Policy

White House announces almost $100M in commitments to expand pool of tech talent

Arati Prabhakar, the director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the government’s adoption of emerging capabilities “hinges on getting terrific people to come do this work.”

Updated Policy

How federal agencies are responding to the Trump assassination attempt

FBI, Secret Service and others are taking a lead role and deploying personnel in response to Saturday's shooting.

Policy

Russian influence operations ‘preeminent threat’ to November election, officials warn

Moscow appears to continue favoring Donald Trump, while other nations will aim to sow divisional chaos online or sway broader geopolitical discussions.

Policy

Feds are still slated for a 2% average pay raise in 2025 per House appropriations bill

The House Appropriations Committee advanced legislation Thursday that failed to override President Biden’s 2025 pay plan.

Policy

Prodded by fed up parents, some in Congress try to curb kids’ use of social media

Lawmakers are seeking to set a minimum age to access social media and put more of the onus on social media companies and their algorithms, while also giving parents more controls in trying to protect their kids online.

Policy

VA says it's seeing more patients than ever and cutting wait times for them

Staffing and productivity gains will allow VA to continue functioning more efficiently while avoiding burnout, official says.

Policy

Lawmakers update proposal to cut down on billions in improper payments

Agencies would be required to include details on their anti-fraud controls and fraud risk management work in annual financial reports.

Policy

Large-language models demand huge amounts of data. Lawmakers want to know what that means for user privacy

A bipartisan effort is underway in the House and Senate to pass national data privacy standards, but Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and others are concerned that companies are pushing back on data minimization in the race to field AI applications.

Policy

Bipartisan group looks to push IRS towards simpler math error notices

The IRS MATH Act would require the tax agency to send more specific, straightforward notices when it corrects simple math errors on tax returns.

Policy

Biden signs extension of controversial spying program into 2026

The Section 702 authorities were reauthorized without the addition of a warrant requirement to review the communications of Americans caught up in foreign surveillance.

Policy

House advances spy power reauthorization bill without warrant measure

The bill — which represents a win for Biden administration policy objectives — will now be taken up in the Senate, with a week to go before the authority sunsets.

Policy

Section 702 renewal has support in Congress, but intelligence officials are leery of warrant measure

The disputed surveillance authority expires April 19, and the intelligence community is sending a full-court press to keep it from garnering significant privacy reforms.

Policy

OPM issues its final rule for Schedule F protections

The federal HR agency finalized its rule offering protections for career civil servants meant to safeguard against the potential reemergence of the Trump-era Schedule F policy.

Policy

US targets 6 to 8 month timeframe for new nations to join spyware pact

Six new countries joined the agreement last week, and the State Department was working behind the scenes to initially get more signed on.

Policy

US sanctions Kremlin-backed firms for operating network of fake news sites

The disinformation campaign was deployed in Fall 2022, and shows how Russia’s private sector easily works with the government on disinformation operations.

Policy

Lawmakers propose a new federal office to regulate workplace surveillance tech

The new bill from Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., would also establish new employee rights and employer transparency rules around surveillance.

Policy

Biden's $1.67 trillion budget boosts tech, AI

The Biden administration’s FY2025 budget request provides agencies with $3 billion “to responsibly develop, test, procure and integrate transformative AI applications across the federal government.”

Policy

VA budget bill maintains EHR funding but imposes additional ‘reset’ oversight

The bipartisan FY24 budget package allocates over $1.3 billion for the agency’s new electronic health record system but makes 25% of that funding contingent on enhanced transparency around VA’s ongoing EHR “program reset.”

Policy

Biden admin to seek surveillance court blessing to renew Section 702 program through next year

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will receive the White House filing next month.