The Congress passed a continuing resolution this afternoon to keep the Federal government fully funded through December 21, averting a potential shutdown on December 7. […]
The Senate Rules & Administration Committee yesterday advanced two of President Trump’s nominations to the Election Assistance Committee. […]
President Trump today signed S. 140, the “Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018,” into the law. […]
On Tuesday, Representatives Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Glenn Thompson, R-Penn., introduced the Cybersecurity Education Integration Act, a bill that would establish a grant program to develop career and technical education (CTE) classes that include cybersecurity fundamentals. […]
The Senate is expected to take action on H.R. 5759, the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA Act), via a “hotline” procedure before the end of the current session of Congress, a knowledgeable Capitol Hill source told MeriTalk. […]
The Federal government will close on Wednesday for a national day of mourning declared by President Trump following the death of former President George H.W. Bush, whose funeral will be held that day at the Washington National Cathedral. […]
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, on Friday introduced the Global Electoral Exchange Act, which would task the State Department with creating an international election security information sharing program. […]
The House has voted to approve bills that would two bills–one that would elevate and reauthorize the role of the Federal CIO, and another that would establish minimum standards for Federal agency website functionality and performance. […]
The House on Wednesday approved by voice vote HR 6032, the SMART IoT Act, which would direct the Department of Commerce to study and report to Congress within one year on the U.S. Internet-connected device industry, including on voluntary and mandatory standards that are being developed around the world for the IoT sector, which Federal agencies have jurisdiction over the sector, and any regulations or standards those agencies have put in place that impact the IoT sector. […]
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is thanking the Senate Rules Committee for its work to improve the Senate’s cybersecurity posture by moving to begin encrypting data stored on Senate computers. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs admitted this month that its 10-year, $10 billion-plus project to create an interoperable electronic health record system incurred a $350 million cost overrun right out of the gate–a potential red flag in the latest effort to develop an integrated records system that also works with the Department of Defense’s system. […]
During Tuesday’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee hearing, Federal Trade Commissioners were unanimous in their call for Congress to explore Federal data privacy legislation. […]
In a letter to Walter Copan, undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., called on NIST to create a framework for the development and use of facial recognition technologies. […]
The House has scheduled consideration later this week of several pieces of legislation impacting Federal IT issues including Federal CIO authorities and agency website functionality and performance. […]
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Tuesday her intention to restore the Elections Subcommittee of the Committee on House Administration, which was created during the 110th Congress but abolished in 2013. Pelosi, who will likely be elected House majority leader when Democrats take control of the House in January, also announced that Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, will serve as chairwoman of the subcommittee. […]
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Chris Coons, D.-Del., said they plan to introduce a bill that would create and help fund a tax-preferred savings plan that workers can use to retrain or “upskill” as automation and other technology advances continue to impact the employment market. […]
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, has finally secured his seat in the next session of Congress, as his challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones, conceded the race on Monday. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs faced congressional scrutiny on Thursday for delayed payments to veterans following the passage of the Colmery Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill, as House members called on VA IT officials to explain how the system could not handle the additional workloads and criticized the department’s response. […]
A lack of incentives for House members, and a declining count of professional committee and member staff with the necessary experience, are combining to dampen oversight activities in the House, panelists said Nov. 16 at an event organized by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). […]
In a letter released Thursday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., questioned the Trump administration’s commitment to election security and pressed administration officials to communicate more clearly with Congress about the issue. […]
The private sector is the prime driver for Congress to take up data privacy legislation in 2019, industry panelists said Thursday at an event organized by Bloomberg Government. […]
Speaking at an event organized by Bloomberg Government, Rep. Eshoo indicated that her concerns are rooted in the impact of social media and other content that inspires or leads to violence such as the Oct. 27 murders at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. […]
Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, who will be stepping aside in January as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee after leading the panel since 2013, said today he expects the committee’s core policy interests and aims will continue under the direction of the panel’s incoming chairman, presumably the current ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. […]
Senior officials from the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Homeland Security (DHS) told House members on Wednesday that they are busy working out details of a recently finalized cybersecurity coordination agreement focused on improving Federal government cyber defenses generally, and specifically the cyber defenses of critical infrastructure components on which DoD facilities rely, among other areas. […]
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., highlighted the benefits of broadband services for rural areas, and with Democratic control of the House coming in January, offered an optimistic view on the prospects of bipartisan broadband expansion legislation. […]
The House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Technology Modernization met today to review the first 180 days of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, with members of Congress anxious to see evidence of progress in the program and VA officials offering some details that point in that direction. […]
With a new session of Congress–and a power shift in the House–looming in January, big tech companies are looking toward 2019 and possible new privacy legislation that will alter the shape of their business models. […]
In a report released today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has yet to implement a full one-third of GAO’s information security recommendations issued to OPM in recent years. […]
Two House subcommittees will convene a hearing tomorrow, Nov. 14, at 3 p.m., to hear officials from the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Homeland Security (DHS) discuss how the two agencies cooperate on cybersecurity issues. […]
The race between Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s IT subcommittee, and challenger Gina Ortiz Jones, is too close to call, according to media outlets. […]