Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced bipartisan legislation to streamline patient electronic health record (EHR) matching among healthcare providers using the United States Postal Service (USPS) address-formatting tool. […]
Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., have introduced legislation to expand the pool of communications service providers who could apply for Federal government funding to remove and replace network equipment made by firms the government judges to be “untrusted,” such as China-based Huawei and ZTE. […]
Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have introduced legislation that would require Federal agencies to maximize telework for Federal employees for the length of the COVID-19 public health emergency. […]
The Government Accountability Office has submitted a new report to Congress regarding facial recognition technology, but its primary recommendation from a 2013 report remains – update the consumer privacy framework. […]
Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., have partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) to release a new report that calls for Federal investments into AI R&D. […]
Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, defended the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s key recommendation to create a Senate-confirmed National Cyber Director before his Senate colleagues on Tuesday, finding commonality with the subcommittee chair on the position. […]
When it comes to the security of sensitive information in the energy sector, collaboration between the Department of Energy, intelligence community, and private sector are foundational to these efforts, Senior Advisor at the Office of Policy for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, & Emergency Response Alexander Gates said. […]
The national security community of the United States has found itself in a conundrum in the last few years, warning other countries about the risks of the China-based company Huawei, but unable to provide an American alternative for 5G networks. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released its Mail-in Voting in 2020 Infrastructure Risk Assessment to help with risk management of critical election systems. […]
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., proposed in a July 31 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to engineer a dramatic, long-term funding increase for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) by moving $2 billion of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) IT modernization work to the front of the TMF funding line. […]
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 20 Democratic senators plus Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, urged leadership to include maximum telework provisions for Federal employees and contractors in the next coronavirus relief package. […]
Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat, who began in her current position eight weeks ago after serving as CIO at the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the hectic initial upswing of the coronavirus pandemic, discussed the fast pace of modernization efforts at Federal agencies in recent months, and how critical funding is to keep those efforts going. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, sounded an upbeat tone on the FITARA Scorecard issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee today, but pointed to more work that needs to be done across the government and in Congress to spur further IT modernization. […]
The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress approved a dozen recommendations to improve the continuity of operations in Congress in the event of a crisis. […]
Switching to telework for half of the workweek after the pandemic ends would save Federal employees up to $4,000 each year and the Federal government up to $11 billion annually, per a Global Workplace Analytics calculation discussed at the July 29 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on remote work. […]
As the congressionally mandated National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service concludes its three-year effort, several of its cyber workforce recommendations are ripe for legislative action, including the idea of a civilian cybersecurity reserve. […]
A group of six Democratic senators led by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced legislation on July 29 to establish labor task forces that would provide Federal workers with an outlet to express needs for personal protective equipment (PPE) and establish health precautions for returning to the workplace. […]
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities, voiced support at a July 30 subcommittee hearing for the European Union’s placement of sanctions on Russian, Chinese, and North Korean entities for their role in high-profile cyber attacks. […]
While telecommunications providers in the United States prepare to rip out and replace gear from China-based Huawei and the United Kingdom has moved to eventually ban the company’s equipment from its 5G networks, the German government has officially stated its neutrality in the matter. […]
Six Senate Democrats urged leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to include a $1 billion Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) funding boost in the HEALS Act pandemic relief legislation introduced earlier this week. […]
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). […]