TSA solicits AI, other tech solutions to streamline airport screening
TSA asked for feedback on turnkey solutions that could be used at airport checkpoints. The deadline to respond is August 1.
Torie Ketcham
- The Transportation Security Administration wants to use artificial intelligence and other private sector technologies to streamline airport screening. Under a recent request for information, TSA asked for feedback on turnkey solutions that could be used at airport checkpoints. The deadline to respond is August 1. The RFI was issued through TSA’s Screening Partnership Program, which allows airports to contract for private security screening services. TSA said it’s particularly interested in tech that can reduce manual labor and improve the passenger experience.
- PCS Like A Pro, a military spouse-run advocacy initiative, has launched a new effort to better understand the experiences of military families during permanent change of station moves. The new PCS Climate Survey will be offering service members and their families an opportunity to share detailed, anonymous feedback, in the hopes of tracking year-over-year changes, and to identify areas for improvement. The survey is open from July 28 through August 8. While there are a number of surveys conducted each year to gather feedback on various aspects of military life, none focuses solely on the PCS process.
- Several dozen agencies and offices are setting a higher standard for customer experience in the federal government. But the Government Accountability Office said the Trump administration can do more to track improvements for these High-Impact Service Providers. GAO is asking the Office of Management and Budget to develop quantitative targets for these agencies to meet, and reasonable time frames to achieve those goals.
- As long as it doesn’t interfere with business operations, the Office of Personnel Management said federal employees’ religious expressions should be broadly allowed at work. That includes things like wearing religious clothing or displaying religious memorabilia on a desk. OPM also said federal employees are allowed to speak with coworkers about their religious views, as long as it doesn’t rise to the level of harassment. The new guidance on religious expression comes after OPM encouraged agencies to let federal employees telework for religious purposes.
- IRS is working on a “future state” of its Integrated Data Retrieval System. The update makes it much easier for employees to retrieve a taxpayer’s records when they contact the agency asking for help. The system also makes it possible for taxpayers to track the status of their federal refund check. This update would be a long-awaited win for the agency, which has struggled to get the funding and staffing necessary to complete this project. The IRS has some of the oldest legacy IT systems still running in the federal government.
- The bipartisan FEMA Review Act would lift FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security and make it a cabinet-level agency. The bill, introduced by leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also aims to cut red tape and streamline FEMA’s disaster assistance processes. The legislation would direct FEMA to create a universal application for individual disaster assistance. The legislation comes as the Trump administration also considers potential reforms through its FEMA Review Council.
- The Defense Department has created a chief zero trust officer position within its chief information officer’s office. In a new memo, Katie Arrington, who is performing the duties of the DoD CIO, outlined the chief ZT officer role to include strategy and planning, portfolio and risk management, and zero trust operations. Additionally, Arrington formally established the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office, which will coordinate, synchronize and accelerate the adoption of the cyber architecture. Since DoD launched its zero trust effort in November 2022, it has been led by a senior advisor in the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office.
- The Senate’s effort to reauthorize and update the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs now has a House companion. Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-Texas) introduced his version of the Investing in National Next-Generation Opportunities for Venture Acceleration and Technological Excellence (INNOVATE) Act yesterday, which largely mirrors its Senate counterpart. Mainly, it would extend the SBIR/STTR program to 2028. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the chairwoman of the small business committee, introduced her version of the INNOVATE Act in March. Among the things the INNOVATE Act would do is extend the SBIR/STTR program to 2028. The program’s authorization is set to expire September 30.
- In June, Federal News Network conducted a survey of current and former federal employees to gauge how workforce changes implemented during the Trump administration have impacted their mental health. Within a week, we received 3,647 responses. Of the survey respondents, nearly 95% of federal workers said they have experienced increased stress, anxiety and depression as a federal employee since Jan. 20. Nearly 90% of federal employees who responded to the survey said mental health challenges have significantly affected their personal health and wellness, and 70% of participants said their willingness to go above and beyond at work had declined. Nearly 50% of federal employees said that their job performance had suffered. “This has been a never-ending nightmare,” one respondent said.
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