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The Defense Department (DoD) is working to foster innovation in the information technology space, and is due to report findings of an assessment of its research engineering workforce later this year, a DoD official told members of Congress today.  […]

In a short executive session today, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee advanced the nomination of Eric Lander to be the next director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). His nomination will now go to the full Senate for consideration. […]

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Senators expressed concern that the Department of Defense (DoD) is not doing enough to support small businesses in the defense industrial base (DIB) to implement or subsidize cybersecurity protocols, including the DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certificate (CMMC) at a May 18 Senate Subcommittee on Cybersecurity hearing. […]

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Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., ranking member of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, urged the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in a May 18 letter to bring Federal employees back to their pre-pandemic workplaces quickly, or explain how the Biden administration will deal going forward with the billions of dollars it spends on currently underutilized facilities if Federal employees continue large-scale work from other locations. […]

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With the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack adding to the count of high-profile cyberattacks to make news in the past six months, members of Congress focused in on how the United States can deter such attacks, as well as how to attract talent to the cyber workforce, at a May 14 House Armed Services subcommittee hearing. […]

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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 top members of the House Government Operations Subcommittee indicated today that Federal IT modernization – and the role that the newly expanded Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) can play in furthering that goal – loom large in their thinking as they consider the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s ongoing tracking of Federal agency IT improvements via the FITARA Scorecard. […]

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With the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) now having gone over four years without a quorum, Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Jody Hice, R-Ga., are urging President Biden to appoint new members or risk the board having to cease operations. […]

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, has named five subcommittee vice chairs, including Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., who will serve as vice chair of the Government Operations subcommittee that is a prime conduit for Federal IT-related legislation. […]

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DHS

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas addressed a range of questions about the nation’s cybersecurity and spoke on how to better secure Federal networks in a March 17 House Homeland Security Committee hearing. […]

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The Senate as of late Friday afternoon was continuing to debate the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which contains considerable increases in Federal government funding for agency IT modernization and security upgrades. […]

Budget Federal spending

The Senate was expected later today to introduce its version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, and to begin 20 hours of scheduled debate on the legislation. […]

Cybersecurity
Telehealth

After the House version of the reconciliation bill passed last week, the Senate will bring its version of the bill to a vote by week’s end, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. While the Senate is still working on finalizing its draft of the legislation, parameters for votes and amendments have already been set, according to internal Senate communication. […]

cybersecurity

The House Homeland Security and Oversight and Reform committees held a joint public hearing today to discuss the Russia-based hack of government and private sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products. During the hearing, both the private sector witnesses and members of Congress called for better cybersecurity practices, legislation, and increased information sharing. […]

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Microsoft President Brad Smith – whose company is no stranger to high-profile Federal contract award protests – urged steps to reexamine the bid protest process during testimony at a Feb. 23 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on emerging technologies and national security. […]

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Speaking today during an open hearing on the hacking of U.S. networks by foreign adversaries, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., questioned why the U.S. shouldn’t have mandatory cyberattack reporting systems in light of the recent Russia-backed hack of government and private sector networks via SolarWinds software products. […]

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The House Government Operations Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. EST on ways to “rebuild” the Federal workforce after four years of bruising under the Trump administration, including a late 2020 bid to establish a new classification for policy-related Federal positions. […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee met Feb. 11 to begin marking up the legislative language it will report to the House Budget Committee as part of the reconciliation process. Currently, there is $7.6 billion allocated by the committee to bolster the E-Rate program, as well as funding for COVID-19 testing and data management. […]

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