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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: March 14, 2025
VA needs updated cost estimate and rollout schedule for EHR, watchdog says
(NextGov/FCW) As the Department of Veterans Affairs prepares to resume deployments of its new electronic health record system at 13 medical facilities next year, a report from a congressional watchdog is calling for VA to get a better idea of the troubled modernization project’s total cost and expected timeframe for completion. The Government Accountability Office’s review, published on Wednesday, comes as VA moves out of pause on most rollouts of its new EHR software that was instituted in April 2023 following a series of technical, performance and safety concerns associated with the system. Read More
New GAO Report Tackles Risks & Challenges in Federal IT Acquisition Programs
(ExecutiveGov) The Government Accountability Office has released a report profiling 16 ongoing IT acquisition programs deemed critical to the mission of the agencies implementing them. The report was prepared in response to a request by Congress and as part of a broader effort to ensure the implementation of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which seeks to enhance agency investments in IT by promoting better planning and management, according to the report, which GAO issued on Tuesday. Federal IT acquisitions have been seen to cost more than initially projected and take longer to implement while producing systems that fail to perform, causing the GAO to place IT acquisition and management under its High Risk List and resulting in the need for greater monitoring and oversight. Read More
Hegseth Wants to Accelerate DOD Software Acquisition
(ExecutiveGov) Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has released a memorandum directing DOD to adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway, or SWP, to speed up the development, procurement and delivery of software and other weapons systems to warfighters. “While commercial industry has rapidly adjusted to a software-defined product reality, DoD has struggled to reframe our acquisition process from a hardware-centric to a software-centric approach,” Hegseth said in the March 6 memo. “When it comes to software acquisition, we are overdue in pivoting to a performance-based outcome and, as such, it is the Warfighter who pays the price.” Read More
Program Integrity: Agencies and Congress Can Take Actions to Better Manage Improper Payments and Fraud Risks
(U.S. Government Accountability Office) Reducing fraud and improper payments is critical to safeguarding federal funds. Improper payments are payments that shouldn’t have been made or were made in an incorrect amount. For FY 2024, the federal government reported about $162 billion in improper payments. Since FY 2003, such payments have totaled nearly $2.8 trillion. We testified about steps agencies can take to better manage improper payments and fraud risks, such as better planning and sharing data between agencies. We also identified actions Congress can take to hold agencies accountable. Read More
Trump’s ‘pincer maneuver’ reshapes federal contracting landscape
(NextGov/FCW) The Trump administration is following a two-pronged approach in their efforts to reduce budgets and shrink the size of the federal government. First, there are the top-down agency reductions like what happened at the U.S. Agency for International Development and what has started at the Education Department. “They’re coming top-down at some agencies and they’re basically collapsing them to the minimum allowed by law,” said Kevin Brancato, a senior vice president at TechnoMile, a provider of tools that help contracts track opportunities and manage contracts. Read More
Why fired federal employees are ideal for companies with talent shortages
(Federal News Network) Government employees have the types of skills and experience that make them prime candidates for industries struggling with talent shortages. Raymond Lee, founder and president of Careerminds, warns, though, that private sector companies need to prepare themselves for taking on former feds. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Read More
From Space Stations to Storm Shelters: How NASA’s Engineering Is Shaping Disaster-Resistant Homes
(Space Daily) Space is unforgiving. Engineers designing habitats for the Moon, Mars, and orbit must think beyond comfort to ensure survival. Structures face micrometeorite impacts, extreme temperatures, and cosmic radiation. Every material, every joint, and every layer serves a purpose: to protect. On Earth, hurricanes bring strikingly similar challenges. Winds exceed 150 miles per hour, flying debris strikes with deadly force, and storm surges flood entire communities. Homes, built with conventional materials, stand little chance. But some engineers are borrowing a page from NASA’s playbook. The same innovations that are designed to keep astronaut safe could help build the next generation of hurricane proof homes. Read More
ICEAA’s NewsBrief is a collection of articles relevant to the cost estimating and analysis community that is delivered weekly to current ICEAA members. To advertise in NewsBrief, contact iceaa@iceaaonline.org.