Quick Hits

*** The White House budget proposal includes $1.6 billion for work on the electronic health record modernization project at the Department of Veterans Affairs. That effort is expected to take 10 years to complete and includes a $10 billion contract with Cerner plus an estimated $6 billion in associated modernization costs. Additionally, VA 's Office of Information and Technology is slated to receive $4.3 billion in funding -- a $200 million boost to support cloud transition and a congressionally mandated push to improve IT infrastructure and accelerate telehealth programs.

*** A bipartisan group of lawmakers are teaming up to leverage the purchasing power of the federal government to improve cybersecurity of the Internet of Things ecosystem. The bill would establish security requirements for devices purchased by the U.S. government. The Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 was offered in the Senate by Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) and in the House by Reps. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Will Hurd (R-Texas.) Gardner and Warner introduced a similar bill in the last Congress, but it didn't get a vote.

*** Tony Moraco will retire as CEO of Science Applications International Corp. at the end of July, the company announced March 11. SAIC's board elected company Chief Operating Officer Nazzic S. Keene as his successor.