GSA has a new deputy CIO; Senate bill seeks to leverage AI for a new pandemic preparedness program

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The General Services Administration has tapped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ chief information officer and chief data officer to serve as its new deputy CIO, the agency confirmed Thursday. Dovarius Peoples will join GSA on Oct. 6, an agency spokesperson told FedScoop. Peoples also has held leadership positions at the Office of Personnel Management and the National Security Agency. Also: The Department of Health and Human Services would be required to implement a pandemic preparedness and response program that leverages artificial intelligence under new bipartisan Senate legislation. That bill, which was introduced Wednesday and announced Thursday, would call on the secretary of HHS to establish a new program called “MedShield” that would protect against future pandemics by aiding collaboration between government and the private sector and use AI in several areas, including detecting pathogens and developing vaccines. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.