Modernization

Lawmakers want more complete phone encryption on Capitol Hill

Privacy hawk Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is leading the charge to make sure phone traffic between House and Senate offices is encrypted.

Digital Government

$3T COVID relief bill includes tech money and restructures health acquisition

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, proposed by House Democrats, calls for far more than additional stimulus checks and emergency funding for state and local governments. FCW breaks down the provisions.

Modernization

In COVID relief, lawmakers look to help states with legacy IT

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging House leaders to include funding for states to modernize their technology infrastructure with an eye to a cloud-first approach, shared services that deliver functionality to cities and towns and some oversight of state technology plans as a condition of receiving funding.

Cybersecurity

ODNI shakes up cyber structure

A consolidation of the cyber offices at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is just one piece of a sweeping re-org announced by the spy agency late Friday that includes the elimination of one of four directorates.

Acquisition

Infrastructure readiness lags behind VA health record plans

The first go-live date for the Cerner health record at a VA facility was delayed first because of readiness problems and then because of COVID-19 pandemic, but an oversight report indicates that infrastructure woes plagued the project almost from the beginning.

People

Feds caught up in Trump's meat processing order

The executive order declaring meat processing plants as critical infrastructure means that federal food inspectors must visit plants that had been closed by their owners for safety reasons.

People

IRS recalls certain mission-critical employees for tax season

The tax agency is putting distancing measures into place and requiring employees to wear face coverings on the job.

Modernization

Judge gives DOD the chance for a second look at some aspects of the JEDI award

The Pentagon is getting the chance for a do-over of some aspects of its controversial $10 billion cloud award to Microsoft.

Modernization

DOD watchdog can't prove White House interference in $10B JEDI award

An oversight report found several missteps and cases of ethical misconduct, but could not substantiate allegations of White House interference in the award of the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract to Microsoft.

Acquisition

FAA asks employees to round up N95 masks, other PPE

The Federal Aviation Administration put out an email blast to employees at field offices and airport facilities on April 8 looking for medical supplies to share out to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Digital Government

VA delays Cerner health record deployment

The Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying the rollout of its $16 billion health record modernization project so that the health system serving 9 million veterans can focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acquisition

Legacy systems crumble under high demand

Unemployment insurance and other social safety net IT systems around the county are crumbling under the stress of millions of users seeking to apply for benefits in the wake of unprecedented unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital Government

VA health record go-live pushed back to July

The Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying a planned initial deployment of its $16 billion electronic health record project by four months, but is promising added functionality at the go-live date.

Modernization

AWS looks to expand record in JEDI lawsuit

A recent filing also takes a hard look at the timing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper's recusal in the case.

Cybersecurity

Schumer to TSA: Delete your (TikTok) account

The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, TSA's parent agency, have already banned the video-sharing app from federally owned devices, citing risks associated with TikTok's Chinese ownership.

Modernization

Senate panel passes VA tech oversight bill

In the wake of the Department of Veterans Affairs' delay of the initial go-live date of its $16 billion electronic health record modernization system, a Senate committee has passed a bill that requires the agency to be more transparent about the status of big-ticket IT projects.

Modernization

Esper: No White House pressure on JEDI

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that he "never felt pressure from the White House" with regard to the award to Microsoft of the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract.

Modernization

How DOD plans to automate classified cloud provisioning

The Pentagon wants to automate cloud provisioning at the classified level, and a stop-work order on its $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud program won't help, the department said.

Modernization

VA looks to boost health record spend to modernize infrastructure

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an 82% increase in 2021 spending on the massive electronic health record modernization as part of a move to increase the tempo of the project, account for infrastructure gaps and implement a scheduling solution.