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Texas, Virginia and California lead states in defense contract spending

Pabio October 29, 2024

Department of Defense contract obligations, payroll expenditures, and grants across the country totaled $609.2 billion in fiscal year 2023, equivalent to 2.2 percent of U.S. GDP. About 59 percent of that went to ten states, including Texas, Virginia, California, Connecticut and Florida. The top three states in defense grant spending are California, Maryland, and Michigan. The top three states in defense contract spending are Texas, Virginia, and California. More than $431 billion was spent on product and service contracts and more than $167 billion was used for DoD personnel salaries.
Federal agencies should be able to accept mobile driver’s licenses when the REAL ID law takes effect next year thanks to a new rule. The Transportation Security Administration will authorize REAL ID Act waivers for state-issued mobile driver’s licenses. The TSA finalized this rule late last week. The REAL ID Act sets minimum standards for identification cards. Starting next May, federal agencies will only be expected to accept ID documents that meet standards. But as there are no standards for mobile driving licenses yet. The TSA allows waivers so they can continue to be accepted at airport security checkpoints and for other official purposes. Eleven states currently issue mobile driver’s licenses.
President Joe Biden is calling on defense and intelligence agencies to accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence. In a new national security memorandum signed last week. Biden is directing officials to study potential acquisition changes that could accelerate the development and deployment of AI. Biden also wants national security agencies to think about how nontraditional companies could more easily participate in government technology projects. According to the memo, a joint working group will have until next May to make recommendations to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.
The Department of Defense has awarded more than 80 task orders under its Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract. While the Department of Defense is looking to scale up JWCC Next soon, the next phase of JWCC is still in its early stages. Alee Long, JWCC program manager at DoD, said the advisory and support offering provided by cloud service providers has been underutilized by mission partners. “I don’t think we’re saying that our CSPs provide this advice and support service. There are other things available that I think we just need to continue to educate and communicate about. Last month, DoD officials said JWCC Next would tap more cloud providers.
Agencies have new guidance to determine what recent changes to civil service protections will look like in practice. A final rule from the Biden administration earlier this year clarified that career federal workers cannot become at-will employees without their express consent. It was intended to protect federal employees from the possibility of a return of Schedule F in a future presidential administration. Now, new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management details how agencies should ensure the rule is followed. The guidelines explain, for example, which specific positions the protections apply to and what employees’ appeal rights are if they are reclassified without their approval.
Federal union leaders continue to call on the Department of Labor to return to the negotiating table on changes related to the return to power. Most employees in the Department of Labor’s bargaining unit will be required to work on-site at least half the time, starting in December. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su announced the coming changes earlier this month. But the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents those feds, is asking Su to reconsider his decision and look at options for employees that aren’t universal. In a letter to Su last week, AFGE said most affected employees “strongly oppose” the upcoming return-to-office changes.
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is hiring a Performance Improvement Manager to lead long-term workforce planning efforts. The leadership position will be responsible for measuring progress in MSPB’s efforts to drive workforce engagement and diversity. The Performance Improvement Manager will also be expected to serve as a bridge to the MSPB’s broader efforts to improve agency performance. MSPB is accepting applications for the senior level position through USAJobs.
The Small Business Administration is proposing a major change in the way agencies purchase from task order contracts. The SBA wants agencies to apply the rule of two for most multiple-award task order contracts. In a new proposed rule, the SBA said that if this regulation is finalized, agencies would need to set aside task orders if they expect two or more small businesses to be able to bid competitively for the work. The proposed rule would implement OFPP’s January memo calling for an expansion of this authority. This requirement would not apply to GSA’s planned purchases or to agencies that address supply chain and national security risks. Comments on the proposed rule are due by December 24.
The General Services Administration (GSA) is adding 182 additional small businesses to the OASIS-Plus awards list. After selecting more than 750 small businesses in three socioeconomic pools last month, GSA said 182 8(a) companies were considered for a spot in the professional services multiple award contract. The majority of 8(a) businesses fall into one of two categories: management and consulting services or technical and engineering services. Additional awards to 8(a) companies may be on the way, as GSA said it evaluates bids on a rolling basis. The agency will also open an on-ramp in fiscal year 2025 to continue attracting businesses of all sizes.