Shutdown Averted, Congress Barrels Toward November

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a minibus spending bill that fends off a potential government shutdown until December.

The spending package, signed two days before the end of fiscal 2018, allocates some $860 billion to the Defense, Labor, Education and Health and Human Services departments for next year and includes a stopgap measure to sustain unfunded agencies past the Sept. 30 deadline. Trump had toyed with the idea of not signing the package after sparring with Congress over funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Had Trump not signed the bill, huge swaths of the government would have shut down on Monday.

This marks the second appropriations package to receive White House approval. Agencies covered by the third and final spending package, which includes the Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, Justice and State departments, will run out of funding on Dec. 7 unless Trump signs the final bill.

Facebook Breach Prompts Warner Backlash

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., called for an immediate investigation Friday after Facebook reported a data breach that affected at least 50 million users.

“Today’s disclosure is a reminder about the dangers posed when a small number of companies like Facebook or the credit bureau Equifax are able to accumulate so much personal data about individual Americans without adequate security measures,” Warner said in a statement.

Warner released a white paper in July outlining how Congress might regulate social media companies.

Facebook has been in Congress’ crosshairs for months because it served as a platform for Russian disinformation operations during the 2016 elections and for sharing information about more than 50 million users with the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

CISA Soon-a?

A bill to rename Homeland Security’s clunkily titled cybersecurity agency didn’t reach the Senate floor last week but may come up this week.

Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders are working with party leadership to fast-track the bill, Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said during a markup Wednesday. The bill would rename the National Protection and Programs Directorate to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

A companion bill passed the House in December. Homeland Security officials have described the bill as a top legislative priority.

House Party (Cyber Edition)

The House passed a plethora of tech and cyber bills last week. Here’s a rundown.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Reauthorization Act allocates $1.2 billion for the research and standards agency, including $103 million for cybersecurity and privacy work. The bill also mandates NIST redouble efforts to help organizations measure cybersecurity risk and improve encryption technologies for connected devices, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The Securing the Homeland Security Supply Chain Act would broaden the Homeland Security secretary’s ability to bar department contractors that pose cybersecurity or national security risks. A competing Trump administration proposal would give the secretary similar power throughout the civilian government.

The Public-Private Cybersecurity Cooperation Act would require Homeland Security to create a vulnerability disclosure policy.

The Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act would put the power of legislation behind Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.

The DHS Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems Coordinator Act would create a drone coordinator position at Homeland Security and the Department of Homeland Security Chief Data Officer Authorization Act would create a chief data officer position.

The Fitness Information Transparency Act would make it easier for contractors deemed fit for contracts at one Homeland Security division to win contracts with other divisions.

The Hack Your State Department Act would create a State Department bug bounty program.

On Senate Side

The Senate Homeland Security Committee forwarded a bill Wednesday that would allow agencies to bypass collective bargaining agreements to block employees from using personal email and social media accounts in response to a cybersecurity threat.

A similar bill passed the House Oversight Committee in July.

The American Federation of Government Employees has opposed the bill, saying it “does not increase federal IT security” and “would take collective bargaining rights away from employees when it comes to IT.”

The committee also forwarded a Senate version of the House’s bill to formalize Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program and a bill to improve the security of Homeland Security’s supply chains.

They Want the Tools and the Talent

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to give federal agencies more resources for adopting artificial intelligence tools.

The AI in Government Act, introduced Thursday by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, would require the General Services Administration to hire AI experts to help agencies implement the emerging technology. Under the bill, the White House would also need to integrate AI into its federal data strategy and revise catalogs of government job descriptions to include AI experts.

The Future is Now

Now’s the time for the U.S. to get serious about artificial intelligence, lawmakers said Tuesday.

Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., published a report recommending the government increase investments in basic research if it wants to keep a leg up on China in the global race for AI leadership. The report also highlights specific areas the U.S. needs to address as the technology permeates more sectors of the economy—such as machine bias, privacy and workforce effects.

In an op-ed published Friday, Hurd also warned the U.S. will miss out on setting global AI ethics standards if the government doesn’t roll out a national strategy for advancing the technology. That might leave that norm setting to China and other nations that are less focused on privacy and individual rights.

“As we continue to apply AI to new fields, ethical dilemmas will arise and the answers will not be clearly defined,” Hurd wrote. “The nations choosing to invest in AI now are deciding these norms for the rest of the world, with or without the U.S.”

Coming Up

It’s a light tech and cyber week on the Hill.

At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee will explore broadband availability on tribal lands.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee will discuss broadband opportunities and challenges in rural America.