he partial Federal government shutdown is expected to last at least until Friday, as congressional leaders left a meeting with President Donald Trump today apparently with no deal in place. […]
A partial government shutdown was still in effect as of Monday, December 24, 2018, after Congress and the Trump administration could not come to an agreement on a government funding bill over the weekend. […]
he Federal government was poised for a partial shutdown beginning at midnight tonight despite House and Senate action aimed at avoiding that. […]
On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary Government Data Act as part of the larger Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017. […]
President Trump said in a statement on Thursday that he would veto any spending bill that doesn’t include funding for a border wall. […]
The House Democratic Caucus has elected Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 116th Congress that begins in January 2019. […]
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., today wrote Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and called for her to “take urgent action to protect America’s pipelines from cyber attack.” The letter follows a report released today from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which detailed issues American pipelines face defending against cyber attacks. […]
The House and Senate have approved H.R. 7387–the SECURE Technology Act–which combines existing bills that would aim to reduce Federal government supply chain threats and establish a bug bounty program and vulnerability disclosure policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). […]
Rachel Holland has left her post in Rep. Will Hurd’s office after four years of service to the Texas Republican. […]
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced a short-term spending bill on Wednesday, that would fund the government through February 8, 2019, and avoid a government shutdown later this week. The bill must be approved by both chambers of Congress before reaching President Trump’s desk for his signature. “The measure will provide the resources necessary […]
On Monday, the Senate unanimously passed the Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI) Act. The READI Act will “ensure more people receive relevant emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions, and radios, explore new ways of alerting the public through online video and audio streaming services, track and study false alerts when they occur, and improve the way states plan for emergency alerts,” according to a press release from the bill’s sponsor Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. The bipartisan legislation was also championed by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss. […]
A Google spokesperson declined today to confirm or deny a report from The Intercept that an internal struggle between Google’s privacy team and executives managing its Dragonfly China search engine project has led to an effective shutdown of the effort. […]
The Senate Intelligence Committee released two reports on Monday finding that Russian social media influence operations–which came to broad attention in the U.S. following the 2016 presidential election–are still ongoing in the U.S. […]
The Senate on Dec. 13 approved by unanimous consent HR 6227, the National Quantum Initiative Act, which would create a Federal program to speed quantum research and development “for the economic and national security” of the United States. […]
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Thursday the Democratic committee assignments for the new congress. […]
A group of 15 Democratic senators introduced a new piece of data privacy legislation on Wednesday. The legislation, named the Data Care Act, will, according to the bill’s lead sponsor Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, “require websites, apps, and other online providers to take responsible steps to safeguard personal information and stop the misuse of users’ data.” […]
While yesterday’s hearing held by two House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittees was a mostly upbeat affair given the better grades earned by several Federal agencies on the committee’s latest FITARA scorecard, committee members also grilled witnesses about impediments that stand in the way of agencies implementing a key aspect of the MGT (Modernizing Government Technology) Act. […]
As MeriTalk reported earlier this month, the Senate today took action on the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA Act) and passed the legislation under unanimous consent. […]
In today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Committee dug into what it called “China’s non-traditional espionage against the United States.” During the hearing, senators heard from cybersecurity, and intelligence experts about China’s attempts to use cybersecurity attacks and intellectual property theft to advance its global standing. […]
Today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology took a deep dive into the RAY BAUM’S Act and examined how the legislation was helping to bridge the digital divide in the United States. […]
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee today, answering questions regarding China, privacy policies, search biases, and data collection. […]
Witnesses from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will testify tomorrow at a hearing of two House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittees that will examine Federal agency efforts to implement the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), and the FITARA Scorecard 7.0 issued by the committee earlier today. […]
Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., will introduce new legislation this week to “address cyber vulnerabilities created by the adoption of Internet-connected devices,” and specifically cyber threats of internet of things (IoT) devices owned and used by the Federal government. […]
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., on Dec. 6 introduced a bill that aims to modernize the Federal government’s security clearance system and reduce the government’s backlog of security clearances which the senator said now stands at about 600,000. […]
A new report released Monday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee outlines the details of the 2017 Equifax data breach, and sets recommendations for future breaches in the private sector. […]
The Senate unanimously approved the DHS Data Framework Act on Friday, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a data framework to integrate all existing DHS databases. […]
Incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Thursday that the soon to be Democratic-controlled House could finalize legislation to strengthen election security by the end of January. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations today released a report identifying core strategies to address and prevent cybersecurity incidents. After gathering input through hearings, briefings, reports, and roundtables, the subcommittee developed six specific priorities to create stronger protections against cyberattacks. […]
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter on Friday to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calling on the department to block internet advertisements on Federal computers to prevent malware infections, citing advice from the National Security Agency (NSA). […]
On Thursday, Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced the Public-Private Cybersecurity Cooperation Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to set up a vulnerabilities disclosure program for DHS systems. […]