the agency’s ability to defend against cyberattacks. Long story short: some TSA workers are set to get big raises next month, but a Republican-led measure wants to trim raises back for some employees beginning in September. That switcheroo, Pekoske said, would mean the agency will fail to provide “baseline” cyber support. “We would lose a lot of that talent and we would not be able to provide cybersecurity baseline support to make sure that our critical transportation systems are protected, and, importantly, if successfully attacked, it wouldn’t be able to get back on their feet nearly as quickly,” the TSA chief warned.

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DEI Amendments Don’t Fly

Speaking of budget impacts, amendments offered by House Democrats to FY2024 energy and defense bills to beef up diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives went nowhere fast on June 22 as the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve both spending bills by 34-24 margins. Committee Republicans rejected several DEI spending measures offered by Democrats, calling that proposed funding “unnecessary and polarizing.” The Biden administration since 2021 has been advancing DEI initiatives in the Federal workforce through an executive order that states in part, “the United States is at its strongest when our Nation’s public servants reflect the full diversity of the American people.”

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CSAC – See you in September

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) held its second quarter Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) meeting on June 22, where subcommittee chairs shared progress updates on their work, but didn't make much news . The subcommittees are working away on recommendations they hope to offer at the next CSAC meeting in September. Notable among the subcommittee newcomers: Chris Inglis – who?stepped down ?as the White House’s national cyber director in February and?joined ?CSAC in March. He has since stepped into a new leadership role on the committee as the chair of the National Cybersecurity Alert System Subcommittee. Despite the low news impact, CISA Director Jen Easterly pumped up the panel members anyway. “The new members sworn in at the March meeting have hit the ground running and, along with the other members, are diligently working to advance CISA’s cybersecurity mission,” she said. “Their commitment to CISA’s mission and our nation’s cybersecurity is remarkable.”

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GSA Gives Alliant 2 Five-Year Leash

The General Services Administration (GSA) likes its Alliant 2 Governmentwide Acquisition Contract so much it exercised a five-year option period for the vehicle, which gives Federal agencies access to more than 40 different companies offering integrated IT services and service-based solutions. That move is no huge surprise, after GSA moved?late last year ?to increase the ceiling of the contract to $75 billion, from $25 billion. GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Sonny Hashmi said at the time that the contract had drawn more than 465 task orders exceeding $36 billion. Services under the contract include cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, software development, and data analytics.

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HUD CX Chief Departs

Amber Chaudhry, acting chief experience officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has left her position at the department, according to her LinkedIn?post . Chaudhry will be joining the Partnership for Public Service and leading their customer experience (CX) portfolio. “As HUD’s CX Leader, I couldn’t be prouder of the passion and dedication of the CX Team and our internal partners,” she said.

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Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more on Monday. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy.

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And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected].

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