Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

The Defense Department (DoD) is launching a new mobile app that will have the capability to connect service members, their families, and survivors to everyday resources to help with their well-being. […]

The Pentagon plans to continue use of its commercial virtual remote (CVR) capability – that has helped enable telework for the military during the coronavirus pandemic – until June of 2021, a senior Defense Department (DoD) tech official reaffirmed today. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) successful shift to telework at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the department to meet the mental health needs of veterans with its Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). […]

capitol washington dc senate house congress-min

With most of the results from the 2020 Election now in, MeriTalk is taking a look at Fed IT leadership changes in both the House and Senate. While the majority of top leaders won their elections handily, a handful either lost or chose not to run for reelection, and for two leaders the race remains too close to call. […]

Federal money spending government

The draft appropriations bills released by the Senate Committee on Appropriations today would put a pay freeze in place for civilian Federal employees in fiscal year 2021 – falling below even the Trump administration’s one percent pay increase proposal – while providing a three percent pay raise for members of the military, which matches the number from the White House. […]

Air Force

The Senate Committee on Appropriations has allocated $25 million of new funding for the Technology Modernization Fund – falling below the Trump administration’s budget request of $150 million – as part of the broader draft fiscal year 2021 Financial Services and General Government funding bill released today. […]

CISA

A new report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Information and Communication Technology Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force finds several factors contributing to IT supply chain problems during the coronavirus pandemic. […]

Cyber
Veterans Affairs
FEMA
The Pentagon is a very large building that houses a lot of the authorities for the U.S. Military. It's big. This photo doesn't do it justice, but they're kinda rightly concerned about people flying drones around there.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a Nov. 5 report that the Department of Defense (DoD) has made progress in establishing valid and reliable cost baselines for its enterprise business operations, but still needs to refine and formalize its reform efforts. […]

quantum computer processor chip intel computing hardware

Federal government officials involved in the development of quantum information science (QIS) agreed this week that quantum encryption standards currently being worked on by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are needed to set some “rules of the road” for further development of the technology. […]

In the Information Age, newly named director of the Defense Department’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) Lt. Gen. Michael Groen wants to make sure that the U.S. warfighter is prepared to take on challenges and be equipped with the technology to do so. […]

Senior Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are asking the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for information about how it plans to protect Federal employees amid the sharp increase in coronavirus infections in the U.S., and whether it plans to update guidance to federal agencies in light of the current COVID-19 uptick “and the wave of increased infections expected this winter.” […]

Veterans Affairs
military healthcare, veterans healthcare

The Federal government is responsible for maintaining some very mature artificial intelligence (AI) models and many agencies are exploring AI pilot projects, with few projects in-between – but COVID has pushed agencies to advance their efforts, Federal officials noted in a discussion on AI. […]

DoD

The Department of Defense (DoD) has launched a new training course for military first responders that aims to ensure that domestic violence is effectively recognized as a crime in cases that involve abuse, harassment, and stalking perpetrated through the use of technology. […]

OPM Office of Personnel Management

The Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) cybersecurity fell under scrutiny in two audits by the agency’s inspector general, with both identifying issues in OPM’s controls and security practices. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs to gather additional data on how its program that helps ensure universal access to broadband service in rural, remote, and other areas of the country is working, and data to help drive decisions on effective use of available funds, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said. […]

Cyber workforce
5G wireless infrastructure technology

Federal and local government officials are licking their chops over a wide variety of new services – and improvements on existing ones – that 5G wireless infrastructure and services will allow them to bring to citizens, but also cautioned that a lot of work remains to be done on the to get to those goals. […]

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