During a high-profile hearing that focused largely on antitrust issues, members of the House Judiciary Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee on July 29 also grilled four major tech company CEOs on a range of other policy issues including privacy and misinformation. […]
Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat, Education Department CIO Jason Gray, and Office of Personnel Management CIO Clare Martorana top the witness list for the House Government Operations Subcommittee’s Aug. 3 hearing to release the tenth version of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) Scorecard. The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time. […]
Top officials with the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence on July 29 detailed their recommendation that Congress create a Digital Service Academy to increase the government’s overall technological capabilities. […]
Back in March nearly every workplace – public and private – has to rapidly pivot and shift from in-person work to telework due to COVID-19. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is implementing a national digital divide consult as a part of its efforts to ensure that veterans without broadband connectivity can access necessary telehealth services, an agency official confirmed at a July 29 Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing. […]
Congress is looking to hammer out its next COVID-19 relief bill in the coming weeks and it looks like it will be a contentious negotiation. As part of its opening salvo, Senate GOP leadership released their policy proposal on July 27. […]
Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., introduced the We Need Eviction Data Now Act (H.R. 7743) on July 23 to direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a database of eviction records. […]
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I. – one of the pioneering policy voices in Congress on cybersecurity issues – told MeriTalk in an exclusive interview that legislative oversight of Federal government actions in the cybersecurity arena remains “absolutely essential.” […]
The House Government Operations Subcommittee is planning to hold a hearing on August 3 at 2 p.m. EST to release the tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard, according to a knowledgeable source. […]
As crunch time approaches in Congress on a new round of pandemic relief legislation, a group of Democratic lawmakers including leaders of the House Oversight and Reform Committee urged House leadership in a July 24 letter to include in any bill at least $1 billion of additional funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). […]
Four Republican members of the House of Representatives praised the news, originally reported by Reuters on July 22, that France will phase out the China-based company Huawei out of its 5G networks by 2028. […]
A group of Republican senators introduced the Strengthening Trade, Regional Alliances, Technology, and Economic and Geopolitical Initiatives Concerning China (STRATEGIC) Act to advance a comprehensive strategy for U.S. competition with China. The legislation, introduced July 22, is co-sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Jim Risch, R-Ind., Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Todd Young, R-Ind. […]
The National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI) has submitted its second-quarter recommendations to Congress on July 22 to strengthen ongoing AI efforts in the Executive and Legislative branches. […]
As the Federal Communications Commission began July 23 auctioning mid-band spectrum crucial to 5G deployment, senators on Capitol Hill questioned whether the decades-old spectrum management process is working properly, and asked witnesses if changes need to be made. […]
Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., released the first of four white papers about a national AI strategy. […]
The Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 today in an 86-14 vote, following a White House threat to veto the legislation. […]
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) has released a five-year oversight plan for the government’s handling of coronavirus relief funds that features use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other tech tools. […]
The Library of Congress (LOC) is looking to build on experimental processes that expand digital access to the library’s collections by combining a human component to its computational methods – known as human-in-the-loop approaches. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved by voice vote today several tech-related legislative measures including S. 4200, which would direct the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish an IT modernization Centers of Excellence (CoE) program that would facilitate adoption of modern technology by executive branch agencies. […]
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee called for the Senate to pass more election funding, joining calls from state officials across the country who have asked for more funding to secure November’s election. […]
Small Business Administration (SBA) Deputy CIO Guy Cavallo assured members of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations today that cybersecurity at SBA is much stronger than metrics like those reflected in the FITARA scorecard may lead them to believe. […]
Artificial intelligence emerged as one theme today during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on two of President Trump’s nominees for senior positions within the intelligence community. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced key IT legislation, as well as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC), out of today’s business meeting. […]
After two days of floor debate, the House of Representatives on July 21 approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, by a vote of 295 to 125. […]
In a brief meeting today, the Senate Budget Committee advanced the nomination of Derek Kan to be the next deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]
While the commander of U.S. Cyber Command emphasized action in protecting the elections on July 20, so too did a group of over 30 former government officials in a letter to House and Senate leadership. […]
The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) yesterday in a 51-45 vote. […]
The House voted late on July 20 to include in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation that would codify into law the FedRAMP program – giving the program a statutory foundation and formal standing for congressional review. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee and a leading voice in Congress for IT modernization, emphasized today that the effectiveness of Federal and state IT systems carries tremendous weight in government’s ability to help the nation through the coronavirus pandemic. […]
In a letter to House leadership, a group of House Democrats urged leadership to block Federal spending on facial recognition technologies for law enforcement. […]