Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy
Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Health Care Center

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prepares to resume the rollout of its Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging the VA to update the program’s modernization life cycle cost estimate and schedule. […]

Sen. Jerry Moran

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to cut 15 percent of its workforce, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, announced on Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation to ensure the VA remains “well-staffed.” […]

CISA

The White House has officially nominated Sean Plankey to become the next director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is a component of the Department of Homeland Security. […]

As a former senior Social Security Administration (SSA) official is claiming that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut cybersecurity and privacy corners when accessing sensitive data at the agency, a Federal judge is requiring DOGE to take steps to release its internal documents that will shed more light on how the White House department operates. […]

The inspector general (IG) of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said his office is taking a look into the impact that the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is having on cybersecurity and data privacy practices at OPM.   […]

Treasury

Ryan Riedel, who was named chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Energy (DoE) in early February, has stepped down from that position and returned to Elon Musk’s SpaceX where he has held senior technology roles since 2020, a knowledgeable source told MeriTalk. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is planning to roll out its Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program to nine additional medical facilities in 2026, bringing the total number of deployment sites in 2026 to 13. […]

General Services Administration GSA

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on March 5 that the agency will be conducting a review of the Federal government’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program with an aim to provide internet access for the lowest cost. […]

VA, Veterans Affairs

A recent Federal watchdog report is urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to pause further investments in the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) laser communications technology until it can provide more evidence of its effectiveness in space. […]

DoD
General Services Administration GSA

The General Services Administration (GSA) has shut down its 18F organization, a digital consulting office created during the Obama administration to partner with agencies to help them build or buy technology services. […]

IRS

Melanie Krause, who currently serves as chief operating officer at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has been named the tax agency’s commissioner – the title that heads the agency – on an acting basis.   […]

Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), told lawmakers this week that his agency is preparing to potentially take President Donald Trump to court over his efforts to freeze Federal funding for programs that Congress has already approved. […]

Karen Evans

Long-time Federal government IT and cybersecurity leader Karen Evans has been named executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a CISA official confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is instructing Federal agencies to consider reclassifying “career reserved” Senior Executive Service (SES) positions as “general,” giving them until March 24 to review and revise a list of SES positions. […]

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told most civilian Federal agencies today to get their Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans (ARRFs) wrapped up by March 13, and instructed that those plans should feature a “significant reduction” in full-time employees achieved by eliminating positions “that are not required.” […]

EHR, electronic health record

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), and VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) told lawmakers on Monday afternoon that it will be “impossible” to complete the VA’s Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program on its current timeline. […]

CISA

Troy Edgar, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told lawmakers today that he backs the administration’s decision to disband the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), adding that the board will be reinstated “at the right time.” […]

Biometrics

Former top Federal officials and travel leaders are calling on Congress and the White House to create an interagency task force to oversee national travel policy and increase the rollout of biometric security screening and other technology-driven capabilities across U.S. airports.  […]

Treasury

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