Federal Independent Agencies
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from federal independent agencies.
Featured Stories
USAID Administrator Power Issues Statement on Military Takeover in Sudan
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following statement on Oct. 25, 2021, by Administrator Samantha Power:
* * *
"USAID condemns the military takeover in Sudan under the apparent direction of the head of the Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan. The detention of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several cabinet ministers, declaration of a state of emergency, shutting down of Internet and telecommunications services, and military takeover of state-run media are an affront to the democratic aspirations of the people of Sudan and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following statement on Oct. 25, 2021, by Administrator Samantha Power:
* * *
"USAID condemns the military takeover in Sudan under the apparent direction of the head of the Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan. The detention of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several cabinet ministers, declaration of a state of emergency, shutting down of Internet and telecommunications services, and military takeover of state-run media are an affront to the democratic aspirations of the people of Sudan andundermine Sudan's transition toward civilian-led democratic governance after 30 years of kleptocracy and violent dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir.
"When I visited Sudan in August of 2021, I met with a range of Sudanese--activists, members of civil society, journalists, local officials, students, journalists, and many others. All of them spoke of the daunting challenges Sudan faced in transitioning to democracy. Many were impatient with the pace of change. Yet they were united and steadfast in their commitment to continue working towards the "freedom, peace, and justice" that they, and their friends and families, had fought for during the 2019 revolution. They are among the many millions of Sudanese invested in a democratic, civilian-led future for their country, sick of the military's corruption and insistent on a government that would work on their behalf. Today's military takeover is a betrayal of the Sudanese people and what they achieved through peaceful protest. Today is a betrayal of the young people I met who were brutally maimed by security forces during the protests, and who never stopped seeking accountability for those who lost their lives during the revolution. Today is a betrayal of the powerful, determined, and brave women of Sudan, who led the revolution and who were insistent, despite huge obstacles, on securing greater rights for themselves and future generations.
"In light of the developments of the past day, the United States is pausing delivery of $700 million in Economic Support Funds to Sudan, which Congress appropriated to support Sudan's democratic transition. USAID's humanitarian assistance for people in need in Sudan, which exceeded $386 million in fiscal year 2021, will continue.
"The United States stands with the Sudanese people, who continue to reject military rule. We call for the safety and immediate release of political detainees, restoration of the civilian-led transitional government and its associated institutions, and resumption of internet and telecommunications services. Sudanese security forces use of live rounds against ongoing protests in Khartoum are deeply disturbing. We demand that Sudan's security forces refrain from any further violence against protesters and hold to account those responsible."
USAID Administrator Power Issues Statement on First-Ever National Strategy on Gender Equity, Equality
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following statement on Oct. 26, 2021, by Administrator Samantha Power:
* * *
"USAID welcomes the Biden-Harris Administration's release of the U.S. government's first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. This historic strategy underscores what many at USAID have long understood--that in order to advance democracy, build stronger economies, and make lasting development gains globally, we must invest in the rights and opportunities of women and girls, in all their diversity, both in the United States
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following statement on Oct. 26, 2021, by Administrator Samantha Power:
* * *
"USAID welcomes the Biden-Harris Administration's release of the U.S. government's first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. This historic strategy underscores what many at USAID have long understood--that in order to advance democracy, build stronger economies, and make lasting development gains globally, we must invest in the rights and opportunities of women and girls, in all their diversity, both in the United Statesand around the world.
"President Biden and Vice President Harris have affirmed that unlocking the full potential of all people is a moral and strategic imperative. They do so recognizing that the burden of today's challenges falls heaviest on the shoulders of women and girls, especially in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and that gender equity and equality are essential as we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, confront climate change head-on, and seek to expand opportunities for growth throughout the developing world. As the White House has underscored, progress will require addressing the discrimination and systemic barriers that have for too long limited the participation and contributions of women and girls around the world.
"USAID is committed to advancing this vision, beginning with the launch of a forthcoming USAID Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy, and a plan to implement the Biden-Harris Administration's national strategy, which together will drive progress toward gender equity and equality at home and abroad.
"By redoubling our efforts to improve the lives of women and girls through greater access to affordable health care, education, and economic opportunity we will ultimately make the world more peaceful and prosperous for all."
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Native American Artists to Be Featured in Its Renwick Invitational in 2023
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has announced that artists Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan), the duo of Lily Hope (Tlingit) and Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Inupiat), Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy) and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) will be featured in the craft invitational at its Renwick Gallery in 2023. Together, the four artists and one artist duo present a fresh and nuanced vision of Native American art. The artists were selected for their work that expresses the honors and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has announced that artists Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan), the duo of Lily Hope (Tlingit) and Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Inupiat), Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy) and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) will be featured in the craft invitational at its Renwick Gallery in 2023. Together, the four artists and one artist duo present a fresh and nuanced vision of Native American art. The artists were selected for their work that expresses the honors andburdens that Native artists balance as they carry forward their cultural traditions. These artists highlight principles of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility through their work that addresses themes of environmentalism, displacement, and cultural connectedness.
The Renwick Invitational 2023 is the 10th installment of the series. Established in 2000, it showcases mid-career and emerging makers deserving of wider national recognition. The guest curator for the 2023 exhibition is Lara M. Evans (Cherokee Nation), director of the Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The exhibition is scheduled to open in May 2023.
The six artists were selected by a panel of distinguished jurors, each with a wide knowledge of contemporary Native American makers. The panel included Evans, Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit), independent curator and the Jill and Joe McKinstry Endowed Faculty Fellow of Native North American Indigenous Knowledge at the University of Washington's iSchool, and Anya Montiel (Mexican/Tohono O'odham descent), curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
Feddersen (b. 1953, resides Omak, Washington) is a celebrated printmaker, glass artist and basket weaver. He is known for uniting urban imagery and Indigenous design through simple geometric "glyphs" that poignantly reflect on people's relationship with the environment.
Artist duo and sisters Hope (b. 1980, resides Juneau, Alaska) and Hudson (b. 1987, resides Pagosa Springs, Colorado) are daughters of renowned weaver Clarissa Rizal (Tlingit). They work in the Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving styles. Hope is an artist, teacher, community facilitator and storyteller who intertwines Indigenous techniques and spiritual teachings in her work. Hudson, a graphic designer by training, is known for her bold and award-winning designs.
Lord (b. 1978, resides Santa Fe, New Mexico), an interdisciplinary artist born to a Finnish American mother and an Athabaskan/Inupiat father. She explores themes of displacement, cultural identity and cultural limbo within the contemporary Indigenous experience. Her work is inspired by the personal experience of perpetually moving between locations, cultures and identities. Lord's fiber and weaving works featured in the exhibition challenge notions of self, community and belief.
Neptune (b. 1988, resides Motahkomikuk, Maine) is a master basket maker who is two-spirit, a term that acknowledges different gender identities and societal/spiritual roles present among Native people of North America. They learned basketry at a young age from their grandmother, master artist Molly Neptune (Passamaquoddy), and approach weaving as an inherently sacred practice. Neptune takes inspiration from traditional forms and interjects their own artistic perspective and a bright palette into their work.
Thompson (b. 1990, resides Minneapolis, Minnesota), a fiber artist and designer, derives inspiration from her Ojibwe heritage, exploring family history and broader themes relating to her Native American experience. Thompson expands the understanding of textiles by incorporating multimedia elements like photographs, beer caps and 3D-printed objects into her work.
An accompanying catalog will feature essays by Belarde-Lewis, Evans and Montiel.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: You Can Help Train NASA's Rovers to Better Explore Mars
PASADENA, California, Oct. 27 -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
Members of the public can now help teach an artificial intelligence algorithm to recognize scientific features in images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has enormous potential to change the way NASA's spacecraft study the universe. But because all machine learning algorithms require training from humans, a recent project asks members of the public to label features of scientific interest in imagery taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
Called AI4Mars, the project
... Show Full Article
PASADENA, California, Oct. 27 -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
Members of the public can now help teach an artificial intelligence algorithm to recognize scientific features in images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has enormous potential to change the way NASA's spacecraft study the universe. But because all machine learning algorithms require training from humans, a recent project asks members of the public to label features of scientific interest in imagery taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
Called AI4Mars, the projectis the continuation of one launched last year that relied on imagery from NASA's Curiosity rover. Participants in the earlier stage of that project labeled nearly half a million images, using a tool to outline features like sand and rock that rover drivers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory typically watch out for when planning routes on the Red Planet. The end result was an algorithm, called SPOC (Soil Property and Object Classification), that could identify these features correctly nearly 98% of the time.
SPOC is still in development, and researchers hope it can someday be sent to Mars aboard a future spacecraft that could perform even more autonomous driving than Perseverance's AutoNav technology allows.
Images from Perseverance will further improve SPOC by expanding the kinds of identifying labels that can be applied to features on the Martian surface. AI4Mars now provides labels to identify more refined details, allowing people to choose options like float rocks ("islands" of rocks) or nodules (BB-size balls, often formed by water, of minerals that have been cemented together).
The goal is to hone an algorithm that could help a future rover pick out needles from the haystack of data sent from Mars. Equipped with 19 cameras, Perseverance sends anywhere from dozens to hundreds of images to Earth each day for scientists and engineers to comb through for specific geological features. But time is tight: After those images travel millions of miles from Mars to Earth, the team members have a matter of hours to develop the next set of instructions, based on what they see in those images, to send to Perseverance.
"It's not possible for any one scientist to look at all the downlinked images with scrutiny in such a short amount of time, every single day," said Vivian Sun, a JPL scientist who helps coordinate Perseverance's daily operations and consulted on the AI4Mars project. "It would save us time if there was an algorithm that could say, 'I think I saw rock veins or nodules over here,' and then the science team can look at those areas with more detail."
Especially during this developmental stage, SPOC requires lots of validation from scientists to ensure it's labeling accurately. But even when it improves, the algorithm is not intended to replace more complex analyses by human scientists.
It's All About the Data
Key to any successful algorithm is a good dataset, said Hiro Ono, the JPL AI researcher who led the development of AI4Mars. The more individual pieces of data available, the more an algorithm learns.
"Machine learning is very different from normal software," Ono said. "This isn't like making something from scratch. Think of it as starting with a new brain. More of the effort here is getting a good dataset to teach that brain and massaging the data so it will be better learned."
AI researchers can train their Earth-bound algorithms on tens of thousands of images of, say, houses, flowers, or kittens. But no such data archive existed for the Martian surface before the AI4Mars project. The team would be content with 20,000 or so images in their repository, each with a variety of features labeled.
The Mars-data repository could serve several purposes, noted JPL's Annie Didier, who worked on the Perseverance version of AI4Mars. "With this algorithm, the rover could automatically select science targets to drive to," she said. It could also store a variety of images onboard the rover, then send back just images of specific features that scientists are interested in, she said.
That's on the horizon; scientists may not have to wait that long for the algorithm to benefit them, however. Before the algorithm ever makes it to space, it could be used to scan NASA's vast public archive of Mars data, allowing researchers to find surface features in those images more easily.
Ono noted it's important to the AI4Mars team to make their own dataset publicly available so that the entire data science community can benefit.
"If someone outside JPL creates an algorithm that works better than ours using our dataset, that's great, too," he said. "It just makes it easier to make more discoveries."
More About the Mission
A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Upgrading Space Station Cold Atom Lab With Mixed Reality
PASADENA, California, Oct. 27 -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
NASA's Cold Atom Lab is a first-of-its-kind physics laboratory operating in Earth orbit. About the size of a mini-fridge, it hosts multiple experiments that explore the fundamental nature of atoms by cooling them down to nearly absolute zero (the coldest temperature matter can reach). The ultracold atoms provide a window into the quantum realm, where matter exhibits strange behaviors that underpin many modern technologies.
In 2020, during her extended stay aboard the space station, NASA astronaut Christina
... Show Full Article
PASADENA, California, Oct. 27 -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
NASA's Cold Atom Lab is a first-of-its-kind physics laboratory operating in Earth orbit. About the size of a mini-fridge, it hosts multiple experiments that explore the fundamental nature of atoms by cooling them down to nearly absolute zero (the coldest temperature matter can reach). The ultracold atoms provide a window into the quantum realm, where matter exhibits strange behaviors that underpin many modern technologies.
In 2020, during her extended stay aboard the space station, NASA astronaut ChristinaKoch worked with Earth-based mission team members to install upgraded hardware in Cold Atom Lab. Along with adding new capabilities to the novel facility, the effort proved something else: that such maintenance could be performed without the need to lug the laboratory back to Earth.
Plans are underway for a series of additional upgrades to Cold Atom Lab in the coming years, so the mission team is investigating ways to make these activities more efficient. Earlier this summer, they successfully tested a new tool that could help with that goal: a Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed reality (also known as augmented reality, or AR) headset. On July 15, astronaut Megan McArthur used the AR headset while she replaced a piece of hardware inside Cold Atom Lab, enabling the facility to produce ultracold potassium atoms in addition to the rubidium atoms that have been used since the facility started operating in 2018.
Mixed reality headsets such as the HoloLens look like wraparound sunglasses, and unlike virtual reality headsets (which produce an entirely virtual setting), the HoloLens has transparent lenses that blend the virtual and real worlds together. This allowed McArthur to see the area around her, and a small forward-facing camera on the headset allowed members of the Cold Atom Lab team, watching on large screens in the Earth Orbiting Missions Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, to see whatever she was looking at. By contrast, during the 2020 activity with Christina Koch, the team could see a live video feed only from a fixed camera positioned behind or above the astronaut, leaving their view of the hardware mostly obscured.
McArthur could also see virtual graphic annotations, such as text and arrows, placed in her field of view by the Cold Atom Lab operations team. For example, as she looked at a series of cables, the mission team could place an arrow in her field of vision, pointing to the specific cable she needed to unplug. Even if she were to move her head away and back again, the arrow would remain pointing at the same cable location.
Virtual reality headsets have been used for various applications aboard the space station, and mixed reality has been used in a few cases. But usually, the goal of these activities is to make it easier for an astronaut to perform a task alone. The Cold Atom Lab hardware replacement activity marked the first use of a mixed reality headset to improve the live interaction between an astronaut and engineers on Earth; it also marked the first use of mixed reality to repair a science experiment on the station. Preparation for the activity took six months, with collaboration between NASA's JPL, Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
"Cold Atom Lab is investing in the use of this technology on the space station not just because it's intriguing, but because it could provide additional capabilities for these complex tasks that we rely on astronauts to perform," said Kamal Oudrhiri, Cold Atom Lab's project manager at JPL. "This activity was a perfect demonstration of how Cold Atom Lab and quantum science can take advantage of mixed reality technology."
Quantum Mechanics
Quantum science has revealed many non-intuitive features of the physical world, such as the fact that atoms behave like both solid objects and waves. Some of these discoveries led to the development of technologies that many of us use everyday, such as transitors and microchips.
Cold Atom Lab is the first quantum science facility in Earth orbit. Cooling the atoms causes them to move more slowly, making them easier to study. And ultracold atoms can also form a fifth state of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate, which displays typically microscopic quantum features at a macroscopic scale.
In the microgravity environment, scientists can make atoms colder and study them for longer than on Earth. This opens up avenues of research that aren't accessible on the ground. By making Cold Atom Lab upgradable, team members can add new tools and capabilities as their research progresses, so they can seek answers to new questions and conduct increasingly complex and impactful experiments.
"This repair activity allows potassium gases to also be studied in Cold Atom Lab, which will enable scientists to perform dozens of new experiments in quantum chemistry and fundamental physics using multi-species gases where the atoms interact with each other in interesting ways at the ultra-low temperatures only achievable in microgravity," said Jason Williams, Cold Atom Lab's project scientist. "Our goal is for Cold Atom Lab to become an evolving science facility so we can quickly build on our research and work with the astronauts to add new hardware capabilities without the need to build and launch new facilities each step of the way."
A hardware upgrade on a facility like Cold Atom Lab would normally be done only by someone intimately familiar with the hardware, since a misstep during the process could impact Cold Atom Lab's ability to operate. McArthur had to work around delicate, tightly packed interior components, including more than a dozen electronics cards, a maze of wires and cables, and an orchestra of finely tuned lasers used to cool atoms down to nearly absolute zero inside a sealed vacuum chamber while infrared cameras observe them.
Future upgrades to Cold Atom Lab will also involve real-time interactions between astronauts on the station and team members on the ground. That's why this trial use of mixed reality was so inspiring to the team.
"A task like this needs a lot of real-time guidance with an expert on the ground, and that's where the HoloLens could be very useful," said Jim Kellogg, launch vehicle and space station integration lead for Cold Atom Lab at JPL, which manages the mission.
GSA Focused on Cybersecurity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news:
By Dave Shive, Chief Information Officer
As the Chief Information Officer for GSA, I've seen firsthand the hard work and challenges of protecting our Nation's critical cyber infrastructure. During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we're yet again reminded of what is at stake.
GSA is focused on delivering value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government through secure and resilient technology solutions. We are constantly evolving our cybersecurity approaches
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news:
By Dave Shive, Chief Information Officer
As the Chief Information Officer for GSA, I've seen firsthand the hard work and challenges of protecting our Nation's critical cyber infrastructure. During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we're yet again reminded of what is at stake.
GSA is focused on delivering value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government through secure and resilient technology solutions. We are constantly evolving our cybersecurity approachesto align with current threats and GSA mission needs.
We're also leading governmentwide efforts to strengthen cybersecurity for our customer agencies and the public:
* The $1 billion for the Technology Modernization Fund, managed by GSA, gives agencies a unique opportunity to make strategic cybersecurity investments while developing state-of-the-art tools and infrastructure for a changing world.
* Our FedRAMP program (https://www.gsa.gov/technology/government-it-initiatives/fedramp) allows agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information.
* Login.gov is a trusted, government-issued sign in service. The public uses Login.gov for simple and secure access to federal government services.
* USAccess provides Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentialing services for federal employees and contractors at established locations throughout the country.
* Federal PKI issues PIV credentials and digital identity certificates for government and commercial organizations that work together to provide services for the federal government.
This year's Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is "Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.", stressing personal accountability and the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity.
GSA is committed to helping everyone stay safe and secure online. Let's raise cybersecurity awareness and be #BeCyberSmart.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index Up 1.0 Percent in August
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- Federal Housing Finance Agency issued the following news release:
House prices rose nationwide in August, up 1.0 percent from the previous month, according to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA HPI(R)). House prices rose 18.5 percent from August 2020 to August 2021. The previously reported 1.4 percent price change for July 2021 remained unchanged.
For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from July 2021 to August 2021 ranged from -0.1 percent in the New England division to +1.9 percent in the South Atlantic
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- Federal Housing Finance Agency issued the following news release:
House prices rose nationwide in August, up 1.0 percent from the previous month, according to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA HPI(R)). House prices rose 18.5 percent from August 2020 to August 2021. The previously reported 1.4 percent price change for July 2021 remained unchanged.
For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from July 2021 to August 2021 ranged from -0.1 percent in the New England division to +1.9 percent in the South Atlanticdivision. The 12-month changes ranged from +14.9 percent in the West North Central division to +25.8 percent in the Mountain division.
"Annual house price gains remained extremely high in August but the pace of month-over-month gains continues to decelerate," said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA's Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. "This does not mean house prices are at risk of declining--far from it, they continue to climb at a double-digit pace in all regions--but it does suggest we may have seen the peak in annual gains for the time being."
The FHFA HPI is the nation's only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. The FHFA HPI incorporates tens of millions of home sales and offers insights about house price fluctuations at the national, census division, state, metro area, county, ZIP code, and census tract levels. FHFA uses a fully transparent methodology based upon a weighted, repeat-sales statistical technique to analyze house price transaction data.
FHFA releases HPI data and reports on a quarterly and monthly basis. The flagship FHFA HPI uses nominal, seasonally adjusted, purchase-only data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additional indexes use other data including refinances, FHA mortgages, and real property records. All the indexes, including their historic values, and information about future HPI release dates are available on FHFA's website: https://www.fhfa.gov/HPI.
FHFA will release its next HPI report on November 30, 2021 with monthly data through September 2021 and quarterly data through the third quarter of 2021.
