The House voted today to approve H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act, which would roll back network neutrality rules to their 2015 level. The bill won approval by a vote of 232-190, and almost entirely along partisan lines, with one Republican supporting the measure. […]
Broadband access is essential in the 21st Century. To achieve availability across the country, the Federal government must have accurate broadband access data to ensure that funds and resources are being spent to expand coverage to unserved areas. However, accuracy issues with the broadband map have plagued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)–the Federal entity tasked with compiling the data. […]
David Norquist, deputy Defense Secretary and chief financial officer at the Pentagon, told senators today that threats posed by China and Russia are the Defense Department’s (DoD) central problem – particularly in the race for technological defense capabilities – and largely justify the White House’s proposed $750 billion defense budget for FY2020. […]
Testifying today in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee which is reviewing the Navy’s FY2020 Defense Authorization Request, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said the service branch is sending a proposition up to Congress to add a fifth assistant secretary to address cyber needs. […]
With Tax Day coming around the corner fast, some congressional Democrats and Republicans are leaning in support of private tax preparation companies by looking to permanently ban the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from creating a free electronic filing system. […]
The ACCESS BROADBAND (Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand) Act, which would provide expanded broadband access to underserved and rural areas, is back in both chambers of Congress. […]
Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2019 to authorize $17.4 million per year in funding to address the causes and consequences of sexual harassment in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. […]
A group of 19 House Democrats–many from districts close to Washington–asked leaders of the House Appropriations Committee in a letter dated today to put the brakes on a Trump administration plan to shift government functions currently performed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to the General Services Administration (GSA). […]
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on April 3 introduced an updated version of their Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines Act (DETER Act), which they said promises “swift and severe consequences” to Russia and other “foreign actors” if they attack U.S. political candidates, campaigns, or voting infrastructure. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee late Wednesday voted 30-22 to approve H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act, which would roll back network neutrality rules to their 2015 level. […]
In the wake of a critical report on the implementation of the MISSION Act by the U.S. Digital Service, officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offered assurances to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs that the program is on track and veterans will see no disruption in care. […]
The House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee adjourned its scheduled hearing today without reviewing the Trump administration’s FY2020 Department of Commerce budget request after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross declined to testify before the subcommittee. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved by voice vote today S. 151 – the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, as amended. […]
Defense Department (DoD) officials today underscored the importance of the agency’s ongoing electronic health records (EHR) modernization efforts at a Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee hearing on the Defense Health Program FY2020 budget request. […]
Sen Ben Cardin, D-Md., today asked leadership of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a “game plan” on workforce stabilization and recruiting after discussing with agency officials the steady reduction of headcount at NRC as the agency’s budget has declined in recent years. […]
The U.S. Army and Air Force Secretaries and Chiefs of Staff justified the Trump administration’s proposed FY2020 Defense budget before the House Armed Services Committee today by pedestalling the urgency of modernizing the services. […]
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization held its first hearing of the year today with hopes of getting a baseline reading from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Information and Technology (VA OIT) – but with no OIT representation, the committee went ahead and discussed the department’s challenges with panelists from VA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). […]
Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Representative Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sent a letter to Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Peter Gaynor last week to address the sensitive personal data of hurricane and wildfire survivors that was mistakenly shared with contractors. […]
Members of the House and Senate have introduced companion bills that would allow state and Federal prisons to jam cellphone signals in an attempt to prevent contraband cellphone use. […]
Bills introduced in the House and Senate yesterday would put a formal end to a National Security Agency program that has collected communications records metadata of U.S. citizens for intelligence and law enforcement use, following unconfirmed reports that NSA and the Trump administration are no longer interested in continuing the program. […]
Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y., Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., introduced a bill yesterday to create a 35-person advisory committee within the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency so that cyber professionals across different industries can help make suggestions on cybersecurity policies and programs. The National Technology Security Coalition, […]
Senators and healthcare stakeholders juggled issues of expanding healthcare record access while at the same time keeping those records secure during a Senate Healthcare, Education Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the 21st Century Cures Act (CURES) Tuesday. […]
Senate Democrats took steps to tackle election security this week, first by looking to investigate voting machines, and then by unanimously signing off on a Senate version of the House’s H.R. 1, the “For the People Act” yesterday. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary outlined how it will use its proposed budget to improve veteran healthcare and modernize its largely outdated information technology (IT) systems at a hearing today before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. […]
Congress must take action to ensure that consumer data is being adequately protected at consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), witnesses said at Tuesday’s House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy hearing. […]
A bipartisan bill introduced today in the Senate would support cybersecurity assistance to help senators and their staff members protect their personal devices from attackers. […]
House Armed Services Committee Chair Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., in a letter dated yesterday, rejected the Pentagon’s intent to transfer $1 billion to the Department of Homeland Security to fund construction of southern border barriers. […]
Panelists representing small businesses advocated for Federal uniformity and preempt over state data privacy laws and against data protection regulations that would disproportionately burden smaller companies at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing today. […]
In one of many budget hearings taking place on the Hill this week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government heard from Russell T. Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the agency’s FY2020 budget request. While the bulk of the hearing didn’t address IT issues, Vought did touch on IT spending, IT modernization, and the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). […]
The Defense Department’s (DoD’s) ability to reprogram funds may be hindered in the future because of the Pentagon’s approval of a transfer up to $1 billion to the Department of Homeland Security yesterday to build the Trump administration’s long-requested southern border wall. […]