Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., a co-chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus and one of the few widely acknowledged experts in Congress on cybersecurity, said on Nov. 14 that a lack of data “baselines” on security issues continues to hamper efforts in Congress – and the nation as a whole – to improve security. […]
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, suggested on Nov. 14 that Congress and the Trump administration could get more done to improve Federal cybersecurity if more agencies critical to that effort were headed by Senate-confirmed secretaries, rather than acting secretaries. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved by voice vote today the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education Act (HACKED Act) (S 2775), which aims to boost the Federal cybersecurity workforce with new guidelines for agencies, clearer career paths for the workforce, and improved coordination between agencies. […]
A bill introduced by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., on Nov. 8 would establish a new Center of Excellence (CoE) and fund elections systems research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). […]
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced a bill in the House on Nov. 8 that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact regulations requiring public inspection files to be available online in a machine-readable format. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Nov. 8 providing updates and recommendations on the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). The report offered two recommendations for the Treasury Department. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, said today he would consider adding compliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act’s (IDEA) website modernization standards to the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard produced twice a year by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. […]
According to a Dear Colleague letter from House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the House will vote on a continuing resolution the week of Nov. 18 to keep the Federal government open. […]
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., announced Nov. 7 that she has joined the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, a bipartisan group that is intended to “provide a platform for Senators and their staffs to stay informed on major policy issues and developments in cybersecurity.” […]
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a Nov. 6 letter that the Defense Department (DoD) must act quickly to weed out Chinese-made surveillance gear in use at DoD facilities. […]
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested this week that the Federal government make a massive investment in artificial intelligence (AI) research and other technologies through a new Federal agency created for that purpose, with a $100 billion budget over five years. […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) supports legislative efforts in Congress to fund more investment in power grid cybersecurity nationwide, DOE Assistant Secretary Daniel Simmons testified at a Nov. 6 Senate Subcommittee on Energy hearing about current legislation. […]
A new bill backed by a bipartisan group of leaders on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee aims to boost the Federal cybersecurity workforce with new guidelines for agencies, clearer career paths for the workforce, and improved coordination between agencies. […]
A bill introduced in the House by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., on Nov. 5 – the Online Privacy Act of 2019 – would create new user private rights, place the onus on companies to protect user data they collect, and establish a new Federal agency to “enforce privacy protections, and strengthens enforcement of privacy law violations.” […]
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) endorsed S.?2749, the?DOTGOV?Act of 2019 on Nov. 4. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ranking member and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and James Lankford, Okla., aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported on Oct. 31 that the Energy Cybersecurity Act of 2019 would cost $832 million to implement over the next 10 years, with $355 million of that spent during the first five years. […]
Senators and Federal government officials sparred over the country’s 5G-readiness and supply chain security at a hearing today of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. […]
Several senators introduced legislation on Oct. 30 that aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]
The Pentagon’s award late last week of its ten-year Joint Enterprise Defense Initiative (JEDI) contract for general purpose cloud computing to Microsoft took center stage on Capitol Hill today at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Dana Deasy as the Defense Department’s (DoD) CIO. […]
Two Federal Trade Commissioners – one a Republican and the other a Democrat – agreed on Oct. 28 that the agency has the tricky task of balancing both consumer data privacy and business interests, and must find that balance even as the fast pace of technological advancement makes the value of prescriptive regulation uncertain. […]
A bill reintroduced in the Senate Oct. 24 aims to increase the reach of emergency alert communications on national and state levels by preventing some alert opt-outs on mobile phones, requiring that alerts issued by the White House or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) be run repeatedly by television and radio stations, and exploring how to create a system to offer emergency alerts on audio and video online streaming services. […]
In a Friday letter to President Trump’s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., demanded answers about recent departures from the administration of key Federal cybersecurity officials. […]
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced updated Republican subcommittee assignments on Oct. 25. Among the changes, Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., will join the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation Subcommittee. […]
The Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act, H.R. 4237, was unanimously approved by the House Homeland Security Committee on Oct. 23. […]
Senator Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) policies and handling of personally identifiable information following recent security incidents. […]
Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., today announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) initiative with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). The initiative will create a bipartisan national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The strategy is intended to guide Congress and the executive branch on how to best capitalize on AI. […]
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., on Oct. 22 reintroduced legislation in the Senate and House aimed at creating a voluntary system to certify cybersecurity protections for internet of things (IoT) devices. […]
Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., introduced the US SAFE WEB Extension Act on Oct. 22, which would enable the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect Americans from fraud, spam, and deception online. […]
The FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) Scorecard issued every six months by the House Oversight and Reform Committee could benefit from updates to some of its Federal agency IT scoring categories, several panelists said Oct. 22 at the ACT-IAC Imagine Nation 2019 conference. […]
At an Oct. 16 Bipartisan Policy Center event, Federal CIO Suzette Kent and Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, discussed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-based automation on the national workforce. […]