Artificial Intelligence
Use AI to fight AI-generated election threats, report recommends
Hyperlocal voter suppression, language-based influence operations and deepfakes were listed as the most likely AI-generated threats to upcoming elections.
Modernization
VA still needs to shore up usability of new EHR system, GAO says
More than one-third of the government watchdog's priority open recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs have to do with improving oversight and management of the new electronic health record system.
Modernization
Lawmakers look to restore TSA funding to speed screening tech deployment
The measure is one of three bipartisan proposals rolled out this week that seek to bolster funding for TSA’s deployment of new technologies and to limit invasive pat-downs of travelers.
Emerging Tech
Bipartisan House bill seeks to reauthorize federal counter-drone authority
A proposal to extend the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice’s authority to mitigate threats from unmanned aircraft systems would also grant new counter-drone abilities to the FAA.
Defense
Pentagon’s AI office awards Palantir a contract to create a data-sharing ecosystem
The Pentagon’s marketplace for quickly onboarding new tech solutions helped Palantir receive its contract in 30 days.
Defense
Defense Digital Service directors tapped unauthorized tech without proper waivers, watchdog finds
The Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General found that former Defense Digital Service heads had “exposed DOD information to additional cybersecurity risk and increased the risk of compromise.”
Digital Government
HHS launches online tool to identify communities hit hardest by extreme heat
The heat and health index tool provides zip code level data to flag neighborhoods that are the most at risk of experiencing harmful health outcomes as a result of high temperatures.
People
VA's tech training program for vets is up for renewal, but backers want more accountability
A provision in a recently introduced legislative package would extend VA’s VET-TEC training program through September 2026 while seeking to address employment disparities.
Emerging Tech
NOAA looks to sharpen solar storm forecasts with new satellite
The agency’s GOES-U satellite, scheduled to launch next month, will include an advanced instrument, called a compact coronagraph, to provide scientists with faster, more reliable data about solar storms.
Cybersecurity
Watchdog calls out EPA for continued cybersecurity concerns
The EPA has still not implemented GAO’s 2019 recommendation to develop a process for conducting an organization-wide cybersecurity risk assessment.
Digital Government
DOD, VA need more data on how their toxic exposure tracking app is used, watchdog says
A report from the Government Accountability Office found that oversight of the joint system for centralizing toxic exposure records has fallen off, despite a growing influx of PACT Act-related claims.
Acquisition
VA extends Oracle's EHR contract for 1 month
Lawmakers are pressing for more accountability in the multibillion dollar contract amid delays, system downtime and patient safety concerns.
Artificial Intelligence
NASA is working to onboard AI tools
The space agency is testing a generative AI capability that officials expect to go live this summer with approvals to use sensitive internal data.
Digital Government
Automation helped VA approve 1 million PACT Act claims, officials say
The agency is relying on automated decision support and other optimization efforts to help process claims for veterans exposed to burn pits and other chemicals.
Artificial Intelligence
VA is already using AI to identify and assist veterans in crisis, officials say
The use of AI capabilities to review the agency’s surveys to veterans has helped save a couple thousand lives and helped another couple thousand retired servicemembers receive housing, according to VA’s chief veterans experience officer.
Emerging Tech
TSA’s biometrics deployment will take 25 years, unless lawmakers end fee diversion, agency head tells Congress
The Transportation Security Administration chief told lawmakers that it will take until 2049 to deploy facial recognition technology at U.S. airports if significant revenue from the 9/11 security fee continues to be diverted away from the agency.
Modernization
Proposed deep cuts to VA’s tech budget rankle lawmakers
The Biden administration’s FY25 budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs proposes steep cuts to the agency’s IT services, including a 99% reduction in VA’s development initiatives from FY24.
Modernization
Lawmakers propose more scrutiny of VA's new EHR, reauthorize VET-TEC program
The bipartisan legislative package includes new oversight metrics for VA’s Oracle Cerner electronic health record system but would end the modernization effort if facilities using the software don’t show improvement.
Artificial Intelligence
VA’s AI model to prevent suicides is a 'game changer,' official says
The REACH-VET program identifies roughly 6,700 retired servicemembers per month, according to a top lawmaker.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers want EAC to develop guidance on AI’s risk to elections
A recently proposed House bill would require the Election Assistance Commission to create voluntary guidelines for election offices addressing the risks posed by artificial intelligence technologies.
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