Senior U.S. Army officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee today that adoption of cloud architecture and services is high on the service branch’s IT priority list over the next several years. […]
In a March 25 letter, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., urged six Internet networking device vendors to ensure their internet connectivity products “remain secure as Americans across the nation ramp up their use of these devices for remote work, health, and education purposes as part of COVID-19 social distancing efforts.” […]
The $2 trillion COVID-19 coronavirus relief legislation, passed by the Senate late Wednesday night, includes far reaching Federal agency investments [link to Jordan’s story] to ramp up the government’s response to the pandemic, including funds for IT and telework infrastructure. The Senate legislation still requires approval by the House of Representatives, and President Trump’s signature. […]
The $2 trillion measure approved by the Senate last night to help stimulate the flagging U.S. economy and respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will provide hefty increases to the budgets of numerous Federal agencies with major roles in pandemic response and mitigation. […]
President Donald Trump signed two wireless bills into law Monday night, one to create a plan for the security of 5G networks and the other to ensure the accuracy of broadband data maps. […]
A House version of COVID-19 relief legislation being prepared as an alternative to the separate relief/stimulus bill being considered by the Senate on March 24 features a stunning proposed increase in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) that serves as a repayable source of capital for Federal agency IT modernization projects. […]
The Federal government and other entities are adjusting to and planning for the impact of the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus. Here’s a quick look at some of the top developments of interest to the Federal IT community: […]
A group of eight senators including all four from Virginia and Maryland asked the Trump administration in a March 19 letter to direct Federal departments and agencies to make publicly available their continuity of operations plans (COOP) in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]
More than 50 Congressional representatives agreed to a March 18 letter in support of remote voting addressed to House leadership, however, not all representatives physically signed the letter due to concerns about the coronavirus. […]
In a letter to Federal CTO Michael Kratsios, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioned the Federal government’s plan to use American’s smartphone location data to fight COVID-19. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., along with 56 other House members, pressed ahead today with a demand to President Trump for an executive order mandating telework for all eligible Federal employees and contractors. […]
The Federal government and other entities are adjusting to and planning for the impact of the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus. […]
With the release of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission report, there has been much discussion about the future of cyber policy. A key component of the Trump administration’s current cyber policy, however, has been obscured from Congress for months, until recently. […]
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of 16 senators pushed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to temporarily allow schools to use the E-Rate program funding to provide Wi-Fi hotspots or devices with Wi-Fi capability to students who lack internet access at home. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has a renewed focus on modernizing its hiring process and investing in cyber education to improve recruitment and retention stats as it looks ahead at its Fiscal Year 2021 budget. […]
Sen. Mark Warner sent a letter to the acting director of national intelligence (DNI) and the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue clear guidance ensuring that security clearances will not be jeopardized due to financial impacts of COVID-19. […]
Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., said today they introduced legislation that would ban the use of the TikTok app on Federal government-provided devices out of concern that the company providing the service – ByteDance – has close ties to the Chinese government and could be compelled to share user data with the government. […]
House members voted 395-13 on March 10 to adopt recommendations from the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress on establishing a centralized human resources (HR) system and modernizing House IT resources. […]
Implementing a proposed Federal grant program designed to improve state and local government cybersecurity would cost a total of $2.89 billion over the next six years including both expected grant totals and the cost to run the program, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. […]
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed multiple cybersecurity bills, including the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act of 2019 and the Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act of 2020 at a March 11 markup. […]
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs that Congress would not approve CISA budget cuts contained in the President’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Proposal. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation on broadband connectivity, protecting the public from online scams, and promoting industries of the future at a markup session March 11. […]
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission that is set to release recommendations March 11 on how to better defend the U.S. against cyber threats, said today the commission hopes to spark quick action by Congress on at least some of those recommendations. […]
On the same day that several members of Congress entered into voluntary quarantine after interacting with an individual who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February, Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rick Crawford, R-Ark., reintroduced the Members Operating to Be Innovative and Link Everyone (MOBILE) Resolution. […]
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., introduced the Network Security Trade Act on March 5 directing trade officials to make supply chain security a key objective in their telecommunications trade discussions, in the midst of formal trade talks with the United Kingdom and other allies on the matter. […]
Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., introduced legislation March 5 that would establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focused on developing innovative technology to improve water management. […]
In a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Dale Cabaniss, Democratic senators urged the agency to improve its plan to protect Federal employees from income insecurity and disciplinary action as they work to comply with COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, safeguards. […]
Three members of Congress representing big Federal government employee districts introduced legislation today that would protect telework availability for Federal employees. […]
Shortcomings in crucial IT systems and staff training caused the launch delay of the electronic health records modernization (EHRm) effort at the Department of Veterans Affairs, David Case, deputy inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs, told a House panel today. […]
The House voted late on March 4 to approve the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (HR 6074) that would make $8.3 billion of new funding available for a “robust response” to the COVID-19 coronavirus, including vaccine and treatment development, support for state and local health agencies, and loans for small businesses impacted by the virus. […]