Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said today that a bill to promote Open RAN technologies will be included in the Senate’s annual defense bill, but added that appropriators have not committed to fully funding the bill. […]

A collection of trade groups representing the nation’s biggest tech firms is urging Senate leadership to match or exceed the $1 billion in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) approved by the House last month as part of the HEROES Act pandemic-relief legislation. […]

The legislative effort to update the Federal government’s spectrum management processes got one step closer to becoming law when a bipartisan group of four House members introduced a bill identical to the version added to the Senate’s annual defense bill earlier this month. […]

New bicameral legislation was introduced aimed at stopping government use of facial recognition and other biometric technology. […]

The chairman of the congressionally mandated National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service told a Senate panel that Federal hiring practices need “a major overhaul,” and highlighted three reforms from the commission’s March report. […]

While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently outlined key considerations for Federal agencies returning to work following the coronavirus pandemic, a GAO official said this week that the agency hasn’t yet seen a comprehensive and detailed plan from government that is comparable to some industry reopening plans. […]

Chairperson of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, introduced legislation on June 18 to fund research into policing activities including the use of emerging tech such as facial recognition. […]

The Senate’s annual defense bill puts the Secretary of Defense on the hook for a plan on the U.S.’ “cyber hunt forward operations,” a strategy ostensibly outlined by National Security Presidential Memorandum 13, which governs offensive cyber operations and had not been seen by members of congressional defense committees for months after its 2018 adoption. […]

The Federal Communications Commission said today that the total value of funding grants under its COVID-19 Telehealth Program rose to $157 million, after the agency approved $29.4 million of new grants.  […]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks (IOGAN) Act (S.2904) would cost $6 million between 2020 and 2025. […]

The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Readiness advanced its portion of the National Defense Authorization Act on June 23 with a few tech, cyber, and IT provisions. […]

In a move to shore up the United States’ technology superiority on the international stage, Congress has introduced two new pieces of legislation. […]

The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats today approved by voice vote legislative provisions for cyber education efforts, a report on quantum computing, as well as oversight of the National Guard’s role in responding to cyber incidents. […]

Two senators introduced a bill this week that would address artificial intelligence (AI) workforce development for the Department of Defense and implement several recommendations from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. […]

The chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence said he expects “significant focus” on artificial intelligence workforce development in this year’s defense bill. […]

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asked members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee for $65 million to implement the Broadband DATA Act, a law signed in March to improve the accuracy of broadband deployment maps. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already begun work toward reopening its offices in accordance with phase one of the White House’s Opening Up America Again plan, but members of the House Committee on Homeland Security and witnesses at a June 16 hearing suggested that reopening plans should prioritize personnel health and safety. […]

House Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly, D-Va., is asking major Federal agency inspectors general to examine agency facility re-opening plans in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that he aims to “ensure that Administration officials are cautious and prudent when requiring federal employees and contractors to return to federal office buildings.” […]

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced two bills – the Continuity of Economy Act of 2020  and the National Guard Cyber Interoperability Act of 2020 – with the goal of bolstering the United States’ cyber defenses. […]

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee last week on a bipartisan vote of 25-2 includes the Spectrum Modernization Act, which would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to evaluate a range of IT improvements that would improve Federal government spectrum management.   […]

Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., introduced the Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act on June 11 to increase access to and accelerate deployment of broadband services across the United States. […]

The Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act was approved this week by the Senate Armed Services Committee on a 25-to-2 vote, including provisions for the development of 5G, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. […]

Reps. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Sens. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., Doug Jones, D-Ala., introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress June 11 to invest $50 million in rural telehealth initiatives amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]

A group of House Energy and Commerce Committee members urged House appropriators In a June 10 letter to fund the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (Broadband DATA Act). […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted today to confirm the nominations of Russell Vought and Craig Leen as permanent director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), respectively, at a business meeting today. […]

“Team Telecom” – a group of Federal government officials tasked with making recommendations on the national security implications of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) telecommunications applications – has failed to properly monitor Chinese government-owned telecommunication carriers, according to a June 9 report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). […]

The House Armed Services Committee on June 5 released its markup schedule for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act – a must-pass piece of legislation that normally features plenty of technology-related provisions. […]

Federal privacy legislation that has stalled in Congress for months has a new impetus, as questions about the use of location and health data during the pandemic are bringing privacy considerations to the fore. […]

Two bicameral, bipartisan bills intended to strengthen U.S.-based AI research initiatives were introduced this week. Both bills are focused on maintaining the United States’ global leadership and promote public and private sector collaboration. […]

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., wrote letters to ten Federal agencies in an effort to seek answers as to what those agencies are doing to modernize IT systems before the next crisis, like COVID-19, occurs. […]