The legislation, among other things, would establish pilot programs to try out “more flexible, competitive purchasing practices” and require that government contracts for AI “to include safety and security terms for data ownership, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy, adverse incident reporting and other key areas,” according to a release.

“Artificial intelligence has the power to reshape how the federal government provides services to the American people for the better, but if left unchecked, it can pose serious risks,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who sponsors the bill with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a statement. “These guardrails will help guide federal agencies’ responsible adoption and use of AI tools, and ensure that systems paid for by taxpayers are being used safely and securely.”

According to the release, the Promoting Responsible Evaluation and Procurement to Advance Readiness for Enterprise-wide Deployment (PREPARED) for AI Act builds on a law passed in 2022 that required agencies to protect privacy and civil rights when purchasing AI. That legislation was also sponsored by Peters. President Joe Biden cited that law in a section of his executive order on AI that directed the Office of Management and Budget to take action on addressing federal AI acquisition. 

The OMB in March asked for input on AI procurement, including how the administration can promote competition and protect the government’s rights to access its data in those contracts. The administration has said it plans to take action on AI procurement later this year.

“As the role of artificial intelligence in the public and private sectors continues to grow, it is crucial federal agencies have a robust framework for procuring and implementing AI safely and effectively,” Tillis said in the release. 

A Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee aide told FedScoop that Peters, who chairs the panel, plans a markup for the bill this summer. Once it’s passed by the panel, the aide said Peters “will keep all options on the table and pursue any path forward, whether that’s advancing the bill as a standalone or as part of a larger vehicle.” 

The bill has the support of Center for Democracy and Technology, Transparency Coalition, the AI Procurement Lab, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), according to the release.

The post Bipartisan Senate bill would establish federal AI acquisition guardrails appeared first on FedScoop.

In a May memorandum, GSA announced that beginning June 8, the agency would start collecting information for new contracts of all sizes — including “micropurchases” — from software offerers and contractors. That information would attest to government-specified secure software development practices.

Nick Mistry, the chief information security officer for Lineaje, a software supply chain security management company, said in an interview with FedScoop that he believes GSA’s June 8 start for the new guidance is “a really good thing for both the industry and government.”

The self-attestation requirements “will obviously add another step in the process, but it’s a very necessary step,” Mistry said. “Will there be a period of confusion where people don’t know exactly what’s required, both on the government side as well as industry side? But I think those things will just shake out over time. I think the net benefit is all positive.”

A GSA spokesperson said in an email to FedScoop that the agency “held multiple industry listening sessions before crafting our implementation of OMB memos M-22-18 and M-23-16. GSA took feedback from these sessions into consideration while also ensuring we met the deadlines in the OMB memoranda.”

The spokesperson noted that the agency “met the deadline for implementation to best support our customer agencies” and integrated the self-attestation form into its existing IT standards process to make attesting “as frictionless as possible” for the GSA’s vendors. 

The GSA  is encouraging software vendors to create an account on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s repository website, the spokesperson added.

In March, CISA released the Secure Software Development Attestation Form, which required the companies that manufacture software used by the federal government to “attest to the adoption of secure development practices.” That form could either be submitted to a repository or emailed to the relevant agency. 

GSA noted in its May memorandum that while the agency already had a requirement for its IT department to “approve software before it could be acquired and used,” the OMB memo mandated the department to update “how it collects, reviews, retains and monitors industry attestation information.”

The post For GSA, a new step to secure the software acquisition process begins appeared first on FedScoop.

The companies that landed awards under Interior’s Foundation Cloud Hosting Services II contract are Accenture Federal Services, IBM, CGI Federal, SAIC, Cognosante, Zivaro and Smartronix. Those seven vendors will compete for task orders under the greater indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. 

The announcements of the seven awards detail Interior’s statement of work for the contract, requiring cloud license and support services for infrastructure, platform and software in a cloud environment. 

This contract comes as the initial iteration of the Foundation Cloud Hosting Services vehicle is set to expire later this year. Awarded in 2013 to 10 contractors, the initial contract has a $10 billion ceiling.

In the department’s initial statement of work, it wrote about the latest contract: “This follow-on FCHS contract is shifting to multiple service provider focus and integration among our solutions and a hybrid model hosting environment vision. Providing interoperability and data integrations between multiple technologies and services across the Department bureaus and offices.”

It also complements Interior’s $1 billion cloud contract award to Peraton last year for its Cloud Hosting Solutions III acquisition, which enlists the IT contractor to manage the department’s portfolio of cloud services.

The post Interior awards $2 billion cloud hosting contract to 7 vendors appeared first on FedScoop.

A total of 95 entities — 31 large businesses and 64 small businesses — received awards under the sequel to the Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract, also known as ITSSS, the agency said in an update on SAM.gov. The new agreement will serve as the primary vehicle for the agency’s IT services for the next eight years.

The award marks the largest contract vehicle for IT services ever established by the FBI, according to the agency. Investments for the previous ITSSS totaled over $2 billion. 

“ITSSS-2 will provide the FBI with streamlined acquisition procedures and a vetted Vendor Pool to establish call orders more efficiently,” the agency said in the update. 

The FBI also noted that it will establish “a forecasting tool to identify upcoming requirements on a timely basis and to allow ITSSS-2 vendors to appropriately plan their proposals.” The bureau said it will be holding informational meetings with stakeholders in coming weeks.

Efforts to create the vehicle began in December 2021 when the FBI partnered with the General Services Administration on the blanket purchase agreement, according to the agency’s updates SAM.gov. In February 2024, the bureau said it was in the last phase of evaluation but an award wouldn’t be made until bid protest challenges to the contract filed with the Government Accountability Office were resolved. 

The post FBI’s $8 billion information technology services contract is its largest ever appeared first on FedScoop.

TMF investments to the Departments of Education, Commerce and State total just under $50 million. 

The State Department received two investments: $18.2 million to increase diplomacy through generative AI and $13.1 million to transition its identity and access management systems to a zero-trust architecture model.

The AI investment is intended to “empower its widely dispersed team members to work more efficiently and improve access to enhanced information resources,” including diplomatic cables, media summaries and reports. On the zero trust investment, State said it is planning to expedite the creation of a comprehensive consolidated identity trust system, as well as centralizing workflows for the onboarding and offboarding process.

Clare Martorana, the federal CIO and TMF board chair, said in a statement that she’s “thrilled to see our catalytic funding stream powering the use of AI and improving security at the State Department.” 

State recently announced a chatbot for internal uses and revised its public AI use case inventory to remove nine items from the agency website. Additionally, the agency has started to encourage its workforce to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT. 

The Department of Education, meanwhile, is using a $5.9 million allocation to assist the Federal Student Aid office on a new StudentAid.gov feature called “My Activity” to centralize documents and data to track activities and status updates. The FSA is anticipating “a reduction in wait times and the need for customer care inquiries,” per the GSA release. 

Education also recently announced an RFI for cloud computing capabilities for the FSA office, a follow-on contract for its Next Generation Cloud. 

Finally, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will put its $12 million TMF investment toward modernizing weather.gov through a redesign to “enhance information accessibility” and “establish a sustainable, mobile-first infrastructure.” NOAA reported plans to integrate translation capabilities for underserved communities’ benefit. 

The release noted that NOAA’s associated application programming interface “faces challenges, causing disruptions in accessing dependable weather information for the American public.”

Martorana said she was “equally excited about the TMF’s two other critical investments — with students getting more modern access to manage their education journeys and the public gaining access to life-saving weather information in an accessible manner for all.”

These investments come after a second appropriations package to fund the government for fiscal year 2024 threatened to claw back $100 million from the TMF. Both the GSA and the Office of Management and Budget have faced challenges in convincing lawmakers to meet funding levels proposed by the Biden administration.

Martorana recently called on Congress to fund the TMF, pointing to the funding vehicle as a way to improve service delivery for the public across the government.

The post New TMF investments boost agency projects in generative AI, digital service delivery, accessibility appeared first on FedScoop.

During the Scoop News Group-produced Amazon Web Services Innovate Day event, Skip Jentsch, cloud products manager for GSA, shared that the agency is focused on “new” special ordering procedures implemented for procuring cloud computing on a consumption basis. 

“GSA has stepped in and created this special ordering procedure,” Jentsch said during the event. “And all it does is that any kind of contract or [blanket purchase agreement] led against the GSA schedule, cloud special item number, is firm fixed price.”

Jentsch hinted at potential legislation that would further help address gaps in federal acquisition regulation. He said these regulations do not mention cloud or how to pay for cloud on an incremental basis. 

Separately, Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, last month introduced the Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act, which focuses on assisting agencies with the procurement cycle for IT capabilities such as cloud computing.

The legislation, which passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee without opposition on Wednesday, would require federal procurement rules to update and get rid of “obsolete, overly burdensome or restrictive requirements” to allow an ease of process for contractors and collaborations between the public and private sectors.

A spokesperson for Cruz said in an email to FedScoop that the senator “believes increasing competition within the procurement process for emerging technologies is essential for lowering government costs, protecting taxpayers, and allowing innovative small businesses to compete on a level playing field for government contracts.” 

A committee aide for Peters told FedScoop that the bipartisan vote “signals its strength to continue to advance” and that the senator will work to continue building support. While there isn’t a House companion yet, the aide said “the committee is hopeful there will be interest for the House to take on this important effort.”

This story was updated May 16, 2024, with information on the committee vote on the Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act and comments from Cruz’s spokesperson and a Peters aide.

FedScoop reporter Madison Alder contributed to this story.

The post GSA focused on cloud procurement efforts for agencies, official says appeared first on FedScoop.

Before the policy, agencies and their contracting officials were limited to only data from their respective agencies, hampering data-driven decisions, according to a White House fact sheet. But the finalized circular (A-137) establishes that acquisition data is an asset to be used across the government and instructs agencies to be prepared to collect and share that information. 

The policy “marks a paradigm shift in the government’s acquisition data management practices,” the fact sheet said.  

Jason Miller, the deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget that houses OFPP, told reporters at a Tuesday roundtable the circular makes acquisition information a “government asset” rather than an agency asset.

“It’s just a huge step in us unlocking the business intelligence that allows those 40,000 contracting officials to operate smarter, better — both on delivering on mission and addressing costs and requirements in ways that result in better outcomes,” Miller said.

Christine Harada, senior adviser who leads the OFPP team in the absence of a Senate-confirmed director, told reporters the guidance changed slightly since a draft version was released for public comment last year. The final version incorporates other work the office has done on data and data-related strategies.

Harada also noted that the administration has created a tool called the Procurement Co-Pilot that “demonstrates the value and the power of having such an enterprise-wide access, and we’ve been rolling that out with our acquisition workforce.”

Better contracting

The data circular is one of the four elements of the Biden administration’s Better Contracting Initiative to improve efficiency and save money on federal spending. The others focus on enterprise-wide software license negotiation, improving contract requirements, and getting more value from sole source and high-risk contracts.

Those other elements of that initiative are also moving forward. On improving negotiation for enterprise-wide software, Miller said the administration has already taken the first step by bringing together agencies that are big buyers of those products to navigate where they have common requirements. He said he’s hopeful that the administration will have more to share on that progress “very soon.” 

Under that prong of the Better Contracting Initiative, the General Services Administration will “lead a government-wide IT software license agreement with a large software provider.”

Harada said in the workshop process, all 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies agreed on over 80% of the requirements, and the remaining ones can be tailored agency-by-agency. “There’s been a lot of really good buy-in from the agencies on this,” Harada said.

The Tuesday announcement came as OFPP marked half a century as an office. Harada and Miller remarked on the accomplishments of the office since then.

“When we were first established, the acquisition workforce had no training — no training whatsoever,” Harada said, noting they’ve since made progress on “investing in the acquisition workforce.” 

She also highlighted the establishment of things like the Chief Acquisition Officers Council and the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee, adding that the theme of the past 50 years has been the government getting “more organized and buying as one.”

The post White House procurement office releases data circular as it celebrates 50th anniversary appeared first on FedScoop.

The order’s requirements span the tech talent surge to guidance for various types of AI. Announcements from this deadline include guidance on generative AI tools for hiring, a safety and security board focused on AI and a new generative AI guidance for federal purchasers. 

The White House credited federal agencies with the completion of requirements for the deadline, and included announcements for requirements in the executive order that were due at a later date. Additionally, the executive branch reported that “agencies also progressed on other work tasked by the E.O. over longer timeframes.”

Here are five takeaways from the White House’s 180-day announcement:

1. The AI talent surge’s progress report

The AI and Tech Talent Task Force reported a 288% increase in AI job applications via a combination of agency hiring, the U.S. Digital Corps, the U.S. Digital Service and the presidential innovation fellows program. 

Additionally, the task force offered 10 recommendations throughout the federal government for “further increasing AI capacity.”

The task force recommends institutionalizing the U.S. Digital Corps and other technology recruitment programs, enhancing user experience on USAJOBS through the updating of digital service capabilities, exploring a talent exchange engagement with foreign partners that are also looking to invest in AI-related talent and more. 

The report calls on Congress to grant agencies the ability to use flexible hiring authorities for the AI-talent surge, while also offering pay incentives and support for rotational practices. 

Significantly, the task force reported that the Office of Personnel Management has “developed a legislative proposal” that aims to enhance compensation flexibilities. That proposal “has been transmitted to Congress.”

2. New actions from the Department of Energy

The DOE announced several AI-related actions at the deadline that focused on both cybersecurity and environmental concerns, including a new website that exhibits agency-developed AI tools and models. 

The agency’s Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies released a report addressing the potential AI has to “significantly enhance how we manage the [electric] grid” and how climate change’s effect on the environment “will require a substantial increase in the rate of modernization and decarbonization” of the grid. The report offers considerations for how large language models might assist compliance with federal permitting, how AI could enhance resilience and more. 

DOE has also announced a $13 million investment to build AI-powered tools to improve the siting and permitting of clean energy infrastructure for a new VoltAlc initiative. Significantly, the agency announced that it is establishing a working group to make recommendations by June on meeting the energy demands for AI and data center infrastructure. 

Additionally, the agency’s Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER)  unit worked with energy sector partners — with support from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory — to create an interim assessment to identify opportunities and potential risks regarding AI use within the sector.

3. Department of Labor guidance on AI and tech-based hiring systems

The DOL was six months early on meeting its requirement to publish guidance for contractors regarding non-discrimination in talent acquisition that involves AI and other technology-based hiring programs. 

The report points to the use of AI systems as having the potential to continue discrimination and unlawful bias. It requires federal contractors to cooperate with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) by providing requested information on their AI systems in order to prevent discrimination.

Contractors are not insulated from the risk of violating equal employment opportunity or obligations if they use automated systems, the agency states in the report. OFCCP also noted obligations related to AI with regard to  investigations into compliance evaluations and complaints  to identify if a contractor is abiding by nondiscrimination requirements. 

While OFCCP reported that it does not endorse products or issue compliance certifications, it does encourage federal contractors to be transparent about AI use in the hiring process and with employment decisions, while nd safeguarding private information of all involved parties. 

4. USDA’s framework for state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) public administrative use of AI

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a framework for SLTTs to use AI to administer the agency’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs, which include school breakfast, summer food service, emergency food assistance and more. 

The guidance states that FNS will work with SLTTs for risk management, and lays out four categories of risk for AI usage in regard to the service, ranging from low to high.

USDA recommends a “human in the loop” in AI implementation for risk mitigation. The framework recommends that  staffers who provide human oversight for AI-enabled functions “should receive sufficient training” to assess AI models or functions for accurate outputs. 

The agency also outlines how other uses of the technology may be “rights-impacting” or “safety-impacting,” as designated by FNS.

5. A framework for nucleic acid synthesis screening

The Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science and Technology Council and the Fast Track Action Committee for Synthetic Nucleic Acid Procurement Screening released a framework to encourage synthetic nucleic acid providers to implement screening mechanisms to prevent the misuse of AI for “engineering dangerous biological materials.” 

This guidance builds on a Department of Health and Human Services strategy document released in October 2023. 

OSTP said in a release that the National Institute of Standards and Technology “will further support implementation of this framework” through engagement with industry entities to “develop technical standards for screening.”

The post Five takeaways from the AI executive order’s 180-day deadline appeared first on FedScoop.

The GSA’s Generative AI and Specialized Computing Infrastructure Acquisition Resource Guide details how contracting officers can approach gen AI procurement decisions through suggested questions and considerations, per an agency press release. 

“Generative AI technology will continue to evolve and we know that this resource guide should continue to evolve with it,” Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner in the GSA’s Office of Information Technology Category, said in the release. “Contracting officers will play a critical role by working closely with program and IT staff to find, source, acquire and make secure the right generative AI solutions for agencies’ needs.”

Along with acquisition recommendations, the guide also includes examples of generative AI in government, recommendations for how government entities may use things like sandboxes or testbeds before committing to a large-scale purchase, instructions on how agencies may define issues they are looking to solve, and more. 

The agency said in the release that the resource guide “will be updated as technologies develop.”

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in the press release that the guide offers AI use cases, common challenges and information to support the public sector’s exploration of the “growing AI marketplace,” adding that the guide “starts to leverage the power of AI to better deliver” for the public.

“This guide is a key part of our commitment to equipping the federal community to responsibly and effectively deploy generative AI technologies to benefit the American people,” Carnahan said.

The post GSA releases generative AI resource guide for federal purchasers appeared first on FedScoop.

The platform is built on the customer relationship management software company’s existing Einstein 1 platform and includes features to transcribe calls for contact center workers and assist caseworkers with generating reports and documenting information.

“This is the kind of work that requires a lot of expertise and there’s never enough people to handle it,” Casey Coleman, senior vice president of global government solutions at Salesforce, told FedScoop in an interview on the sidelines of the company’s conference in Washington. 

Coleman said the system will cut down administrative time for government employees and “leave the experts to do the job of really interacting with people and making sure that the answer is provided to them.”

The announcement came during the company’s “World Tour D.C.” event, which included panels with multiple government customers from agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Internal Revenue Service. 

Other software companies — such as IBM and Microsoft — have also announced new AI tools for government in recent months, as interest in the technology continues to grow in the public sector. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is working to create guidance for procurement of those tools. The Office of Management and Budget is planning action on federal procurement of AI later this year and released a request for information on that work.

Coleman said interest in AI from public sector partners has “spiked up,” particularly for uses related to administrative work and things that can be tested quickly.

“Every conversation we have with public sector customers, or prospective customers, includes AI to some degree,” Coleman said. “Everyone is thinking about it — everyone is looking for use cases to test it on.”

Also on Wednesday, Salesforce announced that its Field Service, Privacy Center and Security Center tools are authorized for FedRAMP’s “high” impact level and the Department of Defense’s “Impact Level 5,” which means they’re cleared to be used with the government’s most sensitive unclassified data. GovSlack also achieved FedRAMP “high” authorization in February. 

The post Salesforce launches ‘Einstein 1’ generative AI tool for government appeared first on FedScoop.