The National Science Foundation (NSF) is kicking off a new initiative with Federal and private partnerships to accelerate research in areas that affect Next-Generation (NextG) networking and computing systems, NSF announced April 27. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a request for information (RFI) to explore emerging technologies and data-driven solutions, and how the VA can work with contractors to develop and integrate these technologies to deliver better services. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday the application window for the second round of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program is now open until May 6. […]
A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced the Rural STEM Education Act, which would provide Federal support for STEM training in rural schools and instruct the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide grants to support training for rural STEM teachers. […]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reporting progress in addressing at least one of several cybersecurity-related issues reported to it by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last year. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the start of the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which will allow eligible households to receive a monthly discount off broadband service costs from an approved provider as of May 12, 2021. […]
President Biden plans to nominate Geraldine Richmond as Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy (DOE), and Cathy Harris as the nominee for Chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the White House announced April 28. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) hasn’t provided BIE-funded schools with guidance on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
The General Services Administration’s 10X organization has chosen its next 22 ideas that will receive funding and further development work with an umbrella goal of improving how the Federal government uses technology to better serve citizens. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced a number of bipartisan bills out of committee in an executive session today including four with tech implications. Those bills are a telecommunications workforce bill, one on tech research, one that would map broadband connectivity and maternal health outcomes, and another to protect victims of domestic violence. […]
Members of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission are asking the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee to increase funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by at least $400 million, with some of that funding intended to make sure that CISA’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program can quickly deploy security tools. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced that .gov top-level domains will be available at no cost for qualifying organizations beginning immediately – a move that should help on the cybersecurity front especially for smaller governmental entities. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved the nomination of Kiran Ahuja to become the next director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). […]
The United States Coast Guard (CG) intends to work with one or more companies to help improve communications between Coast Guard Cutter tactical commanders and boarding teams, according to a notice of intent posted to the Federal registry April 27. […]
Federal employees were more engaged and satisfied with their jobs in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Federal agencies to shift to majority telework, the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) 2020 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (OPM FEVS) shows. […]
In a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, GAO’s Chris Currie, director of the Homeland Security and Justice team, flagged longstanding management and operational issues within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) that has led to “frequent leadership turnover” and “organizational weaknesses.” […]
The Department of Commerce’s Business Application Solutions (BAS) program – which aims to modernize the agency’s legacy financial systems – needs to develop a business practice reengineering plan and align its change effort processes with best practices, the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a management alert. […]
President Biden announced plans for two key technology nominations on April 22, tapping Asmeret Berhe as nominee for director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy (DoE), and Robert Hampshire as nominee for assistant secretary for research and technology at the Department of Transportation (DoT). […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is looking for a new Chief Data Officer, according to a job posting on USAjobs.gov. The CDO would serve in a dual role, also with the responsibilities of deputy director of Human Capital Management and Modernization (HCMM). […]
Kiran Ahuja, President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), committed at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing today to work with legislators on proposals to improve cybersecurity. […]
Kevin Cox, who has led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program for the past five-plus years, will be leaving the agency later this year to take on deputy CIO duties at the Department of Justice (DoJ). […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released COVID-19 testing guidance for Federal workplaces, including multiple testing strategies and information about different forms of testing, a CDC memo says. […]
The White House and a bipartisan group of senators are finding common ground in the Endless Frontier Act legislation introduced in the Senate today. […]
The Application Rationalization Playbook has been around since June 2019, yet not all IT portfolio managers have taken advantage of it. A Federal IT expert encouraged agencies to utilize this playbook, not only to help with cloud migration but also said it can help save costs and get chief information officers (CIOs) on “the same page.” […]
The Biden Administration announced that Matthew Wiegmann will serve as senior advisor for technology and delivery at the Treasury Department. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued Emergency Directive (ED) 21-03 that requires Federal civilian departments and agencies running Pulse Connect Secure products “to assess and mitigate any anomalous activity or active exploitation detected on their networks.” […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is replacing its aging financial and acquisition systems with an integrated system after two prior attempts to replace the systems cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of several years to develop. In a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, GAO made recommendations to minimize risk of cost overruns and delays. […]
Federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) saved the government an estimated $53 billion through investigations in fiscal year 2020, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) reported in its annual report to Congress and the President. […]
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is seeking input on evidence-building activities to inform SSA priorities – including priorities of the Biden administration – as well as input on future projects to advance SSA’s mission. […]
While House Government Operations Subcommittee members offered no firm direction on how they may try to further evolve the FITARA Scorecard, their discussions with witnesses at the April 16 hearing on version 11.0 of the scorecard issued last December brought to light a variety of Federal agency IT concerns that might come into play. […]