The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee approved two bills on Feb. 12 to harden the U.S. electric grid against cyberattacks. […]
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., introduced legislation Feb. 13 to codify the General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) Centers of Excellence (CoE) program. […]
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) failed to incorporate cybersecurity management practices into the planning of its Secure Online Claims Reporting and Tracking E-filing System (SOCRATES) project. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic health record (EHR) modernization launch in Spokane, Washington was indefinitely delayed on Feb. 10, leaving members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization concerned about agency transparency. […]
Members of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee today discussed several major themes of draft legislation that aims to evolve the Federal government’s role in regulating the development of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, and expanding the ability of industry to do more AV technology testing. […]
During today’s Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing, both Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Chris Krebs agreed that CISA’s role is largely similar to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mandate. […]
The FedRAMP Authorization Act, sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., passed unanimously in the House by voice vote on Feb. 5. […]
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of sitting House conservatives, released a framework Feb. 6 of policy solutions for a smaller government that would slash automatic Federal pay raises, eliminate the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), and reduce paid leave benefits. […]
Maryann Feldman, an official helping to lead a congressionally-mandated effort to evaluate the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, said at a Feb. 5 House Science, Space, and Technology subcommittee hearing that the first SBIR assessment will be released in March. […]
Thursday at the FITARA Awards ceremony, a powerful group of government, Hill, and industry leaders will launch the public-private FITARA Forward Initiative. […]
House Republicans introduced a resolution condemning a decision by the British government to allow China-based network equipment maker Huawei a limited role in 5G networks being built out in the United Kingdom. […]
An apparent series of interconnected failures surrounding the use of a key vote-tallying phone app – plus delays associated with a phone-reporting backup system – derailed the reporting of the Iowa Democratic Caucus results last night, even as more states and localities are preparing to add app technologies to some aspects of their election processes. […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a Jan. 31 estimate that the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (HACKED) Act of 2019 would cost $57 million to implement over the next five years. […]
Members of Congress have a lot on their plates, and on any given day understanding the nuances of technology issues may not be one of them. […]
Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Richard Neal, D-Mass., released a five-year infrastructure investment framework Jan. 29 with $98 billion dedicated to broadband initiatives. […]
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House Jan. 24 would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a free cybersecurity marketplace for small businesses to purchase services from security vendors. […]
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt urged lawmakers on Jan. 29 to consider action on several steps the U.S. could take to extend its technological leadership in the world and fend off tech competition from China, including expanding a National Science Foundation (NSF) program to connect agency-sponsored researchers to more cloud computing resources. […]
The House on Jan. 28 approved by a vote of 385-8 the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act. The bill was passed by the Senate in December 2019, and it’s next stop is the desk of President Trump. […]
Witnesses at today’s House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing agreed that closing the digital divide and increasing internet adoption in the U.S. requires a combination of private sector competition, and financial and regulatory help from the Federal government. […]
Members of Congress and officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) discussed the value of data-driven suicide prevention strategies at a Jan. 29 House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing led by committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. […]
The House Homeland Security Committee today voted to approve two bills important to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and its leadership and legal authorities. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced a bill Jan. 28 to give Federal employees a 3.5 percent pay raise in 2021. […]
A new report from the State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) says that the agency made some headway on addressing IT problems in Fiscal Year 2019, but not enough to quell the internal watchdog’s concerns that lingering issues are leaving the agency exposed to major cybersecurity vulnerabilities. […]
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Jan. 22 that the Federal government’s backlog of security clearance has fallen to near 200,000, from its peak of 725,000 backlog applications in 2018. […]
For the second time in recent weeks, Congress is looking to spend $1 billion or more to help make the Huawei problem go away. […]
While touting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) efforts to smooth the path for 5G wireless infrastructure and service deployment, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today that “accelerating infrastructure deployment [has] created a new challenge and opportunity.” […]
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., urged Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon in a Jan. 17 letter to release a “long-delayed rule” that will “ensure providers can successfully use telehealth to treat individuals with substance use disorders.” […]
Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced legislation on Jan. 16 that directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a Cybersecurity State Coordinator program. […]
A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation on Jan. 16 that would use broadband service data mapping to identify areas of the country where high rates of poor maternal health overlap with a lack of broadband service access. […]
Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Bryan Steil, R-Wis., on Jan. 15 officially launched the Congressional Future of Work Caucus, which they said will focus on “challenges and opportunities prevalent in the U.S. economy,” including those posed by automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. […]