Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) acting administrator said today that modernization work on the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system is set to be complete by fiscal year 2025, but the agency is looking to accelerate that timeline. […]

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee kicked off its first hearing of the 118th Congress on Feb. 9 with a focus on strengthening airline operations by upgrading the sector’s IT systems and technology. […]

The pandemic-fueled expansion of unemployment insurance (UI) benefitted millions of Americans even as the programs became riddled with fraud, a senior Federal watchdog agency official said on Feb. 8 at a congressional hearing marked by contentious exchanges between Republicans and Democrats over more than $60 billion in fraudulent payments. […]

The newly constituted House Committee on Oversight and Accountability dedicated its first hearing of the 118th Congress on Feb. 1 to investigating fraud in the distribution of Federal COVID-19 relief funds, and committee leadership said that focus will continue down the road. […]

Gerry Connolly

The newly named House Oversight and Accountability Committee – formerly known as the House Oversight and Reform Committee – has officially split its Government Operations Subcommittee into two new subcommittees with focuses on tech issues and Federal government workforce. […]

Communications sector experts from the private, nonprofit, and state government sectors told senators on Dec. 13 that the “once-in-a-generation” broadband expansion funding approved last year by Congress will only close the digital divide when underserved communities gain full connectivity – but there are still many obstacles to overcome in reaching that goal. […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 17 held a hearing to consider the nominations of three White House picks for senior positions at the Department of Energy (DoE) that would oversee the agency’s cybersecurity efforts and clean energy goals. […]

Senate hearing Congressional-min

Richard Revesz – President Biden’s nominee to become the Administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – told senators at a September 29 nomination hearing that he is targeting updates to existing regulatory analysis standards if he is confirmed to the new post. […]

Officials from academia and the private sectors told senators last week that the United States needs to speed its efforts to develop advanced technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science (QIS), and distributed ledger tech (DLT) – to stay ahead of rapid development in those areas by China. […]

NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is on track to release the first version of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risk Management Framework by January 2023, NIST’s IT Laboratory Chief of Staff told lawmakers on Thursday. […]

military healthcare, veterans healthcare

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., reintroduced the Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act for the third time in hopes that the bill designed to protect Federal employees during health emergencies will finally pass the Senate. […]

Senate hearing Congressional-min

Witnesses at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on September 14 urged action by lawmakers to wall off access to personal data of United States citizens by foreign powers who are hostile toward the U.S. […]

CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is working closely with industry and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to finalize its cyber performance goals, an agency official told lawmakers on September 15. […]

Army
taxes, IRS

As the IRS faces a backlog of about 23.5 million tax returns and pieces of correspondence stretching back to the 2020 tax season, members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee called on the agency Thursday to modernize its IT systems and invest in scanning technology to improve efficiency. […]

USPS Postal Service

Leaders of the House Oversight and Reform Committee are launching an investigation into identity verification contractor ID.me, citing concerns about the efficacy, security, and privacy of its facial recognition technology that is used by millions of Americans seeking access to government services. […]

Critical infrastructure
Senate hearing Congressional-min

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved legislation on March 30 that would jumpstart IT modernization efforts for Federal agencies – but at the same time rejected an amendment to the bill that would help pay for that effort. […]

Capitol snow day winter-min

Two key Biden administration nominations to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) failed to win approval today from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, as the committee deadlocked with 7-7 votes on both nominations. […]

chips

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, this week urged Congress to move toward final passage of legislation that would provide $52 billion of funding to reinvigorate the U.S. semiconductor industry and aid the domestic automotive industry. […]

While Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs fear cryptocurrency could be used to help Russia evade economic sanctions, witnesses at a hearing on March 17 reminded lawmakers how crypto is being used for good, providing over $55 million to Ukraine for much needed humanitarian aid and supplies. […]

cellphone
Senate hearing Congressional-min

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