Modernization

Technology-Focused Bills Advance Through Senate, House Committees

A bevy of pending legislation aimed at technological modernization moved through Congressional chambers on Wednesday with broad bipartisan backing.

Modernization

Army Advocates More Funding for Modernization in Tech, Data and Weaponry

Officials testified before a Senate committee to ask for federal funding specifically to modernize and keep up with opponents like Russia and China.

Policy

U.S. Spy Chief Reiterates ‘Overclassification’ Concerns

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testified Tuesday before the Senate.

Artificial Intelligence

Senate Bill to Train Acquisition Workforce on AI gets House Counterpart

The AI Training Act, which passed the Senate last December now has a House companion from Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and James Comer (R-Ky.).

Modernization

House Legislation Aims to Support U.S.-Made Circuit Boards

New bipartisan legislation falls in line with other bills aimed at promoting U.S. manufacturing of printed circuit boards and other critical electronic input materials.

Policy

Senator Calls on Biden to Fill OSTP Leadership Role

The Biden Administration has not put forth a nominee for the Cabinet level position.

Emerging Tech

Bill Wants More Federal R&D In Blockchain Ledger Technology

The National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act, introduced Tuesday, aims to allocate government resources to help the U.S. establish leadership with distributed ledger technologies.

Digital Government

FBI Ran Over 3 Million Searches on Americans' Electronic Data

Using data harvested by Section 702, the FBI published an approximation of how many searches it ran on Americans’ data for the first time.

Modernization

GPO Says Improved Bill Processing Hinges On New Tech, Gov’t Employee Enthusiasm

Government Publishing Office Director Hugh Halpern testified during a hearing on modernizing the legislative process and highlighted his office’s plans to streamline the production of bills.

Modernization

Lawmakers Quiz VA, Cerner Staff on Major EHR Problems

A House Veterans’ Affairs hearing examined why the agency’s EHR rollout continues to struggle, with lawmakers demanding Cerner address safety issues.

Emerging Tech

Lawmaker Argues for Quantum-Level Security in a Pre-Quantum World

New legislation advocates safeguarding U.S. online networks with quantum-resistant encryption as a preemptive cybersecurity measure.

Digital Government

House Subcommittee Requests More Frequent American Income Data

The Subcommittee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth asked for greater data releases in a bid to close wealth gaps.

Emerging Tech

Bipartisan Legislation Calls for Implementing Post-Quantum Security Practices

The new Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act would prepare for stronger quantum algorithms that pose a threat to traditionally-encrypted data.

Digital Government

IRS Marks the Annual Tax Filing Deadline With a Plea for More Funding

Chronic underfunding has hurt the tax agency's ability to modernize, says a top official, who wrote that the U.S. tax system "is a tax system where ripped paper returns are literally pieced together with scotch tape."

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers Weighing Critical Infrastructure Designation for Major Cloud Service Providers

Rep. Jim Langevin and others are working on bipartisan legislation to be introduced this summer that truly reflects the Solarium Commission’s agreement on benefits and burdens for systemically important private-sector entities.

Cybersecurity

FCC Chair Claims Cybersecurity Role Congress Crafted for CISA

The commission is joining the fray in a budding turf fight at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that also involves sector risk management agencies like the Department of Energy.

Digital Government

Senate Confirms Laurie Locascio to Lead Tech Standards Agency

The bioengineering professor and NIST alum was nominated by President Biden back in 2021.