Policy

Senators Call for FTC to Investigate Amazon’s Echo Dot for Kids

Lawmakers want to know how the devices are using and storing children’s personal information.

Policy

CBO: Space Force Could Cost $3B Up Front, $1.3B Annually

The new independent analysis comes as lawmakers weigh the creation of a new branch of the military.

Digital Government

What Federal Employees Might Want to Know Before Blowing the Whistle to Congress

Volume of disclosures rises when congressional oversight dominates the news, watchdog notes in new primer.

Modernization

Oracle Makes More Allegations in JEDI Lawsuit

Oracle filed a 125-page amended complaint with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Policy

Lawmakers Demand Details on NSA’s Sweeping Phone Surveillance Operations

The Call Detail Record program, which scoops up the phone records of millions of Americans, is set to expire at the end of 2019.

Digital Government

OPM Nominee Defends Tenure at Labor Authority, Commits to Working with Lawmakers on GSA Merger

Dale Cabaniss dismissed her record-low employee morale scores at FLRA as backlash to efforts to make the agency “more fair” and effective.

Digital Government

Why Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Striking

Uber and Lyft drivers plan to protest and picket this week. From companies, they want better wages and working conditions. From cities, they want regulations.

Policy

Contractors Advise Lawmakers on How to Reduce Pain During the Next Shutdown

House Democrats’ field hearing spotlights suffering from the most recent lapse in appropriations as message to colleagues.

Modernization

The Pentagon’s Software Buying Has Been Outdated Since 1987

The Defense Department needs to rethink how it buys and develops software, according to Defense Innovation Board report.

Modernization

Watchdog: OPM CIO Isn’t Exercising Enough Authority Over IT Budgets

Department IT leadership was given significant budgetary authority under FITARA, but the government’s human resources department hasn’t been applying them properly, according to the inspector general.

Policy

Instagram and Facebook Ban Far-Right Extremists

Alex Jones, Infowars, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, Paul Nehlen, and Louis Farrakhan have all been removed from the platforms.

Policy

Shifting the Pentagon’s Employee Training to OPM Could Save Millions

The move also establishes the Defense Department as a petri dish for OPM to obtain more data on how employees learn and where more training is needed.

Policy

Senate Reintroduces Federal Agency Customer Experience Act

The bill, which cleared the Senate in 2017 and the House in 2018, again has House sponsors.

Ideas

The End of Cyberspace

Internet theorists and companies once declared themselves free of nations and governance, but that’s all over now.

Modernization

GSA Unveils Key Tenets of Governmentwide E-Commerce Pilot

The implementation plan outlines three major policies that will inform their initial version of the portal, which is scheduled to launch in late 2019.

Cybersecurity

Trump Signs Executive Order to Boost Federal Cyber Workforce

Initiatives include cyber aptitude assessments for agency insiders and a President’s Cup cybersecurity competition.

Policy

As Feds Expand Guest Worker Visas, Many Companies Say More Still Needed

Competition is stiff for businesses seeking H-2B visas. And the worker shortages have been felt all over the country, in a range of industries.