Category: US GSA

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 22, 2022

BOSTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced its new Pollinator Initiative that supports the federal government’s commitment to protect pollinators. The Fredrick C. Murphy National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility in Waltham, Mass., is the first location in GSA’s New England Region to receive two beehives as part of a nationwide pilot program to save the small insects.

Saving bees and other pollinators from the risks they face is an important part of a sustainable future because they are critical to agriculture and food production – contributing to the national economy by more than $20 billion each year. This is just the latest step in GSA’s agency-wide commitment to advancing sustainability and confronting climate change.

GSA has established policies and practices to support pollinator habitats through the design, construction, and maintenance of federal properties nationwide. In support of these efforts, GSA has installed honeybee hives at 11 GSA facilities across the country as part of a yearlong pilot.

If the program is deemed a success after the first year, GSA’s New England Region hopes to expand the placement locations to some of the region’s courthouses and federal building green roofs.

The project seeks to enable GSA to lead by example and to create a more efficient and effective design policy that can be modeled by other federal agency partners, builders, and property managers.

“By using data-producing honeybee hives at GSA-controlled facilities to help inform updates to these directives and policies, we can promote sustainability and enhance urban habitats,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “I look forward to how this pilot can uncover new strategies to help promote the health of our local pollinators and to set the foundation for other GSA facilities to expand placement locations and integrate into their sustainability efforts.”

GSA’s Center for Urban Development is managing the pilot program through its Good Neighbor Program with a contract awarded to The Best Bees Company, a major U.S. beekeeping service. Best Bees Company will maintain the hives over the course of a year, analyze honey production from each hive, and identify the plants and landscapes that are specifically beneficial to local pollinators. This information is expected to help guide GSA’s future pollinator-friendly landscape design and maintenance policies and practices.

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) Nina Albert testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. In her testimony, Commissioner Albert underscored the importance of properly maintaining federal facilities for the safety of the public and federal employees; the financial risks to the government if we do not address mounting deferred maintenance; and, the savings to taxpayers if we proactively address these issues.

“The opportunity is here to work together to achieve better outcomes while saving taxpayers money,” said PBS Commissioner Nina Albert. “By providing full access to the Federal Buildings Fund, GSA can consolidate agencies into federally-owned facilities where possible to avoid lease costs, reduce facility vulnerabilities due to extreme weather events, and modernize our spaces to meet the evolving needs of agencies and visitors alike.”

Commissioner Albert explained that, without full access to the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), public buildings will continue to suffer from the consequences of deferred maintenance. Liabilities are growing by $2.6 billion per year and this is likely to compound further the longer GSA is not able to address critical repairs. Commissioner Albert also highlighted the opportunity to streamline the approval and implementation of GSA projects by modernizing the prospectus authorization process. Approximately $50 million a year can be saved by shortening the prospectus timeline and increasing the speed that GSA is able to go to the market with construction contracts and leases.

Commissioner Albert’s full testimony can be found here.

###

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced its new Pollinator Initiative that supports the federal government’s commitment to protect pollinators. Saving bees and other pollinators from the risks they face is an important part of a sustainable future because pollinators are critical to agriculture and food production – contributing to the national economy by more than $20 billion each year. This is just the latest step in GSA’s agency-wide commitment to advancing sustainability and confronting climate change.

GSA has established policies and practices to support pollinator habitat through the design, construction, and maintenance of federal properties nationwide. In support of these efforts, GSA has installed honeybee hives at 11 GSA facilities across the country as part of a data-driven yearlong pilot that aims to identify location-based best practices in landscaping and planning for pollinators. The GSA pilot will inform a more efficient and effective design policy to create and maintain habitats that can be modeled by other federal agency partners, builders, and property managers.

“By using data-producing honey bee hives at GSA-controlled facilities to help inform updates to these directives and policies, we can promote sustainability and enhance urban habitats,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “I look forward to how this pilot can uncover new strategies to help promote the health of our local pollinators and to set the foundation for other GSA facilities to expand placement locations and integrate into their sustainability efforts.”

GSA’s Center for Urban Development is managing the pilot program through its Good Neighbor Program with a contract awarded to The Best Bees Company, a major U.S. beekeeping service. Best Bees Company will maintain the hives over the course of a year, analyze honey production from each hive, and identify the plants and landscapes that are specifically beneficial to local pollinators. This information is expected to help guide GSA’s future pollinator-friendly landscape design and maintenance policies and practices.

###

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 21, 2022

A diverse class of technologists serving across 13 federal agencies

WASHINGTON — Today, the Biden-Harris Administration welcomed 40 U.S. Digital Corps fellows who will serve at 13 agencies across the federal government. Over the next two years, they will help shape a more equitable, effective, and secure digital government for the public.

The U.S. Digital Corps launched last year to recruit early-career technologists to work on priority projects in five skill tracks: software engineering, data science and analytics, product management, design, and cybersecurity. Fellows will work on projects in a wide range of areas, including health, immigration, customer experience, and equity.

The program and the fellows’ work strongly aligns with Priorities 1 and 2 of the President’s Management Agenda, as well as executive orders on cybersecurity; customer experience; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the federal workforce.

“The Biden Administration is committed to making it easier for talented technologists across America to serve the public,” said Robin Carnahan, the Administrator of GSA. She met with the group today and officially swore the fellows into federal service. “From a pool of over 1,000 applicants, we’re thrilled to welcome such a high-caliber cohort to help government deliver better for millions of Americans.”

Housed within GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), 40 fellows were selected from a pool of over 1,000 applicants from 19 states and territories, and 37 academic institutions. This first cohort of fellows includes veterans; technologists who have reskilled from other fields; and recent graduates from certificate, undergraduate, and graduate degree programs. Eighty-three percent of fellows are first-time federal employees.

“TTS is proud to be the home of the U.S. Digital Corps,” said Dave Zvenyach, TTS Director. “We are dedicated to supporting and mentoring these early-career technologists as they work to increase trust in government through simple, seamless, secure, and equitable experiences. This cohort will deliver important services to the public, as well as enable public servants to better serve the public.”

The two-year fellowship offers unique benefits, including a dedicated learning and development curriculum, mentorship, a cohort-based community, as well as the opportunity for permanent career positions in federal service when fellows successfully finish the program.

“As an immigrant and a veteran, I experienced government services firsthand and understand how difficult they can be to navigate. I want to use my skills and experiences to make government services more accessible and equitable, and the U.S. Digital Corps is the perfect pathway for a new civic technologist like me,” said Jenny Wang, an incoming fellow slated to work on a project at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“This impressive cohort of next-generation digital leaders will be key to advancing technological innovation and effective technology policy across government,” said Dr. Alondra Nelson, who leads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “Their work will bolster key administration priorities such as sustaining the economic recovery, preventing the next pandemic, and advancing equity.”

The U.S. Digital Corps is a whole-of-government effort led by GSA in collaboration with the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The program received startup funding from the Federal Citizen Services Fund as part of the American Rescue Plan that President Biden signed into law.

Applications for the second cohort of fellows will open later this year, and GSA anticipates a larger cohort to meet significant demand from additional agencies across the federal government.

Learn more about the inaugural class of U.S. Digital Corps fellows.

###

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 21, 2022

Three new TMF investments support food security for American families, consumer protection, and information access for first responders

WASHINGTON – Today, the Technology Modernization Fund announced investments to modernize networks in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while also helping the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implement zero trust architecture to boost cybersecurity. These planned projects are the result of close collaboration between the TMF and agency partners.

“This Administration is on a path to aggressively invest in defenses and shift from outdated perimeter-based defenses to a ‘zero trust’ approach that confronts our adversaries’ capabilities and intent,” said Federal CIO and TMF Board Chair Clare Martorana. “These investments will implement robust multifactor authentication, encrypt government data, quickly detect and contain adversary activity, and continuously identify and remediate vulnerabilities.”

“The TMF is again making smart technology investments that will improve efficiency, boost cybersecurity, and deliver better for taxpayers,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “The TMF is showing that government can harness technology to make a positive impact in people’s lives, from supporting systems that help people who are food insecure to ensuring that first responders can quickly share information.”

Raylene Yung, Executive Director of the Technology Modernization Fund, recently testified before Congress on the TMF and its “broad view of technology needs across the federal government.” In her statement before the Subcommittee on Government Operations, she said the TMF is “seeing similarities across proposals, uncovering what’s working best and connecting agencies to shared resources.”

The latest tranche of TMF investments around more secure network infrastructure and zero trust architecture shows how the fund loop is uncovering these similarities across proposals and building cohorts of agencies simultaneously addressing similar challenges:

Network Upgrade at USDA

The TMF is investing $64 million in the USDA tol help develop a unified, secure network to support all USDA program offices and services and reduce the number of legacy networks from 17 to 1, bearing an estimated $734 million in cost savings/avoidance to the agency. The investment boosts the speed and cybersecurity of program offices like the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which delivers critical food safety data to the public, and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which distributes $122 billion in nutrition benefits to American families experiencing food insecurity.

“The USDANet modernization project enables USDA to continue and build on its customer-centric IT modernization efforts that deliver better performance for a better value,” said USDA Chief Information Officer Gary Washington. “It will also increase the reliability of USDANet and act as an enabler to protecting and operating the U.S. agricultural supply chain.”

New FTC Security Operations Center

The TMF will also invest $3.9 million to help FTC procure a security operations center as a service (SOCaaS) in order to implement a zero trust architecture. The project will allow FTC to better protect sensitive data and scale security operations to meet future threats. The project will improve FTC response times to cyber attacks and serve as a blueprint for other agencies to establish SOCs of their own.

Cloud Modernization at DHS

Another investment of $26.9 million will modernize the DHS Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) service to an updated and more secure platform for information sharing among first responders, law enforcement, private sector, and government partners. DHS plans to rebuild its information sharing system as a cloud native platform. Real-time information and resource access will allow agencies and emergency personnel to plan for and respond to homeland security matters such as natural disasters, security events, and other crises faster and more effectively.

All three agencies plan to repay the TMF in alignment with repayment guidelines by the end of FY 2028. These latest actions bring the total of TMF investments to 26 ongoing projects with over half a billion dollars invested.

For more information, visit: tmf.cio.gov

###

About the TMF: The Technology Modernization Fund is working to transform the way the government uses technology to deliver for the American public in an equitable, secure, and user-centric way. The TMF invests in technology projects across government, providing incremental funding, technical assistance, and oversight throughout execution to ensure the success of its investments.

The TMF is overseen by the Technology Modernization Board, which is composed of government IT leaders representing proven expertise in technology, transformation, and operations. To date, the TMF has announced investments totaling over $500 million. These investments have supported projects ranging from providing a single secure login experience for government websites to digitizing temporary worker visa programs and modernizing systems that support crop inspection and certification. The TMF has received $175 million through the annual budget process and $1 billion through the American Rescue Plan to fund modernization projects to date. For more information, visit tmf.cio.gov and follow us at @TMF_gsa.

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.