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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: January 31, 2025
‘Critical Actions’ Needed on Management of Agency IT, Says GAO
(FedWeek) The GAO once again has sounded a warning regarding agency IT, saying that “critical actions” are needed in the acquisition and management of investments that “too frequently fail or incur cost overruns and schedule slippages while contributing little to mission-related outcomes.” A report said that while IT acquisition and operations has been on its high-risk list since 2015, “Over time, this high-risk area has become increasingly more complex as technologies have matured and evolved. In addition, as technologies have changed, the skills needed to manage them have also changed.” Read More
How DeepSeek changed the future of AI—and what that means for national security
(NextGov/FCW) Days after China’s DeepSeek detailed an approach to generative AI that needs just a fraction of the computing power used to build prominent U.S. tools, the global conversation around AI and national security—from how the Pentagon buys and uses AI to how foreign powers might disrupt American life, including privacy—is changing. DeepSeek’s announcement drew a collective wail from the White House, Wall Street and Silicon Valley. In Washington, D.C., President Trump called it a “wake-up for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing” against China. Read More
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab opens doors after LA fires, helps firefighter helicopters refuel
(Space.com) NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) began resuming normal operations this week after major wildfires that have been causing widespread devastation across Southern California since early January forced its closure. JPL, which runs many of NASA’s high-profile robotic missions, is located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains just north of L.A. and was shuttered a day after the Eaton Fire ignited near the Altadena community on Jan. 7. The fire raged very close to the agency’s campus. Firefighters kept the deadly flames from reaching the historic lab, but it remained closed except for a small number of essential personnel. That left the mission control center for the Deep Space Network (DSN) empty for the first time since it opened 60 years ago. Read More
Breaking down how the Pentagon could spend $200 billion extra
(Breaking Defense) The president has recently reiterated his commitment to “peace through strength,” and the Congress is hard at work to make that happen. Initial press reports indicate that Congress could increase defense spending through the reconciliation process by as much as $200 billion, or $100B per year for fiscal 2025 and 2026, above the Biden-proposed defense topline request of $849.8B. With the FY25 NDAA already passed, normally, any additional funds would be added by the appropriators. However, if these funds are added through reconciliation, then it may be that the authorizers, led by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., as opposed to the appropriators, who will have greater control in deciding where these funds will be allocated. Read More
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