The Fed Mission Success Round Up: FY 2022 Omnibus Spending Bill, Cybersecurity, Acquisition and More in Federal Agencies

Weekly News Round Up
Written By Fareeha Khan

Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.

Sweeping Spending Increases Are Set to Become Law With the Senate's Approval of a $1.5T Omnibus Package

The Senate on Thursday approved a $1.5 trillion omnibus funding bill, sending the measure boosting agency spending across government to President Biden’s desk just one day before the deadline for a shutdown.

Spending Bill Includes Large Funding Increase to Boost Cybersecurity

The omnibus spending bill has a total $2.6 billion budget for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a $568 million increase above last year’s funding level that surpasses the amount requested by the president. Included in the budget is an extra $119.5 million increase for threat hunting and a $64.1 million increase for vulnerability management. CISA’s Integrated Operations Division, which provides services to state and local governments, will get a $17.1 million increase to aid in its regional support. The bill also includes a Senate-passed measure that instates reporting requirements for companies that have been hacked.

$1.5T Spending Bill is a Mixed Bag for IT Modernization Funds

The fiscal 2022 spending legislation passed by the House doesn’t include any money for the Technology Modernization Fund and would slash or maintain funding for two other Federal IT modernization vehicles. Should the $1.5 trillion bill become law, the Office of Management and Budget’s IT Oversight and Reform Fund would receive $8 million, down $4.5 million from fiscal 2021, and the Federal Citizen Services Fund (FCSF) would receive the same $55 million as last year.

Federal Agencies Lean on Multifactor Authentication As Key Security Component

Identity management software stands to be a gamechanger in government modernization, particularly surrounding authentication measurers.

Cyber-Incident Reporting Legislation Clears House in Bipartisan Spending Bill

Legislation requiring private companies to report cybersecurity incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency could hitch a ride to the president’s desk in an omnibus spending bill set for consideration in the Senate Thursday following House passage.

House Committee Approves Cybersecurity Training Bill

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Homeland Security advanced several new bills to the chamber floor late Tuesday, including one that focuses on training the public sector workforce on best practices in cybersecurity. Along with three other bills, the House committee passed the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2021.

TMF Announces Two New Awards

The U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission and the Selective Service System are in line for IT modernization funding boosts.

ICE Issues $340M SWIFT Development Contract

Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week issued a $340 million solicitation covering agile development, operations and maintenance of applications within a new center of excellence for evaluating emerging technologies.

CDC Expanding Immunization Information System Connectivity

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to add STCHealth to the ranks of vendors modernizing its immunization information system (IIS), according to a notice posted to SAM.gov Tuesday. Interested vendors may challenge that decision by March 15, 2022, and if the CDC determines other options exists, a competitive procurement will be conducted.

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Fareeha Khan
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