A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on June 12 in a move to improve the accuracy of the Federal government’s broadband availability maps. The legislation, dubbed the Broadband DATA Act, was introduced by Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. and committee members Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Thune, R-S.D., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. […]
The House Appropriations Committee voted on June 11 to approve a spending package that includes a 3.1 percent pay increase for civilian Federal employees for FY20. […]
The House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization met today to discuss the implementation of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD). […]
The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee proposed a total of $24.5 billion for FSGG discretionary budget authority in fiscal year 2020, which includes funding for election security, modernizing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), and protecting consumer data. […]
The Senate Banking, House, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing today to discuss the impact of data brokers on financial data privacy, credit, insurance, employment, and housing. […]
The House Appropriations Committee Homeland Security Subcommittee allocated $63.8 billion in its draft of the FY2020 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, including increased funding to efforts to bolster cybersecurity, election security, and new IT and border security technologies. […]
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., requested information on how the Department of Justice (DoJ) is securing its offensive cyber tools in a June 5 letter to Attorney General William Barr. […]
Experts in constituent communication explained the reasons behind distrust of members of Congress, and provided technological methods of improving meaningful engagement between constituents and members at a June 5 House Committee on the Modernization of Congress hearing. […]
The Association for Computing Machinery asked the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to adopt policy that disallows internet connections to voting equipment. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing May 22 examining the impact of facial recognition technology on citizens’ civil rights and right to privacy. […]
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday, May 22, on pending legislation – including bills related to electronic health records, and to make the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website more accessible to disabled veterans – but took no votes on those measures. […]
Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee regarding President Trump’s 2020 fiscal year budget, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan stated that the 2020 budget would continue to assist in building up an innovative tower effort at the U.S.-Mexico border. […]
The Trump administration’s plan to reorganize the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) ran squarely into bipartisan concerns expressed by House members over a lack of information about the plan to move the agency’s functions to the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]
A bipartisan group of Federal legislators wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on May 20 urging “greater scrutiny and regulation of private companies providing highly advanced surveillance capabilities to governments with troubling human rights records.” […]
The Trump administration’s proposal to reorganize the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is due to face tough questioning by the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations at a hearing scheduled for May 21. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent its proposal to reorganize the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – and move most of its functions under the General Services Administration (GSA) – to Congress on Thursday, May 17. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved three pieces of legislation via voice vote during today’s executive session. […]
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., announced the formal launch of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) on May 8. The two lawmakers will lead the 14-person Commission. […]
Data privacy took center stage in yet another Congressional hearing today, as the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs met for a hearing on privacy rights and data collection in a digital economy. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee is aiming to hold a hearing on May 21 to examine what its chairman, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., characterizes as the Trump administration’s plan to “dismantle” the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). […]
Panelists representing consumer privacy perspectives discussed an array of strategies for approaching data privacy protection laws at a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today. […]
On the Hill, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs made the case for his agency’s FY2020 $3.17 billion budget request – which represents a cut over FY2019 funding levels – during an April 30 House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation hearing. In a rare move, there was strong bipartisan support for increasing the funding request and providing more funding to help improve the nation’s cybersecurity posture. […]
Senators and panelists across government and industry came to agreements, but also butted heads, about steps to take in strengthening Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity at an April 30 Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Security Subcommittee hearing. […]
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology convened today to discuss the growing number of unwanted robocalls, with an inconclusive conversation and no clear plan to move forward with legislation. […]
Cybersecurity and other IT-centric issues made cameo appearances at today’s House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s FY2020 budget proposal, but were quickly overshadowed by sharp questions about immigration and border protection policy. […]
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Director of IT and Cybersecurity Nick Marinos emphasized concerns about the Census Bureau’s IT readiness and cybersecurity ahead of the 2020 census, at a House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee oversight hearing today. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee is getting ready for Tuesday’s hearing on unwanted robocalls. The hearing – which will include expert testimony from academia, consumer interest groups, and technology interest groups – will cover seven legislative measures that lawmakers unveiled today. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai on April 23 for a lengthy list of details about historical consumer location information that, according to recent media reports, the company maintains internally and refers to as “Sensorvault.” […]
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig said his agency needs $290 million this year and as much as $2.7 billion in additional funding over the next six years to modernize its IT before the Senate Finance Committee April 10. […]
Broadband access is essential in the 21st Century. To achieve availability across the country, the Federal government must have accurate broadband access data to ensure that funds and resources are being spent to expand coverage to unserved areas. However, accuracy issues with the broadband map have plagued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)–the Federal entity tasked with compiling the data. […]