The Biden Administration Wednesday announced $26 million in funding to demonstrate how solar, wind, storage and other clean energy resources can support a modern, resilient and clean energy grid.

Through the Energy Department, the funding will be distributed to eight selected projects across

15 sites, including 13 states and Puerto Rico, and build on numerous Energy Department-led efforts to combat climate change and promote clean energy.

“As threats and climate risks to America’s energy infrastructure continue to evolve, DOE is laser-focused on ensuring our power grid is strong and reliable as it incorporates a historic level of renewable resources,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement. “Thanks to

President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, today’s announcement will help build a resilient grid that the American people can trust to deliver reliable, affordable, clean electricity to their homes and businesses.”

The funding will flow through the Solar and Wind Grid Services and Reliability program to research teams consisting of “utilities, laboratories, universities and industry” to test how wind and solar power plants can more reliably transmit clean energy across power networks.

According to the Energy Department, wind and solar energy could provide up to 80% of power generation on a clean electric grid.

Per the Energy Department announcement, the selected projects are:

 Consolidated Edison (New York, NY): This project will demonstrate transmission

protection strategies in New York and Virginia that will result in fewer outages as the

grid moves to inverter-based generation. The success of this project will demonstrate to

the transmission system protection, operation and planning industries that the grid can

operate safely and reliably with any mix of energy sources—including up to 100%

inverter-based resource generation. (Award Amount: $3 million)

 Electric Power Research Institute (Knoxville, TN): This project will work with multiple balancing authorities and utilities to perform demonstrations of grid services at sites across Michigan, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico and California. The team aims to

demonstrate the capability of these technologies to provide a collection of grid services

reliably and over a period longer than what has been demonstrated in the past. (Award

Amount: $3.4 million)

 General Electric Renewable Energy (Schenectady, NY): This project will demonstrate grid-forming inverters at the Great Pathfinder wind plant in Iowa. This demonstration will encourage confidence in grid operators to consider wind power plants as a more flexible stand-alone resource that can provide grid services over extended periods of time.

(Award Amount: $3.5 million)

 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, CO): This project aims to further the understanding of the transmission grid’s behavior in response to faults in scenarios with high levels of inverter-based resource. The team will demonstrate strategies to protect the grid in Hawaii from rapid changes in generation, and develop new fault detection methods that will result in more reliable transmission.

(Award Amount: $2 million)

 Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Oakland, CA): This project will develop an automated analysis tool for utility engineers to address rapid changes in the electric grid, such as increased solar generation. If successful, the tool can be incorporated in commercial platforms used by transmission utilities and system operators nationwide.

(Award Amount: $2.5 million)

 Portland General Electric Company (Portland, OR): This project will demonstrate grid- forming inverters at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Oregon, North

America’s first energy center to combine wind, solar and energy storage systems in one location. If successful, this will be the first bulk power system-connected grid-forming hybrid power plant in the United States and will encourage utilities to consider including grid-forming capabilities in their own interconnection requirements.

(Award Amount: $4.5 million)

 University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL): This project uses an innovative modeling, protection and control framework to ensure reliable operation of a bulk power system with 100% of its generation coming from IBRs, which have much different fault

characteristics than traditional synchronous generators. This project will demonstrate

protection strategies in Illinois and Puerto Rico that will result in fewer outages.

(Award Amount: $3 million)

 Veritone, Inc. (Denver, CO): This project aims to boost confidence in renewable power using Veritone’s artificial intelligence-powered distributed energy resource management system technology. The AI-powered platform will be used to forecast, optimize, and control IBRs on New Mexico’s power grid in real-time. (Award Amount: $3.9 million)

The standard has been updated to reflect the ever-changing landscape of technology and information security and to ensure that organizations can protect their data and assets from cyber threats.

The standard includes a range of changes, from restructuring and refining existing requirements to adding new clauses and security controls.

The day of remembrance for fallen U.S. soldiers has been commemorated since the end of the Civil War but has only been a federal holiday since 1971.

t’s the unofficial start of summer—filled with the promise of sunny skies, warm weather, and a three-day weekend stretching before us. Often, we gather with family and friends on Memorial Day for a backyard barbecue along with red, white, and blue desserts, a patriotic playlist, and maybe some fireworks. Or, we might set out on a weekend road trip or plan a few nights under the stars at a favorite campsite.

But it’s important to remember that Memorial Day is about more than burgers and better weather. First and foremost, it is observed in remembrance of those who fought—and died—for our freedom. In their honor, you might fly the American flag or read some famous Memorial Day quotes to help you reflect on their sacrifice.

No matter what your plans are for the weekend, you may be wondering: When is Memorial Day Weekend 2023? We’re here with all the answers you need to know, plus some Memorial Day history.

This year, Memorial Day is on Monday, May 29, 2023. The date changes every year, but there is a method to the madness: Memorial Day is always held on the last Monday in May. Since the holiday creates a three-day weekend, the Saturday before through that Monday, which is May 27–29 this year, is referred to as Memorial Day weekend.

Americans celebrate Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, to honor the brave people who died while serving in the U.S. military.

One of the very first known observances took place way back on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, right after the end of the Civil War, according to the History Channel. A group of freed enslaved men, women, and children had buried the bodies of Union soldiers after Confederate soldiers evacuated Charleston. On May 1, people gathered for a parade in the fallen soldiers’ honor, singing hymns and placing flowers at the fighters’ graves.

A few years later, Union General John A. Logan declared there be a date of remembrance for those who died during the Civil War. He chose May 30, 1868, because it wasn’t already the anniversary of a battle. However, the Southern states opted to create their own day specifically for Confederate soldiers. Currently, nine states still set aside a day to honor those who lost their lives fighting for the Confederacy.

Memorial Day remained unofficial for many more years, though people certainly continued holding tributes for the fallen. Decades later, in 1950, the U.S. Congress agreed upon a resolution asking the president to “issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe … Memorial Day, by praying, each in accordance with his religious faith, for permanent peace.”

Then, in 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed, which declared that Memorial Day would occur on the final Monday every May. It also required a day off work for federal employees. Finally, in 1971, the anniversary officially became a federal holiday.

President Biden on Tuesday officially revoked the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal employees and contractors that had already been mired in lawsuits that prevented them from being enforced.

The mandates–issued in September 2021–will end on May 12, Biden said in an executive order.

The move had been expected following an announcement from the White House earlier this month, and will coincide with the end of the COVID public health emergency on May 11.

The vaccine mandate is no longer necessary because the United States is “no longer in the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the order stated, and the healthcare system is better able to respond to future surges in cases than it was when the mandates were issued. Biden also noted that 98% of federal workers had complied with the mandate by either receiving a dose of the vaccine or starting the process of receiving an exemption, as of January 2022.

“Considering this progress, and based on the latest guidance from our public health experts, we no longer need a governmentwide vaccination requirement for federal employees or federally specified safety protocols for federal contractors,” the order stated. “Vaccination remains an important tool to protect individuals from serious illness, but we are now able to move beyond these federal requirements.”

Federal employees and contractors likely will not notice much difference when the mandates end, because enforcement had already been suspended due to legal challenges. The military’s vaccine mandate had already been repealed, as part of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act signed in late December.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., introduced a bill Thursday requiring certain federal agencies to assign a senior official to oversee the use of emerging technology.

The Oversee Emerging Technology Act would make relevant federal agencies appoint a senior official to advise on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing and other emerging technologies. The senior official would provide expertise on responsible policies and practices, work with officials and interagency coordinating bodies and provide insight for responsible procurement.

According to the announcement, the bill is intended to help ensure that agencies procuring and utilizing these tools are “appropriately staffed,” while improving accountability and oversight.

This bill would apply to the 24 agencies outlined in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and to members of the intelligence community.

“The federal government should lead by example to ensure its use of emerging technologies,

like artificial intelligence, aligns with our democratic values,” Bennet said. “This bill creates clear

accountability across federal agencies, charging senior officials with overseeing the responsible adoption and development of new technology.”

Upon enactment, agencies would have 180 days to appoint or designate their respective emerging technology leader and inform Congress of their authorities and responsibilities.

The total number of federal contracting dollars going to small businesses keeps going up year over year. More than $154 billion in federal contracts went to small businesses in fiscal 2021 — about 27% of all government contract spending that year.

The Biden administration, as part of its equity agenda, has set a higher bar for making sure more of that federal contract spending goes to minority-owned small businesses.

Beyond total contract spending, however, agencies are seeing a significant drop in the number of small businesses that receive government contracts.

The federal government is seeing an even sharper decline in the number of small businesses that are new or recent entrants to the federal marketplace.

“That is a bit of a puzzle as to why, with even greater opportunity, there are fewer small businesses that are participating in the industrial base,” Sam Le, the director of Policy, Planning, and Liaison within SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, said in an interview last week. “It’s any number of factors that we’ve identified at SBA and with agencies. We don’t think there’s one thing that has caused this to happen.”

Agencies since 2010 have seen about a 40% decrease in the number of small businesses receiving prime contract awards.

Over the same period of time, the number of small companies doing business with the federal government for the first time has decreased by about 60% — and over the past 15 years, new entrants have dropped by approximately 80%.

“That creates concerns about the willingness of private companies to work with the government and the ability for the government to find new, innovative products and get the best value for their contracting dollar,” Le said.

SBA is taking steps to reverse that trend and get new small businesses to compete for federal contracts by enrolling more companies into its small business certification programs.

Le said that companies that participate in SBA’s contracting certification and business development programs are more likely to stay in federal contracting.

“We’re doing our best to get companies that are eligible to get into the programs and keep them in there, and give them the development assistance they need to go out and find contracts,” he said.

Le said SBA works with each agency to find a “reasonable goal” for small business contracting, in order to meet the 15% target by FY 2025.

“Not every agency has the same 15% goal. Most agencies are actually higher than 15%, so we work with each agency to figure out what the opportunity is for finding small, disadvantaged businesses,” he said.

The White House is calling on agencies to spend 15% of their contracting dollars on small, disadvantaged businesses — including women-owned, Black-owned and Hispanic-owned small businesses — by FY 2025. SBA expects agencies are on track to meet that goal.

The Biden administration set an interim goal of having 11% of governmentwide contracting dollars go to small, disadvantaged businesses in FY 2022.

SBA expects to release the 2022 government procurement scorecard this summer. But if recent trends are any indication, agencies are on track to meet the goal.

More than 11% of federal contracting dollars already went to small businesses in FY 2021.

“We essentially met that goal a year early, by having the government spend 11.01% of all contracting dollars with small, disadvantaged businesses,” Le said. “So in terms of getting to these goals, and these interim goals, we’re doing quite well and look forward to meeting that goal of 15% by fiscal year 2025.”

The Biden administration showcased its small business policies last week as part of National Small Business Week.

President Joe Biden said last Monday that small businesses employ nearly half of all private-sector workers, and are “one of the best investments America can make.”

“You’re involved in and you’re innovative across every single solitary industry,” Biden said during a May 1 Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.

SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman said the Biden administration, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, is taking steps to “make sure our small businesses continue to survive and thrive by investing in America and creating billions of dollars of opportunity.”

To get more small businesses to compete for federal contracts, the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration earlier this spring launched a governmentwide procurement equity tool and supplier base dashboard to help agencies track how much of their contract spending is going to small businesses that are new or recent entrants to federal contracting.

“It’s really just up to the businesses to market themselves to the government and sign up in Sam.gov to find contracts, look for opportunities. And then on the other side, for agencies to conduct outreach to those businesses and consider them and their competition,” Le said.

The White House, as part of National Small Business Week, hosted small business award winners from all 50 states.

Le said this year’s winners show that small businesses are the “backbone of the American economy.”

“The federal government is relying on them to get them the services they need to be able to compete with our near-peer competitors, and to be able to move the economy,” Le said.

“The pitch to agencies is this government is not going to be able to meet the rest of its missions, or whatever else is coming from the administration,” he said. “Unless you work with small businesses. Those are the businesses that have the best ideas, and they’re going to be able to give you the best.”

SBA is also taking steps to improve the customer experience of small businesses applying for certification online. The certification is needed for small businesses to compete in sole-source and set-aside contracts.

“All businesses in all of SBA’s programs have seen the online experience improve, and we’re working with agencies and with our contracting partners to make those applications even more streamlined and easier to use,” Le said.

A copy of a fake RFQ released by scammers. Source: Nagesh Rao, the chief information officer for the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Commerce Department.
“I have now had about a half a dozen vendors reach out to me about it over the last three or four months, including an unfortunate small business owner who sent equipment to Commerce HQ, instead of to the address in Atlanta, because they were like, well, we’re not sure about the address that they thought was suspicious but there I will send it to Nagesh,” Rao said at the recent ACT-IAC Emerging Technology and Innovation conference. “We had to ship it back and say ‘no this is not right.’ But it’s stuff like that that is happening and so I have to be able to jump on pretty quickly.”
This was the fourth or fifth time Rao has been targeted by these or similar scammers, issuing fake RFQs. He said it’s not just him but several Commerce executives have been the subject of these fraudsters.
Rao said he’s been trying to get the word out over the last months to make sure vendors know this is a scam.
He’s also working with the Commerce inspector general on an investigation.
“This is it gets a little too insane when you actually get the equipment shipped to you,” Rao said.
Rao also posted details, including the fake RFQ, on LinkedIn as a way to spread the word further to the community.
While scammers have often used the federal government as a cover, think of the fake calls from IRS or Social Security Administration, this is one of the first, or at least most public, attempts where fraudsters posed as a senior executive.

The Biden administration announced new artificial intelligence funding and policy initiatives Thursday, furthering its efforts to regulate the field in a way that protects civil rights while continuing to foster innovation.

Thursday, chief executives from tech companies with major AI investments—namely Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI—will join Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior Biden administration officials to discuss the threats posed by rapidly-advancing AI technologies, and how public and private sectors and work in tandem to mitigate risks.

Along with this discussion, officials will announce a series of new actions that will contribute to the existing guidance outlined in the AI Risk Management Framework and AI Bill of Rights—launched earlier this year and at the end of last year, respectively—and include a $140 million investment toward launching seven new national AI research institutes.

Private sector companies are at the forefront of creating these technologies. Their inclusion in Thursday’s meeting fulfills the longstanding Biden administration pillar to better incorporate private sector engagement in federal government guidance.

“This new generation of AI is going to call on…responsible behavior from all parties and, you know, clearly there will be things that we are doing and will continue to do in government, but we do think that these companies have an important responsibility,” the official said.

The meeting with top tech leadership will focus on better agreement for responsible AI usage that focuses on improving American lives rather than jeopardizing job security and civil liberties. The senior administration official said that, later this year, several of these companies will participate in an independent public evaluation of their AI systems at DEFCON 31, a large hacking convention.

Within the AI Village at the convention, companies will submit their AI system models to be evaluated by “thousands” of community partners and AI experts to grade their alignment with the AI RMF and Bill of Rights.

“These are important new steps to promote responsible innovation and to make sure AI improves people’s lives without putting rights and safety at risk,” the official said.

Along with the private sector demonstration slated to occur at DEFCON 31 in August, the government will continue to disseminate guidance later in the year. The official confirmed that in the coming months, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget will issue further policy guidance on the use of AI by the federal government.

OMB will release draft policy guidance focused on ensuring the U.S. leads the world by example in ethical AI system usage. It will establish policies for federal agencies to responsibly procure and leverage AI to better serve the American people.

With generative AI systems that can quickly produce content mimicking human response and create new content such as images, including deep fakes, songs and long-form written content, lawmakers and regulators have been analyzing how to police the usage of these algorithms and systems, with a slew of bills having been introduced in Congress in recent weeks.

“As President Biden has underscored, in order to seize the benefits of AI, we need to start by mitigating its risks,” a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the Thursday announcement.