Updated Digital Government

Benefits.gov to shutter in September

The Labor Department’s benefits-focused website dates back to 2002.

Digital Government

DOD OIG-hosted Ukraine oversight webpage gets an upgrade

A group of inspectors general made three new changes to the site that provides transparency into ongoing federal operations in Ukraine.

Digital Government

VA extends PACT Act filing deadline after website glitches

The Department of Veterans Affairs is giving eligible veterans an extra week to announce their intention to submit claims under a law that expands benefits for exposure to toxic substances.

Digital Government

CDC rolls out new COVID-19 website

The reworked COVID-19 website is part of a larger push to make the public health agency’s web presence easier to navigate, with plans to relaunch CDC.gov early next year.

Digital Government

GSA: Odd Email About Changes to SAM Registration Info Was a Glitch, Not a Hack

The agency said the emails were generated in error and likely unrelated to the unscheduled downtime Wednesday morning.

Digital Government

After a Decade of Noncompliance, DOJ Issues Report on Federal Website Accessibility

The release of the Justice Department’s first Section 508 report since 2012 comes after lawmakers raised bipartisan concerns about agencies’ continued inability to meet federal technology accessibility standards.

Digital Government

New Transportation Dashboard Informs Travelers of Services Offered During Flight Disruptions

The airline customer service dashboard shows passengers the compensatory amenities offered by major U.S. airlines when flights are delayed or canceled.

Modernization

CISA Seeks Software Engineers to Build New Registrar for .Gov Domain

The agency is taking new hiring authorities out for a spin in the recruitment effort to make state and local government websites more secure

Digital Government

Traffic Overwhelms Student Loan Sites Following Biden’s Debt Relief Announcement

Student loan company Nelnet said providers received no advance warning about the White House’s loan forgiveness plan, contributing to confusion and site outages.

Modernization

Lack of Oversight Continues to Harm Accessibility of Federal Websites, Senators Say

DOJ has not issued reports on federal agencies’ compliance with accessibility standards in a decade, despite many federal websites still remaining inaccessible.

Digital Government

Biden Administration Unveils Website to Help Combat Extreme Heat Conditions

Heat.gov includes interactive maps, forecasts and other resources to help officials and the general public cope with high temperatures.

Cybersecurity

GSA Seeks Comments on Transfer of .Gov Domain to Cybersecurity Agency

The government’s site for managing government websites—dotgov.gov— may temporarily go down for maintenance as officials make the switch.

Digital Government

Pentagon Removes Thousands of Images of the War in Afghanistan from Website

The move, which officials said is temporary, was prompted by concerns that the Taliban would retaliate against Afghans depicted in them, the Defense Department said.

Ideas

College Cost Calculators Aren’t Precise, but They Could Easily Be Made Better

College expenses determined by net price calculators can vary by an average of $5,700.

Digital Government

GSA Wants a Real Person Associated With Every SAM Registration Before Fiscal Year’s End

Every organization doing business with the government will have to name a real person as account administrator and go through a three-point ID proofing process.

Digital Government

GSA Needs Users to Test SAM.gov Ahead of DUNS Transition

Unique Entity IDs are being issued now and the General Services Administration team wants help testing the system that assigns and manages the new identifier.

Modernization

Report: Agencies Failing to Comply With IDEA Act

Federal agencies are not going digital as quickly as they should be, according to a report.

Ideas

The Internet Archive Has Been Fighting for 25 Years to Keep What’s on the Web from Disappearing – and You Can Help

People are warned that what they post on the internet will live forever. But that’s not really the case.