The Department of Veterans Affairs relaxes FedRAMP requirements for cloud contracts

Existing FedRAMP certification is no longer required for Department of Veterans Affairs contractors to win bids, a top agency IT official said Tuesday in a memo obtained by FedScoop. Any acquisition documents, including requests for information, proposals or quotations, should not state or imply that a cloud company must have already completed the governmentwide security check, Zack Schwartz, principal deputy assistant secretary in the VA’s Office of Information and Technology, said in the memo. Schwartz wrote that the “memo supports VA’s ability to sustain momentum with mission needs to provide secure technology solutions in a dynamic cyber risk environment, while avoiding unnecessary delays in the procurement of critical systems and services.” He added that the “distinction is intended to preserve acquisition flexibility while maintaining VA’s risk management and operational security standards.” Instead, cloud systems, services and solutions companies must fully comply with other security requirements — including those from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, VA directives and handbooks — and receive a VA Authorization to Operate, which could be granted in 60 days.

The Department of Homeland Security is expanding its AI use for FOIA processing in response to a sizable backlog and increasing number of requests, per the agency’s annual report. In fiscal 2025, DHS started with 221,068 pending FOIA requests. After receiving more than 1 million requests and processing nearly the same amount, the agency ended the year with 245,572 pending requests. Despite the uptick, DHS said it maintained its backlog — defined as the number of requests or administrative appeals at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time for a response — at just 16% of total requests received. Technology could help the agency make a bigger dent in the years to come. “The DHS Office of Privacy continues to invest, develop, implement, and deploy new technological advances in FOIA processing,” the agency said in its 2025 FOIA report, published Thursday. “It expects to launch additional automation tools this coming year to further improve efficiency and reduce administrative redundancies.

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