The Senate version of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan approved over the weekend features an amendment with a provision to extend relief to government contractors for paid leave, if they can’t work through the end of the fiscal year ending in September. […]
The Senate voted March 6 to approve the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act after a lengthy amendment and debate process that pushed the vote into the weekend. […]
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. […]
A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., on March 4 introduced the Democratic Technology Partnership Act, which would create an interagency effort aimed at forming technology partnerships among democratic countries to counter Chinese tech dominance. […]
After some delay waiting for an official bill “score” from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Senate voted today to begin debate on legislation that embodies the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. […]
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. […]
The Federal government’s response to the Russia-backed SolarWinds cyberhack – and the pressing need for government agencies to speed progress on putting in place cybersecurity protections including through the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program – […]
The use of telehealth skyrocketed throughout 2020, and while helped stem the spread of COVID-19, its increased use laid bare the logistical and regulatory challenges facing 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. […]
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. […]
The House version of the American Rescue Act – born from President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal unveiled in January – now features a provision that would provide $2 billion for the Department of Labor (DoL) to use to help states upgrade their unemployment insurance (UI) systems. […]
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., are introducing legislation that will provide up to $15 billion in matching grants to increase access to broadband services in areas of the United States that are unserved by broadband meeting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) minimum definition of that service. […]
The bipartisan Cyber Diplomacy Act was reintroduced in the house this week. The legislation, cosponsored by Reps. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Bill Keating, D-Mass., will require the State Department to open the Bureau of International Cyberspace Policy. […]
Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly, D-Va., indicated today that his office is considering the March-April timeframe for a hearing on the most recent FITARA Scorecard that was issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee in late December 2020. […]
The House Rules Committee will take its turn with the American Rescue Act on Feb. 26 at 9:30 a.m., bringing the COVID-19 relief bill one step closer to a full House vote. […]
The Senate Budget Committee and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee postponed scheduled Wednesday votes on the nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]
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. […]
Military budgeting experts said today on Capitol Hill that the Defense Department (DoD) needs to tighten up on its budget procedures including the way the Pentagon measures and reports readiness, and improving estimations in annual budget requests. […]
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. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said today he was reintroducing legislation to create a stronger Federal workforce by reauthorizing the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and requiring Federal agencies to report publicly about their workforce diversity and inclusion efforts. […]
The House Budget Committee has completed its markup of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, keeping the bill on schedule for a vote in the full House later this week before it heads to the Senate for consideration. […]
Continuing the budget reconciliation process, the House Budget Committee began marking up the House version of President Biden’s American Rescue Act on Feb. 22, as the House looks to bring the bill to a vote later this week. […]
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. […]
In a draft report to Congress by the National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI), the commission detailed that Federal AI R&D funding should be scaled up by establishing a National Technology Foundation (NTF) and increasing the funding by doubling it annually to reach $32 billion per year by FY2026. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee completed its portion of the budget reconciliation process, voting late on Feb. 12 to transmit the final part of the legislative language it was considering. […]
With IoT devices exploding in popularity and use in recent years, Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and John Katko, R-N.Y., reintroduced a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect data from devices that connect to the Internet to ensure there is enough spectrum capacity. […]
In the Federal CDO Council report to congress on the summary of its activities and accomplishments in its first year, the Council said that for FY2021, it will meet regularly to support CDOs in efforts to increase the strategic use of data and develop and implement communications activities for stakeholders both inside and outside of […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is nearing the completion of its portion of the legislative language writing process for the budget reconciliation process. After a long night Feb. 11 and another full day of meeting in committee, the committee is nearly done finalizing the language it will send to the House Budget Committee. […]
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. […]
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced new legislation on Feb. 10 that would provide $500 million of Federal funding to help states deploy new technologies to improve performance of their unemployment insurance systems – many of which have had trouble dealing with higher demand during the coronavirus pandemic. […]