The Senior Executives Association’s (SEA) Leadership Summit this week honored members of the civil service who received the Presidential Rank Award in 2019, the highest civilian honor, and hosted panels and seminars on improving federal service.

Congressional leaders announced an agreement with the White House last week to fund all federal agencies through September 2020.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this month indicated that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) needs to grant additional focus on updating detection technology already sent to airports for use. The report, called for through the TSA Modernization Act, addressed how TSA operationalizes detection standards, the extent to which TSA considers risk when making technology deployment decisions, and the extent to which TSA ensures technologies continue to meet detection requirements after deployed to airports.

Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have introduced legislation requiring federal law enforcement to obtain a court order before using facial recognition technology for public surveillance. Lawmakers have described the legislation as an attempt to balance privacy concerns with law enforcement efforts.

The Department of Energy Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report detailing the department’s improvements and opportunity areas for FY2019.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) has issued a report analyzing how Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Secret Service have dealt with opioid use in the midst of a national opioid epidemic. The report issued in November assesses how the components have addressed both legal and illegal opioid use.

Democratic Senators wrote the Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) with concerns regarding the agency’s funding levels for two information-sharing groups.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate passed a temporary funding measure, or continuing resolution (CR), to fund the government until December 20. House members voted Tuesday and the Senate voted Thursday. The president signed the legislation into law on Thursday evening, averting the shutdown that would have begun at midnight.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested a 30-day extension for agency and public comments on the effectiveness of the vulnerability assessment program run by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The extension and message to agencies comes after DHS received no initial comments in the first 60-day period after the request was submitted.

Results indicate that happiness among federal employees increased slightly in 2019, although most large agencies saw little change.

Officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) have expressed confusion about whether new vendor cybersecurity standards will limit the number of vendors that qualify for critical government technology projects. The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMS) standards published by the Pentagon in January were meant to increase cyber protections, but some small businesses have expressed concerns that they will not be able to compete for government contracts.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a request for information (RFI) this week to gather information on “the feasibility, technological capacity, and general levels of effort required to develop a passenger self-screening solution” for airports. The agency notes that this is part of on-going efforts to improve security while lowering wait times for airport passengers.

In a voice vote this week, the House of Representatives passed the National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act. The legislation will now move to the Senate for passage.

Following a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police 2019 conference, President Trump signed an executive order establishing a commission to review law enforcement priorities. The commission will be established through the Department of Justice to better understand crime and law enforcement trends.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) critiqued agencies on their failure to adequately secure personnel from violence and threats of violence. The report found that many of these assaults or threats came from those harboring anti-government views. GAO analyzed data and attacks from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service, National Park Service (NPS), and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The Diplomatic Security Service is counting down the final days until the opening of their brand new Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) in Blackstone, Virginia. The training center has been under construction since 2016, following the purchase of 1,400 acres for the project in 2015.

In a memo to agencies and a guidance posted last week, the Office of Personnel Management is encouraging agencies to step away from progressive penalties and tables of penalties in deciding what disciplinary action to take against employees. The guidance was issued to assist in the implementation of White House Executive Order 13839, which pushed agencies to promote greater accountability in their offices.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is known for its secrecy, but last week the agency opened its doors to journalist to provide an inside look at the new Cybersecurity Directorate. Reporters were welcomed into the agency’s Fort Meade, Maryland headquarters for a tour of the operations underway to protect the U.S. against emerging cyber threats.

The Transportation Security Administration has announced its intention to better manage data using cloud solutions. In the solicitation request entitled TSA’s Cloud Strategy 2.0, the agency described how they plan to “adopt and integrate cloud based services” to better achieve their mission.

The first case from the Air Force security forces has been uploaded to the new Air Force Justice Information System (AFJIS). The system is a step toward modernizing criminal data reporting within the Department of Defense (DoD) and creating more integrated awareness of criminal activities.