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September 26, 2018 | International, C4ISR

Pentagon Extends JEDI Deadline Again—With a Catch

By Heather Kuldell, Managing Editor

The department is requiring bidders to deliver their proposals in person.

Companies bidding on the Defense Department's multibillion-dollar Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract will need to hand-deliver their proposals.

“In lieu of electronic submission, an offeror's entire proposal shall be captured on one or more DVDs and submitted in person only. No other forms of submission will be accepted,” the department said in an amendment to the JEDI request for proposal posted Monday.

The department also pushed the deadline back a few days. Bidders must contact JEDI procurement officials by 5 p.m. Eastern time Oct. 10 to get logistical details for turning in their proposals in person on Oct. 12.

It's the second time the department extended JEDI's original Sept. 17 deadline, following other amendments that answered industry questions and a pre-award bid protest from Oracle.

Defense officials describe the JEDI acquisition as the foundation for hosting mission-critical data for warfighters around the world. But since it was announced a year ago, the procurement has drawn scrutiny from industry and lawmakers for requiring a single cloud service provider instead of multiple vendors. The contract could be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years if all the follow-on options are exercised.

But before the project sees a cent, Congress wants more insight into JEDI and the rest of the department's cloud computing projects. In the final conference report for the Defense-related minibus, appropriators order the defense secretary to deliver a cloud-centric budget accounting plan and a detailed, enterprisewide cloud computing strategy that includes “defining opportunities for multiple cloud service providers.” The department would be prohibited from spending anything on JEDI or the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions—another multibillion-dollar cloud contract—until 90 days after those plans are delivered to defense committees.

“The conferees believe cloud computing, if implemented properly, will have far-reaching benefits for improving the efficiency of day-to-day operations of the Department of Defense, as well as enabling new military capabilities critical to maintaining a tactical advantage over adversaries,” lawmakers wrote in the joint explanatory statement.

The Senate passed the minibus—which also includes labor, health, education and a continuing resolution—last week. The House is scheduled to vote on the package this week.

https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/09/pentagon-extends-jedi-deadline-again-catch/151541/

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  • The Pentagon wants a $10B defense industry cash injection. Is Congress listening?

    July 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    The Pentagon wants a $10B defense industry cash injection. Is Congress listening?

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The Pentagon responded with with its spending plan for the aid, which allocated $688 million to aid suppliers of aircraft engine parts, shipbuilding, electronics and space launch. This June, the country incurred its biggest monthly deficit ever, $864 billion, which topped the previous single month deficit record, $738 billion in April. With the long-term debt totaling more than $26 trillion and the Congressional Budget Office predicting the deficit will reach $3.7 trillion for the year, some Republicans have voiced concern about the unpredictable effect adding more could have on the economy. “If we're spending a lot of money, we have to be careful that we don't break the country,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., recently told the Wall Street Journal. 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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 15, 2020

    October 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

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