GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (5/29–6/2)

This week's Weekly Debrief covers an update on Login.gov, satellite data and border security, NASA and UFOs, USDA's cloud move, and GSA and SBA's 8(a) MAS Pool Initiative.

GSA

NextGov – Login.gov is still 'vital' despite setbacks, GSA official says

• "Sonny Hashmi, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration, talked about the path forward for GSA’s single sign-on service Login.gov Thursday, after a bombshell inspector general report in March revealed the service did not meet the guidelines it had claimed to have."

DHS

FCW – Satellite data could boost border security, disaster response

• "Data should join radios, flashlight, and maps as indispensable tools in disaster response and border operations, Department of Homeland Security leaders say. 'It's not always conducive to operations to just give somebody a radio. I also need to be able to see where they're at,' said Dan Steadman, the acting assistant chief for U.S. Border Patrol, during the GEOINT conference."

NASA

FedNewsNet – NASA talks UFOs with public ahead of final report on unidentified flying objects

• "NASA held its first public meeting on UFOs on Wednesday a year after launching a study into unexplained sightings and insisted it’s not hiding anything. The space agency televised the four-hour hearing featuring an independent panel of experts who vowed to be transparent. The team includes 16 scientists and other experts selected by NASA including retired astronaut Scott Kelly, the first American to spend nearly a year in space."

USDA

FedScoop – USDA plots departmentwide cloud move with STRATUS contract

• "The Department of Agriculture is considering a new centralized procurement to drive cloud adoption across the department. USDA issued a presolicitation notice Tuesday giving commercial vendors a preview into a new cloud basic ordering agreement it calls STRATUS."

Small Business

FedScoop – GSA and SBA launch initiative to broaden small federal contracting landscape

• "The General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration have launched a program to help widen the pool of small disadvantaged businesses that participate in federal government contracts. In a press release, the agencies said the program, which is called the 8(a) MAS Pool Initiative, is intended to help small, disadvantaged businesses participating in the federal government’s 8(a) business development program to access more federal contracts."

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