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Policy

Tech Bills of the Week: Regulating chatbot-child communication; AI in the VA; and more

Bills this week focused on how minors — and seniors — engage with generative AI, gauging AI’s efficacy at the VA and addressing a myriad of policy issues.

Acquisition

Pentagon awards Oracle up to $7B in software consolidation deal

The agreement merges Oracle's product and licensing services into one contract, which the Defense Department estimates will result in at least $441 million in savings.

Acquisition

VA awards Salesforce $1.6B contract for veteran care and services

The contract adds to existing Salesforce deployments for suicide prevention, health care communications and more.

Sponsor Content

Where federal AI is working — and how agencies can get there faster

Discover five proven AI use cases helping federal agencies reduce costs, modernize operations and accelerate mission success.

Acquisition

Acquisition overhaul is providing needed ‘discretion’ for tech adoption, procurement chief says

“If it's not in the FAR, and it doesn't tell you you can't do it, then you should consider it,” Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Kevin Rhodes said.

Cybersecurity

After Hugging Face breach, FedRAMP chief tells slow-to-patch vendors to stay out of government

Pete Waterman cited an incident in which OpenAI models escaped a test environment and broke into AI company Hugging Face as evidence that providers must prepare for attacks moving at AI speed.

Modernization

The Technology Modernization Fund has saved little — but big savings are expected later — GAO finds

The head of GSA — which administers the TMF — argued that the GAO report understates the benefit of the program because it distinguishes between cost savings and cost avoidance.

Artificial Intelligence

Lawmakers introduce bill mandating kill switches for AI models

Bipartisan lawmakers are seeking to ensure advanced AI models can be quickly shut down following ChatGPT’s automated attack on Hugging Face data networks during internal testing. 

Artificial Intelligence

GOP Financial Services report cites AI as both fraud accelerator and preventer

With AI playing a more prominent role in the scammer’s playbook, the report says “the counter to this is ensuring that those empowered to prevent and respond to fraud and scams — namely public and private sector entities — deploy the same tools.”

Emerging Tech

Naval Postgraduate School launches AI supercomputer in first for military

The Monterey, Calif-based naval command will use the powerful Nvidia DGX GB300 AI supercomputer to train students in how and when to employ such technologies.

Sponsor Content

Before AI: Fixing the Hidden Modernization Barriers Blocking Federal Agency Progress

Discover how digital fax modernizes secure workflows, reduces operational bottlenecks and supports scalable federal transformation.

People

Despite firings, acting IG says it’s 'the best time to be in the inspector general community' due to focus on fraud

A panel of inspectors general at a government accounting conference also discussed challenges combating technologically advanced scams and performing more proactive oversight.

Artificial Intelligence

White House accuses Chinese AI developer of IP theft

Tech policy leadership in the White House say Moonshot AI illegally trained its model off of Anthropic’s Fable.

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers get taste of AI-enabled cyberattacks in China-Taiwan war game

Representatives weighed responses to simulated Chinese cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure during a tabletop exercise centered on a Taiwan crisis.

Artificial Intelligence

Genesis Mission kicks off with over 270 projects

Each project chosen by the Department of Energy focuses on advancing a critical scientific area with the help of artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence

US AI labs are emerging target for foreign spies, experts warn Congress

Former officials told the House Intelligence Committee that U.S. agencies have not kept pace with China’s push to obtain advanced American AI technology.

People

OPM moves to implement long-awaited retirement fix for federal first responders

The First Responders Fair RETIRE Act, which ensures federal workers can stay on accelerated mandatory retirement schedules even if they transfer to another due to injury, was signed into law in 2022.

People

NIST AI safety center lead departs

Chris Fall was appointed to helm the Center for AI Standards and Innovation in April and has been at the Commerce Department since December 2025.

Emerging Tech

VA expands use of extended reality tech across healthcare operations

Anne Lord Bailey, who leads VA’s Strategic Initiatives Lab, said veterans who have used immersive tech have reported therapeutic benefits that extend beyond the conditions being treated by the headsets.

People

OPM shrinks its workforce by a third, seeks further staffing cuts

The agency is giving employees in its healthcare and insurance division another shot at opting into the deferred resignation program.

Cybersecurity

Moving beyond checklists to living digital identity risk management

COMMENTARY | The era of static checklists is over. The future belongs to living, adaptive digital identity programs.