March 24th - Government Relations Weekly Update

Both the House and Senate are in session this week.

Legislative Branch  

Last week was quiet on Capitol Hill, with both chambers in recess. Of note, all of the president’s cabinet nominees have been confirmed, save Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be UN Ambassador, whose nomination has been delayed because of the slim margin in the House. A confirmation tracker can be found here.

Senate Confirmations

Because the Senate was in recess, there were no confirmation votes this past week.

Upcoming Hearings

Mar. 25

Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, “Open/Closed Hearing to Receive Testimony on Harnessing Artificial Intelligence Cyber Capabilities”

Mar. 26

Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, “Open/Closed Hearing to Receive Testimony on United States Strategic Command and United States Space Command in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2026 and the Future Years Defense Program”

Executive Branch    

Executive Order “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement”

On Mar. 20, the White House issued an executive order (EO) that aims to reduce similar acquisition functions conducted by agencies by transitioning all domestic procurement of common goods and services, including IT, to the General Services Administration (GSA). Under this EO, the GSA Administrator will be designated as the executive agent for all government-wide acquisition contracts for information technology. Within 30 days of the EO being issued, GSA is to take over as the executive agent of all government wide acquisition contracts (GWACS) for IT, as designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As part of the GSA’s new role, the administrator will be able to “defer or decline” being the executive agent of IT government wide contracts “when necessary to ensure continuity of service or as otherwise appropriate.” Additionally, the administrator is to lead efforts to “rationalize Government-wide indefinite delivery contract vehicles for IT for agencies across the Government, including as part of identifying and eliminating contract duplication, redundancy, and other inefficiencies.” Within the next two weeks or so, the OMB will send guidance to agencies on how to move forward with implementing this order’s efforts to consolidate IT contracting. Also, within 60 days, agency heads are required to submit to the GSA Administrator proposals to have the GSA “conduct domestic procurement with respect to common goods and services for the agency, where permitted by law.” This analysis by law firm Holland & Knight is a useful explainer.

Executive Order “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities”

On Mar. 20, the President signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to take steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities. No detail is provided on how that closure will be carried out, or where it will be targeted. Under the EO, core functions of the Department of Education will be preserved, such as its responsibilities for Title I funding for low-income schools, Pell grants, and money for children with disabilities.

Executive Order “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Sharing”

On Mar. 20, the President signed an executive order to remove information silos by directing agency heads to grant federal officials full and prompt access to all unclassified agency data, records, software and IT systems as part of efforts to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.

Executive Order “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness”

On Mar. 19, the President signed an executive order that seeks to review and revisit National Security Memorandum 22 (Critical Infrastructure and Resilience), EO 14123 (Supply Chain), EO 14017 (America's Supply Chains), and National Security Memorandum 32 (National Continuity Policy). The EO states that preparedness is best managed at the state, local, and individual levels, with federal support. A key aspect of this initiative is the shift towards a risk-informed approach in infrastructure prioritization, moving away from a general "all-hazards" approach.

DCSA Releases 2025-2030 Strategic Plan

On Mar. 18, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) released its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. The plan outlines three strategic priorities:

1. Move the agency to full performance and integration in each mission
2. Anticipate and prepare DCSA for the future by equipping the agency to confront and evolving threat landscape in 2040
3. Raise the level of understanding and recognition of DCSA as the premier provider of integrated security services for the Federal government with external stakeholders

The 2025-2030 Strategic Plan builds upon the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan and continues DCSA focus as the primary Federal entity for conducing background investigations for the Federal government and its missions of industrial security, personnel security, counterintelligence and insider threat, and security training.

Personnel Updates

On Mar. 17, the President announced that he will name Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. Bedford is currently the CEO of Republic Airways.

Upcoming Events 

Mar. 25: INSA hosts “Coffee & Conversation with Kevin Carlson, Executive Director of the Open Source Enterprise, CIA”

Mar. 27: The Space Policy Institute, the George Washington University hosts “AI for Space and Aeronautics (R&D for evolving missions)”

Apr. 1-2: AFCEA hosts “2025 Spring Intelligence Forum”

• All attendees must have active, final granted TS/SI/TK clearances. You must have all three clearances to attend. All registrations must be made by Mar. 24.

Apr. 10: Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security hosts “Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats”

Apr. 22: INSA hosts “Spring Symposium – Integrating Emerging Tech: Challenges and Solutions”

Apr. 24: PSC hosts “NASA Reverse Industry Day”

May 6-8: AFCEA hosts “TechNet Cyber”

Reading Corner

All

On Mar. 20, CSIS published “Foreign Malign Influence Targeting U.S. and Allied Corporations”

Citizen Security & Public Services

On Mar. 17, CRS published “Social Security Administration (SSA): Announced Restructuring and Other Changes”

On Mar. 21, CRS published “Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2025 State of Play”

Cyber Mission Sector

On Mar. 25, GAO published “Cloud Computing: Private Sector Leading Practices in Acquisition, Cybersecurity, and Workforce Development”