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May 14, 2020 Division A of HR 6800

APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

Division A of HR 6800 (The Heroes Act) provides specific appropriations to departments and agencies in furtherance of coronavirus legislation.  Attached is a summary of Division A.  As mentioned earlier, this legislation will not be considered by the Senate but will be a basis for further negotiations.

FYI, other division titles of HR 6800 are as follows:

Division B:  Revenue Provisions

Division C:  Health Provisions

Division D:  Retirement Provisions

Division E:  Continues Assistance to Unemployed Workers

Division F:  Assistance to Agriculture Producers

Division G:  Accountability of Government Operations

Division H:  Veterans and Servicemembers Provisions

Division I:   Small Business Provisions

Division J:  Support for Essential Workers

Division K:  COVID 19 Heroes Act

Division L:  Families Workers & Community Support Provisions

Division M: Consumer Protection & Telecommunications Provisions

Division N:  Retirement Options to Workers Act

Division O:  Education Provisions & Other Programs

Division P:  Election Safety and Security Act

Division Q:  COVID 19 Heroes Fund

Division R:  Child Nutrition & Related Programs

Division S:  Other Matters

Division T:  Additional Other Matters

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/HR-6800-Division-A-Appropriations-Funding.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]Full Summary[/su_button]


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability

Coronavirus Funding 3.5

APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The Senate yesterday passed HR 266, the Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act of 2020, which some are referring to as Coronavirus funding 3.5.  This legislation provides $484 billion, which includes $380 billion for small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for disease testing. The House is expected to consider this legislation tomorrow, Thursday, April 23.

A summary of this legislation is attached.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Coronavirus-Legislation-3.5.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]Full Summary[/su_button]


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability

Coronavirus Appropriations Funding

APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

Division B of S.3548 provides additional funding to government agencies to handle requirements created by the coronavirus pandemic.  Several agencies are receiving monies to handle expanded teleworking  and IT improvements.  Attached is a title by title summary of funding provided by Division B.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-Appropriations-Funding-Division-B.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]Full Summary[/su_button]


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability

Coronavirus Legislation Unemployment and Tax Language

Coronavirus Legislation Unemployment and Tax Language

The Senate has passed the Coronavirus legislation.  It will be considered by the House on Friday. Attached is a summary of Title II, Division A, of this legislation which addresses the unemployment compensation issue and  tax/monetary rebates.  Division B address the appropriations portion of this legislation which will be provided later.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Title-II-Division-A-Corona-Legislation.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]Full Summary[/su_button]


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability

February 28, 2020 House Passes HR 4998

APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4998, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. There is no comparable Senate bill at this time.

H.R. 4998 would require the FCC to develop and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security and prohibit the use of Federal funds administered by the FCC to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise obtain such equipment and services.

The legislation also establishes the Secure and Trusted Communications Reimbursement Program to assist small communications providers with the costs of removing prohibited equipment and services from their networks and replacing prohibited equipment with more secure communications equipment and services.

A summary of this legislation is provided.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/HR-4998-Secure-Trusted-Communications-Act.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]Full Summary[/su_button]


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability

February 24, 2020 FedRAMP Authorization Act

APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The House of Representatives recently passed The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authorization Act of 2019. This legislation would codify the FedRAMP Program at the General Services Administration (GSA). It would authorize GSA to establish a government-wide program to provide a standardized approach to security assessment and authorization for cloud computing products and services. There is no Senate comparable bill at this time.

Background and Need for Legislation

The Office of Management and Budget established FedRAMP in December 2011 to provide joint authorizations and continuous security monitoring services for cloud services for all federal agencies. According to the FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO), the “primary objective is to provide a re-usable security authorization model by which Agencies can obtain safe, secure cloud service technologies to help modernize Federal IT”.

By codifying the FedRAMP program at GSA, H.R. 3941 would continue this government-wide and standardized approach to security assessment and authorization for cloud computing products and services in order to help agencies modernize their information technology systems. The legislation would reduce duplication of security assessments and other obstacles to agency adoption of cloud products by establishing a “presumption of adequacy” for cloud technologies that have received FedRAMP certification. This presumption of adequacy means that the cloud service offering has met baseline security standards established by the program and should be considered approved for use across the federal government. The bill would also require GSA to work toward automating the FedRAMP process, which will lead to further standardization in security assessments and continuous monitoring of cloud services, increasing the efficiency for providers and agencies.

H.R. 3941 also requires FedRAMP to be more transparent. The bill requires the FedRAMP PMO and the JAB to develop and adopt metrics regarding the time and quality of security assessments used to issue FedRAMP authorizations. It also requires OMB to submit an annual report to Congress on the status, efficiency, and effectiveness of FedRAMP, including its progress towards meeting metrics consistently tracked over time and any progress made to automate FedRAMP processes.

The bill also establishes the Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee to ensure dialogue among GSA, agency cybersecurity and procurement officials, and industry for effective and ongoing coordination in acquisition and adoption of cloud products by the federal government. This committee will also provide a forum for industry to bring concerns to GSA and agencies in a public setting that fosters a collaborative problem-solving environment to continuously improve the program.

CBO Cost Estimate

H.R. 3941 would authorize the appropriation of $20 million annually for this program. Assuming appropriation of the specified and estimated amounts, CBO estimates that in total, implementing H.R. 3941 would cost $100 million over the 2020-2025 period, primarily to carry out the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.


For more information, contact:
Jerry Chouinard
Deep Water Point Legislative Affairs Lead
jerry.chouinard@deepwaterpoint.com

Contact Deep Water Point Today
to Increase Your Federal Business Win Probability