Legislative crunch-time for the Biden administration’s two infrastructure funding bills began in earnest on Monday. Here are three tracks to watch that impact the legislation, which proposes billions of dollars of funding for Federal IT, cybersecurity, and broadband initiatives. […]
The fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will be brought to the House floor for continued consideration and an eventual vote this afternoon, according to Majority Speaker Steny Hoyer, D-Md. A lesser-known provision of the bill would create a new office at the Department of Defense (DoD) dedicated to studying unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. – long a prime mover in Congress for improving Federal IT operations – said at MeriTalk’s State Tech Vision virtual program on September 15 that he plans to push two key pieces of legislation this year that aim to help state and local governments improve their own IT capabilities. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has practices in place to minimize the effects of funding that comes from a continuing resolution (CR), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found, due to the agency starting 11 of the last 12 fiscal years under a CR. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee was still in the process late Monday of marking up its portion of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill working its way through the House, but at our deadline was making a big splash with $10 billion of proposed funding for supply chain security. […]
Crumbling bridges and leaky levees. Buckling roadways. Unsafe water pipes. Inadequate public transit. The list of U.S. infrastructure failings is both broad and deep. The United States is paying only about half of its necessary infrastructure bill, and the total investment gap has grown from $2.1 trillion over 10 years, to a current figure of nearly $2.59 trillion over 10 years, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. As a result, local government leaders face staggering infrastructure requirements that local tax revenues cannot fulfill. […]
Bipartisan members of Congress this week introduced legislation that would make the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) director’s tenure a five-year term and reaffirm that the position is presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed. […]
With the FY2021 budget set to expire on Sept. 30, the Biden administration is urging congressional leaders to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has set up Evaluation.gov, a portal that helps to meet the goals of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act) by having agencies document plans and policies that guide evaluation efforts across the Federal government. […]
The Committee on Oversight and Reform on September 2 approved legislation S.Con.Res.14, the concurrent resolution for the congressional budget of the fiscal year 2022. If passed, it would provide critical funding to electrify government vehicle fleets tackling climate change. […]
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., is looking to introduce an amendment to the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would increase the Department of Defense’s (DoD) budget for cybersecurity by $1 billion. […]
A bill that would improve Americans’ customer experience with Federal agencies was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and now moves along to the full Senate for further consideration. […]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to schedule a vote on the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by September 27. […]
A new report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) found that just two percent of over 1,000 forms that it reviewed on Federal websites comply with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA). […]
With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and a $3.5 trillion budget resolution now passed in the Senate, the House is looking for ways to combine votes the two pieces of legislation in order to speed up the process of approving them, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in an August 15 Dear Colleague Letter. […]
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, wrote a letter to the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) asking for details on implementing a “Final Rule” restricting access by China-based network equipment maker Huawei to U.S. technologies, and whether companies are still seeking to sell restricted technology to the company. […]
The Senate on August 11 approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022 by a vote of 50-49. […]
A bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., seeks to improve cybercrime data collection and give Federal law enforcement more tools to stop online crime. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, have introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Federal workforce’s understanding of AI and ensure its ethical and safe use. […]
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have introduced the American Telecommunications Security Act that would prohibit Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies seen as national security threats, including Huawei and ZTE. […]
The much-anticipated $1 trillion Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill unveiled on August 1 shows big cybersecurity funding wins for state and local governments with a $1 billion for a cybersecurity grant program, and electric utilities that will be receiving $1.25 billion through a cybersecurity grant program to protect the electric grid. […]
On July 29, the House cleared a $600 billion package of seven spending bills, including the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that includes $50 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). […]
The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems approved the subcommittee’s markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 28, and the bill will now move to the full committee for consideration. […]
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved four technology and innovation-related bills by voice vote during a markup session on July 27. The committee’s vote sends these four bills to the House floor for further consideration. […]
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., has filed companion legislation in the House to a Senate bill introduced in June that would invest $30 billion in deferred maintenance projects and infrastructure improvements at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) network of National Labs. […]
New bicameral legislation was introduced July 22 by various members of the House and Senate that would provide $40 billion over five years to extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that was created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. […]
The Senate Armed Services Committee said on June 22 it completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a $1 billion increase in funds for programs developing AI, microelectronics, advanced materials, 5G, and biotechnology. […]
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate July 21 would require Federal agencies, government contractors, and critical infrastructure owners and operators to report cyber intrusions within 24 hours of discovery. […]
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved six cybersecurity and supply chain-related bills during a markup session on July 21. The committee’s vote sends these bills to the House floor for further consideration. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on July 20 approved and sent to the full House for consideration several bills with Federal tech implications, including measures dealing with artificial intelligence oversight, and Federal hiring for several classes of technology positions. […]