Weslan Hansen

MeriTalk

Weslan Hansen is a MeriTalk Staff Reporter covering the intersection of government and technology.

Witnesses at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Thursday called for putting in place improved identity authentication measures for unemployment insurance (UI) programs as a way to cut down on UI program fraud.    […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has named Michael Russo chief information officer (CIO). Russo, who started in the new job on Feb. 3, is taking on the position as a first-time Federal employee bringing a lot of private sector experience with him.   […]

OPM Office of Personnel Management

The Trump administration is instructing Federal government agencies to remove the designation of “career reserved” roles for agency chief information officers (CIOs) – a move that the administration says recognizes that agency tech chiefs have “policy-determining capabilities across a range of controversial political topics.”  […]

IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has improved its electronic tax filing system but continues to slog through paper filings, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a new report in which it told the tax agency that it needs to remove barriers for business owners to e-file their tax returns.   […]

House and Senate Democratic lawmakers put up a united front today against the apparent seizure and possible shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by President Donald and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk, which has put billions in humanitarian aid at risk.   […]

A senator from Missouri introduced legislation on Jan. 29 to prevent artificial intelligence technology and intellectual property imports from China from coming into the United States.   […]

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has reintroduced legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to update Federal acquisition policies so that all federal contractors are required to implement vulnerability disclosure policies (VDPs) that comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines.   […]

Public health workers need improved data analytics skills, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that highlights a gap in the health workforce’s ability to better address public health needs and disparities.   […]

Weslan Hansen
MeriTalk