Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about what the senators called a lack of public disclosure about cyber vulnerabilities in internet-connected vehicles, and suggested that the government may want to consider taking “possible regulatory action” to remedy that lack of public information. […]

House Majority leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is reaffirming congressional Democrats’ opposition to Trump administration’s proposed merger of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with the General Services Administration (GSA). […]

Modernization

On August 22, President Trump signed into law the Creating Advanced Streamlined Electronic Services for Constituents Act (CASES Act) which will modernize the inquiry process for constituents by creating electronic forms to improve access and efficiency to Federal services and agencies. […]

John Ratcliffe

Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, confirmed to MeriTalk that he will reintroduce the Advancing Cybersecurity Continuing Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Act. His office said to expect the bill “within the next month or so.” […]

Pentagon Military Defense DoD

TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore wrote the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Aug. 12 to raise concerns with the current draft of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). […]

cellphone

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and a series of other senators wrote Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai on Aug. 9 to urge the commission to protect consumers from cellphone fraud. […]

Ron Wyden Oregon
Gerry Connolly

With the year quickly coming to a close, the FedRAMP Authorization Act will be one of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s “big priorities” for legislation, with a markup session expected when the House returns from its August recess, Connolly said during MeriTalk’s Cyber Security Brainstorm today. […]

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NIST

Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., introduced the TOWER Infrastructure Deployment Act (TOWER Act) with the goal of increasing broadband deployment across the country and addressing the workforce shortage within telecommunications industry. […]

FITARA Awards 2019 - Congressman Will Hurd

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, a long-time champion of Federal IT legislation and oversight, announced August 1 that he will not be running for reelection in 2020, and instead will pursue opportunities in the private sector “at the nexus between technology and national security.” […]

The Senate, in a 67-28 vote today, passed a budget deal that raises Federal spending $320 billion over current levels and lifts the debt ceiling for two years, averting a shutdown. The Senate budget, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called “a strong deal,” is a companion to the House’s budget, which emerged from […]

Robot

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on July 31, introduced a bill to combat illegal robocalls. […]

elections, election security, voting

In response to the 2017  Cambridge Analytica scandal, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced the Voter Privacy Act on July 31. The legislation would give voters greater control over how their personal information is used by political candidates and campaigns in Federal elections. Feinstein’s office said currently there is no Federal law regulating the collection and use of voter data by political organizations. […]

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israel america U.S.

Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced new legislation on July 30 that would require the State Department to investigate the potential benefits of establishing a cooperative U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. The bill, dubbed the U.S. -Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Act, has garnered bipartisan support in the Senate, and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., has already introduced a companion bill in the House. […]

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In an effort to become a more modern and technologically advanced office, the U.S. Copyright Office is working on a pilot program for its digital recordation system, beginning in the spring of 2020. […]

Blockchain binary

During today’s Senate Banking, House, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, legislators heard from experts from the private sector, government, and academia regarding regulations needed for blockchain technologies. […]

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pressed the Department of Homeland Security in a July 26 letter to deliver an overdue report on biometric identification technology viability.  That report, the senators said, was due to be delivered on July 2. […]

AI Quantum Computing
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A principal author of Senate legislation that would pump $2.2 billion of Federal funding into development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies over the next five years said last week that investment would help a host of industry sectors including healthcare, energy, and agriculture. […]

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IT modernization data center

The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted today to approve 10  recommendations related to modernizing and revitalizing House technology, including one proposal to recreate an offer to advise House members on tech issues. […]

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Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., reintroduced the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) Act on July 23. The legislation will “encourage the Federal government to continue to free up spectrum for commercial licensed and unlicensed use and leverage the success of spectrum auctions to help close the urban-rural divide,” according to the bill’s sponsors. […]

Connolly

Federal IT is on the right path and is making progress on modernization, but Congress will continue to push agencies to modernize faster and address slowdowns in processes, including FedRAMP, said Representative Gerry Connolly, D-Va. […]

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