Acquisition

House Oversight lawmaker probes government purchase of Chinese security cameras

A letter to the General Services Administration's CIO asks why he signed off on the equipment purchase, despite alternatives being available.

Policy

Section 702 renewal could pass in funding bill, sources say

Backers of 702 reauthorization in the House Intelligence committee will likely use recent news of classified intelligence gathered using the surveillance power as a way to convince colleagues to support its renewal.

Defense

US reviews export controls in Britain, Australia for high-tech arms sales exemptions

A State Dept. official told a House panel that work to align AUKUS partners with U.S. export control requirements is ‘going very well'.

Digital Government

Senate bill proposes a public website for federal waterway data

New legislation from Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Angus King, I-Maine, would direct the Commerce Department to make “geographic information system data” on federal waterways available on a public website.

Emerging Tech

Senate lawmakers look to set standards for educating America’s AI workforce

New legislation would model emerging tech training on processes used to establish NIST’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.

Digital Government

Senators look to harden the unemployment system for the next crisis

The White House-backed framework for forthcoming unemployment insurance legislation will retool the way states go after fraud and allows for for oversight of federal investments in UI systems and technology.

Digital Government

House and Senate panels advance bills targeting federal tech

Bipartisan bills focused on government service delivery, contracting, custom code and more have recently been advanced out of committee.

Cybersecurity

Senators want NIST to create cyber guidelines for agencies’ use of civilian drones

The new bipartisan bill would also require that every agency using civilian drones “implement policies and principles based on the NIST guidelines.”

Artificial Intelligence

AI regulation will come from existing frameworks — not a new agency — lawmakers say

A single, overarching AI regulation package or a new AI regulatory agency is unlikely to emerge from Congress, members said.

Artificial Intelligence

House lawmakers say existing regulatory powers can police generative AI abuse

Reps. Marcus Molinaro and Don Beyer discussed how legislative action – on a state and federal level – is needed to continue to police new generative artificial intelligence usage.

Emerging Tech

Autonomous tech featured in Senate border and foreign aid bill 

The Senate’s proposed $118 billion immigration and foreign aid package includes more than $260 million to deploy emerging technologies to secure the border.

Policy

Proposal to broaden CBO’s access to government data gets legs in the House

The bill introduced in the House this week would exempt the Congressional Budget Office from data sharing restrictions in the Privacy Act.

Artificial Intelligence

Lawmakers seek to probe AI’s environmental impacts

A new bill would bring together the EPA and NIST to help Congress understand how AI is negatively or positively impacting the environment.

Cybersecurity

Biden to veto any efforts to shutter SEC cyber disclosure rules

The SEC argues the disclosure rule forces firms to be more transparent with investors. Opponents say it may compromise sensitive business data and publicize vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity

Cyber, intelligence chiefs urge U.S. to strengthen against Chinese cyber threats

In a collective call to action, officials warned of invasive actions that China-backed hackers can take against U.S. infrastructure and elections.

Cybersecurity

Top cyber, intelligence chiefs to call out China as leading cyber threat

Researchers and officials have previously designated China as a clandestine, preparatory operator in cyberspace, quietly breaching and securing systems to use to their advantage at a later time.

Acquisition

Agencies are losing out on software savings, GAO finds

Agencies don’t have the right data and aren’t always checking to make sure they’re not over- or under-purchasing software licenses, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

Artificial Intelligence

VA should establish an AI disclosure process, Republican lawmaker says

Though the Department of Veterans Affairs has already made “admirable” use of artificial intelligence, transparency “has got to be elevated to a top priority,” according to Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.