Digital Government

House Dems seek $1B for IRS to improve access to child tax credit

The IRS had come under criticism for an online tool targeting the neediest recipients of advance child tax credit payments that was not mobile-friendly and lacked non-English language resources.

Cybersecurity

Chris Inglis scopes out cyber turf

The newly installed National Cyber Director offered his take on the roles and responsibilities of his office, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Council and agency IT and security operations in responding to federal cyber incidents.

Modernization

GSA names Raylene Yung as next TMF executive director

In her new role, Yung will help federal agencies with critical IT and cybersecurity investments through the Technology Modernization Fund.

Cybersecurity

White House hits the gas on zero trust

Newly released strategy and technical guidance documents covering zero trust and cloud security are open for comment as part of a federal push to improve federal government cybersecurity.

Digital Government

White House names Mina Hsiang to lead USDS

Mina Hsiang is the first woman and first Asian-American to lead the innovation shop. She was part of the U.S. Digital Service when it was launched after the troubled Healthcare.gov rollout.

Digital Government

Bill would require big social platforms to support data mobility

Under the bill, the Federal Trade Commission would assess data interoperability for platforms with more than 100 million monthly users.

Acquisition

Where does the TMF Board go from here?

With a $1 billion cash infusion, relaxed repayment guidelines and a surge in proposals from federal agencies, questions have been raised about whether the board overseeing the Technology Modernization Fund has been scaled to cope with its newfound popularity.

Digital Government

IG reports delays in COVID notification in GSA facilities

A report from the General Services Administration's Office of the Inspector General says the agency's Public Buildings Services at times failed to follow CDC guidelines around reporting and cleaning procedures for COVID-19 incidents.

Acquisition

TMF, cyber EO drive modernization at Labor, CIO says

The unprecedented investment in IT and cybersecurity resources have provided agencies like the Department of Labor with a historic opportunity to tackle some of their loftiest modernization plans.

Modernization

Pilot IRS awards five scanning contracts

The IRS is using an innovative procurement program to test and deploy experimental solutions to digitize paper files as part of an agencywide effort to reduce the reliance on non-machine-readable documentation.

Acquisition

IRS looks to experiment with augmented reality

Taxpayers might soon be able to file their financial documents with the help of AR capabilities thanks to an experimental procurement technique the IRS is using to test and deploy innovative technologies and solutions.

People

How an IRS hiring blitz can help pave the way for IT modernization

The tax agency's chief procurement officer says she's on a mission to find top talent to work with industry while modernizing the agency's acquisition processes amid a ballooning tax gap.

Digital Government

Treasury taps Code for America for tax credit tool

The administration is getting a head start on releasing a permanent, multilingual, mobile-friendly tool for non-filers to sign up for its expanded CTC program with the help of the civic technology non-profit Code for America.

People

HHS mandates COVID vaccine for its public-facing clinicians

Nearly 25,000 HHS employees will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a surge in national infections, Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on Thursday.

Modernization

State Department expands push to the cloud

The State Department wants to go all in on the cloud, starting with a new multiplatform toolset to add flexibility and innovation to IT services.

Acquisition

OMB report highlights major barriers to equity in federal programs

Onerous paperwork, complex requirements and opaque guidelines are just some of the many roadblocks preventing racial equity across government services, a new report says.

Cybersecurity

CISA launches new initiative to combat ransomware

The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) will allow the federal government and corporate partners share information to combat ransomware.

Cybersecurity

Labor Department moves toward zero trust

Labor Department CISO Paul Blahusch detailed how his agency ramped up its implementation efforts around zero trust in recent months, from establishing an entirely new team to proposing a project for the Technology Modernization Fund.

Cybersecurity

National cyber director backs new Bureau of Cyber Statistics

The White House is still considering whether to support the Cyberspace Solarium Commission's recommendation to establish a Bureau of Cyber Statistics, National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said on Monday, while stressing the urgent need for the federal government to begin assessing and publishing data on cybersecurity incidents.

Cybersecurity

New report details America's water infrastructure cyber vulnerabilities

Water utilities across the country are plagued by a lack of cybersecurity funding and qualified personnel, a ThreatLocker report warns, as officials work to create new guidelines on securing critical infrastructure.