He takes up the new role at the White House agency after two years at State, during which time he has spearheaded the department’s data modernization strategy with CDO Matt Graviss. 

Berntsen will serve on secondment at the National Security Council until at least the end of the year. Previously, he was a senior manager at Deloitte, and before that was a country director for Afghanistan within the Department of Defense.

The National Security Council is the president’s principal forum for national security and foreign policy decision-making. In addition to technology and cybersecurity, it brings together senior leaders in areas crucial for national security including homeland security, global public health, international economics, climate, migration and others.

At the State Department, the Office of the Chief Data Officer has worked to implement Secretary Antony Blinken’s modernization agenda, which includes the department’s first-ever enterprise data strategy. 

Writing for FedScoop last September, Berntsen and Graviss said their team was focused on completing six-month sprint data campaigns to drive forward the agency’s digital transformation.

Earlier this year, the State Department appointed Laura Williams as deputy chief information officer for foreign operations. Williams took up the post on March 1 after previously serving as director of analytics at the agency’s Center for Analytics. 

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In a report published on Tuesday, the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) called on the tax authority to assess how much it would cost to improve public understanding of commonly used services run by the Free File Alliance, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly.

The intervention comes as the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Digital Service work to develop a prototype free filing service, which is expected to be made available to certain taxpayers in January 2024.

ETAAC is an advisory committee that provides a public forum for the discussion of electronic tax administration issues. Last September the committee appointed eight new members including Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Tax Commissioner for the District of Columbia Keith Richardson and Code for America Senior Manager RaeAnn Pilarski.

In the new report, the committee cited previous work by the nonprofit MITRE Corp., which identified low participation rates in existing free filing programs and found a low level of awareness among consumers. In 2018, just 3 million out of nearly 104 million eligible taxpayers used a free file product to submit their federal income tax returns, according to the MITRE study.

The committee said: “ETAAC reiterates MITRE’s conclusion and joins in the recommendation that Congress appropriate funds to increase awareness of existing free filing options and encourages the IRS to make use of free electronic filing resources already at its disposal to promote greater adoption of Free File.”

It added: “ETAAC further recommends that the IRS work with the Free File Alliance and other software industry associations to continue enhancing the Free File program. This could include expanding eligibility (in terms of adjusted gross income) and communication and marketing opportunities for the program.”

Details of the IRS’s new prototype tax filing platform were first reported by the Washington Post as the Treasury in May delivered a report to Congress on the feasibility of building such a service. That study was carried on behalf of the IRS by the nonprofit New America and was funded with $15 million included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Other new recommendations from ETAAC include that IRS make tax information documents digitally available in real-time to allow easier use of third-party filing software and that the agency prioritize and allocate funding for the modernization of IRS.gov and search engine optimization.

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In a missive sent to government chief human capital officers on Tuesday, the agency said it had created the scheme to offer the training, information and support needed to support early career talent.

As part of the program, interns working at federal agencies will have access to mentoring, executive speakers, self-directed training and new intern hub.

OPM’s launch of the program is intended to support the “strengthening and empowering the federal workforce” priority included in the Biden administration’s President’s Management Agenda.

In a final iteration of the latest President’s Management Agenda, which was published in September, the Biden administration set out three broad questions: How can the federal government strengthen and empower its workforce to best serve the American people? How can the federal government deliver programs and services that build trust? What can federal government do to advance equity and support underserved communities?

Central to the Biden administration’s core priorities of improved service delivery and equity is the need to ensure that each government agency has an appropriately skilled workforce and talent pipeline.

The administration has launched schemes including cybersecurity internships and apprenticeships at differing federal agencies in an attempt to kickstart recruitment. 

In November, the Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs were among the departments to hire cybersecurity apprentices as a result of an 120-day cybersecurity sprint program led by the White House.

On his first day in office in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order mandating that the federal government pursue a “comprehensive approach” to advancing equity for all, including for people of color and those who have historically been marginalized.

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In an audit published Monday, the congressional watchdog said that the information and technology-sharing initiative known as the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) has not had a program manager since 2017.

GAO said: “Without assessments from a program manager or other designated entity, the impact of agencies’ ISE-related efforts on completing the open priority objectives is unknown. Consequently, it remains unclear how much work remains for the ISE implementation plan overall.”

According to the watchdog, following the resignation of the system’s program manager in 2017, functions of the program manager’s office were redistributed to other offices within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The Federal Information Sharing Environment is a platform that was established following recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to improve the sharing of law enforcement information between federal, state and local, and private sector entities through the use of standardized policies and technology systems.

In its report, GAO noted that conflicting statutory provisions have played a role in delaying the appointment of a new program manager.

The system is one of several technology platforms used by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to share terrorism-related information with non-federal and private sector partners.

In April last year, DHS announced that it would replace its well-known information-sharing portal, the Homeland Security Information Network. This is the agency’s platform for sharing sensitive but unclassified information with federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, international, and private sector entities.

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With the project, the federal cybersecurity agency has issued an extensible visibility reference framework guidebook and a technical reference architecture document, which it says will help public and private entities implement cloud cybersecurity best practices.

The fresh guidance comes after CISA in October issued recommended Microsoft 365 security configuration baselines for use in cloud security pilots by federal agencies and for public comment.

CISA’s Secure Cloud Business Applications project is focused on helping to protect sensitive information by providing agencies with minimum system specifications they must adhere to.

According to the agency, the technical reference architecture document is focused on helping government agencies to adopt technology for cloud deployment, adaptable solutions and zero-trust frameworks.

Commenting on the new documentation, CISA Executive Assistant for Cybersecurity Eric Goldstein said: “As evidenced by supply chain compromises and associated cyber threat campaigns, persistent threat actors continue to evolve their capabilities with the intent to compromise federal government networks and critical infrastructure, whether on on-premises or cloud-based environments.”

“The final eVRF and TRA provides all organizations, including federal agencies, with adaptable, flexible, and timely guidance. These resources will help organizations address cybersecurity and visibility gaps that have long hampered our collective ability to adequately understand and manage cyber risk,” he said.

Last month, a report issued by the Government Accountability Office found that four federal agencies were not fully implementing requirements set out in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

Despite the decade-old mandate that agencies use FedRAMP to ensure services meet federal cloud security standards, the four departments — Treasury, Labor, Homeland Security and Agriculture — inconsistently implemented the program’s requirements, according to the audit.

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In a memo issued Friday, first obtained by FedScoop, the Office of Management and Budget clarified details about how agencies will be required to collect cybersecurity attestations from software providers whose services they use.

According to the new guidance:

• Agencies will have more time to collect letters of attestation
• Letters of attestation will not be required for open-source software
• Agency chief information officers will have discretion over whether software is considered “agency-developed”
• Companies unable to immediately provide letters will be able to submit a “plan of action and milestones” 

The memo comes as the Biden administration works to strengthen the cybersecurity of commercial technology products used in government, and after it last year announced that agencies would have to collect letters from software vendors confirming their products adhere to NIST standards.

Today’s memo extends the amount of time U.S. federal agencies have to collect letters of attestation for critical software until three months after an attestation common form is approved by the Office of Management and Budget. For non-critical software, this timeline is six months after the attestation form is approved.

The guidance clarifies that a finalized version of the common form, which is being drafted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, has yet to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget. A draft version of the form was published in late April, which industry vendors have until June 26 to comment on. A senior official told FedScoop that OMB would “work fast” to approve the final version of the form once the industry comment period closes.

In addition, the memo clarifies that government agencies will not be required to collect letters of attestation for open-source software – even when software is proprietary but made publicly available by a company.

The missive said: “A significant number of core software applications, such as web browsers, to which Federal agencies must have access are offered for use to members of the public at no cost. Users of this software have no opportunity to negotiate with the producer, and therefore it will not be feasible for agencies to obtain attestations from the producers of such software.”

Open-source software is excluded from the attestation requirements because users of this software have no opportunity to negotiate with the producer, and it therefore would not be feasible for agencies to obtain attestations from the producers of such software.

A senior official speaking with FedScoop said this provision could be especially beneficial for smaller federal agencies where the need to use standalone, open-source tools such as a PDF reader is acute.

Despite the exclusion of open-source software, government agencies are still required to assess the risk of utilizing such software and take appropriate steps to mitigate risks, according to the memo.

Furthermore, the new memo designates agency chief information officers as the officials responsible for deciding whether software developed by federal contractors should be considered “agency-developed.”

The “agency-developed” designation matters because such software, even when developed under a federal contract, is out of the scope of attestation collection requirements.

According to the memo: “If there are questions regarding whether software developed by Federal contractors should be considered agency-developed, agency CIOs are required to make that determination on behalf of the agency.”

Furthermore, the new memo clarifies that software manufacturers unable to immediately attest to one or more practices identified in the attestation form will be able to provide agencies with a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) document.

This will allow government departments to continue working with software producers who do not yet meet minimum requirements identified in the common form but plan to do so.

“[T]he producer of a given software application must identify the practices to which they cannot attest, document practices they have in place to mitigate associated risks, and submit a POA&M to an agency,” OMB said in the document.

It added: “If the agency finds the documentation satisfactory, it may continue using the software, but must concurrently seek an extension of the deadline for attestation from OMB. Extension requests submitted to OMB must include a copy of the software producer’s POA&M.”

Further instructions on the format and process that software manufacturers must follow for extension and waiver requests will be issued on the federal collaboration website MAX.gov. 

OMB will also begin collecting metrics on the number of products in use at each agency that do not meet minimum secure software requirements within one year.

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In a memo sent Thursday, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said federal agencies, where possible, should allow staff — especially those considered high-risk — to work from home.

“As much of the country experiences dangerous air quality conditions from the ongoing Canadian wildfires, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is reminding Federal agencies to be proactive in protecting the health and wellbeing of our Federal workforce,” Ahuja wrote.

She added: “OPM would also like to remind agencies of the various workplace flexibilities that may be used to reduce health risks associated with dangerous air quality levels.  Agencies are encouraged to permit employees, particularly those with high-risk medical conditions, to telework from home on a day when air quality conditions are dangerous.”

The OPM chief sent the missive to all government chief human capital officers, as thick smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed Washington D.C., along with other major cities in the northeast, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. According to the Washington Post, air quality is likely to be severely reduced in these areas for at least the next 24 to 48 hours. 

In her missive, the director noted that agencies can deploy other measures to help protect the health of their staff, including by allowing those with flexible work schedules to adjust arrival and departure times to avoid peak commuting hours and to request the use of annual leave or earned compensatory time off.

While telework is not an option for certain government employees, including those working on national security issues or handling certain sensitive data, some agencies have retained a degree of flexibility for staff following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January, the National Archives and Records Administration reached an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees union, as part of which all permanent positions at the agency will now be eligible for telework.

At the end of November, the National Science Foundation signed a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the AFGE that included expanded telework and remote work for employees.

Advocates of the increased use of telework at government agencies say that it can be especially beneficial for recruiting staff in areas such as cybersecurity and IT because departments can seek potential candidates from across a wider geographic area.

However, telework has also proved politically contentious, with some lawmakers arguing that fewer employees in the office has resulted in the reduced availability of government services.

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The agency has named Lora Weiss as director, Eric Lin as deputy director, Neil Alderoty as executive officer, Richard-Duane Chambers as associate director for integration and policy and Marla Dowell as director of the CHIPS research and development metrology program within Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office.

The CHIPS Research and Development Office is one of two offices at the Department of Commerce created by the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. It is responsible for programs focused on making American semiconductor manufacturers globally competitive and works alongside the CHIPS Program Office, which is responsible for semiconductor incentives.

Weiss joins the Department of Commerce office from Pennsylvania State University, where she is senior vice president for research and oversees the research of 12 academic colleges, seven interdisciplinary research institutes and the university’s Applied Research Lab.

Lin was previously interim director of the CHIPS Research and Development Office, and before that was director of the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory.

Alderoty has worked at NIST for more than 30 years, most recently as executive administrator of the Commerce subagency’s Material Measurement Laboratory.

Chambers joins the CHIPS R&D Office from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he served as a senior professional staff member.

Dowell takes up her new appointment after most recently serving as director of the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory.

Commenting on the appointments, NIST Director Laurie Locascio said: “To make the CHIPS R&D programs into bustling centers of innovation, we need the country’s best people to execute our vision. These are the experts who will propel CHIPS for America and the nation’s semiconductor sector forward.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo added: “These leaders bring exactly the depth and breadth of organizational, programmatic and technical leadership experience that CHIPS needs to stand up new, transformational R&D programs.” 

Locascio announced the appointments during remarks made to the Industrial Advisory Committee on June 6.

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In a missive sent on June 5 to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Mike Bost, R-Ill., said that the agency has so far failed to provide requested documents setting out how the agency collects information about recusals.

According to Bost, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee staff in late April held a meeting with VA CIO Kurt DelBene and VA Special Counsel Michael Waldman, during which it was established that the VA did not have a formal process in place for recording ethics waivers.

Bost wrote: “[VA Special Counsel] Michael Waldman confirmed that VA currently does not have a formal process in place to document Mr. DelBene’s recusals – or for that matter recusals of any of its executives – including recusals relating to former employment. Mr. Waldman acknowledged that it may be a good idea to start a formal recusal documentation process and volunteered to start discuss the idea internally and inform the Committee of their conclusions.”

“I am concerned that, more than a month after meeting with Mr. DelBene, I have not received a response from you or your staff,” he added.

In a previous note sent to Denis McDonough on May 10, Rep. Bost said that during the previous late-April meeting, DelBene noted that he had only twice interacted with Microsoft or its employees: once to discuss a problem VA was experiencing with Microsoft Teams software, and once when he had dinner with his former chief of staff to provide career advice.

In the May 10 note, Bost requested that the agency provide a written summary of its plan to document the recusals of DelBene and other senior executives, or its reasoning for not adopting such a measure.

All federal employees are required to abide by the ethics stipulations set out in the Code of Federal Regulation, and failure to do so carries criminal penalties.

These include a requirement that federal officials take appropriate steps to avoid any actual or appearance of loss or impartiality in the performance of their official duties, including through personal or another “covered relationship.”

Prior to his confirmation as VA chief information officer in December 2021, DelBene was an executive at technology giant Microsoft.

Earlier in his career, DelBene worked in the Obama administration for a brief time, during which he led improvement work on Healthcare.gov as a senior adviser to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. While working on Healthcare.gov, he helped to troubleshoot issues encountered during the first open enrollment period.

DelBene is also married to Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.

In a statement to FedScoop, a VA spokesperson said: “The Biden Administration and VA are committed to the highest ethical standards for public officials. Consistent with those high standards, before joining the VA, CIO Kurt Delbene agreed to an Ethics Agreement whereby he was recused from involvement in Microsoft specific matters, including a number of specifically enumerated procurements and programs.”

He added: “VA and CIO Delbene have scrupulously adhered to that Agreement. In recent meetings with HVAC staff, it was requested that VA develop a formal process to document procurements or programs from which Mr. Delbene may be recused. VA has been working on finalizing such a formal documentation process and expects to respond to the Chairman Bost and the Committee shortly.”

Editor’s note, 6/6/21, 4:12 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include comment from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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According to a press release issued by the tech services and consulting firm, it will support the Office of the Chief Information Officer, within USAID’s Bureau for Management, and the contract has a 10-year performance period.

Commenting on the contract award, Accenture Federal Services Managing Director and USAID Client Lead John Roche said: “This contract award marks Accenture Federal Services’ first prime contract with USAID. We are thrilled to be tapped to lead this critical initiative for the Agency.”

“We look forward to delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions that protect the integrity, confidentiality, and accountability of the Agency’s information assets,” he added.

The award is the latest federal IT contract win for Accenture in recent months. Last month, the company was awarded, along with federal contractor Maximus, a spot on the Internal Revenue Service’s Enterprise Development, Operations Development IT modernization contract vehicle.

This came after the company in March was awarded an IT infrastructure operations and modernization contract worth $380 million by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. That contract was awarded as a task order through the General Services Administration’s Alliant 2 governmentwide acquisition contract vehicle.

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