Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have introduced the American Telecommunications Security Act that would prohibit Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies seen as national security threats, including Huawei and ZTE. […]
The much-anticipated $1 trillion Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill unveiled on August 1 shows big cybersecurity funding wins for state and local governments with a $1 billion for a cybersecurity grant program, and electric utilities that will be receiving $1.25 billion through a cybersecurity grant program to protect the electric grid. […]
On July 29, the House cleared a $600 billion package of seven spending bills, including the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that includes $50 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). […]
The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems approved the subcommittee’s markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 28, and the bill will now move to the full committee for consideration. […]
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved four technology and innovation-related bills by voice vote during a markup session on July 27. The committee’s vote sends these four bills to the House floor for further consideration. […]
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., has filed companion legislation in the House to a Senate bill introduced in June that would invest $30 billion in deferred maintenance projects and infrastructure improvements at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) network of National Labs. […]
New bicameral legislation was introduced July 22 by various members of the House and Senate that would provide $40 billion over five years to extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that was created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. […]
The Senate Armed Services Committee said on June 22 it completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a $1 billion increase in funds for programs developing AI, microelectronics, advanced materials, 5G, and biotechnology. […]
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate July 21 would require Federal agencies, government contractors, and critical infrastructure owners and operators to report cyber intrusions within 24 hours of discovery. […]
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved six cybersecurity and supply chain-related bills during a markup session on July 21. The committee’s vote sends these bills to the House floor for further consideration. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on July 20 approved and sent to the full House for consideration several bills with Federal tech implications, including measures dealing with artificial intelligence oversight, and Federal hiring for several classes of technology positions. […]
New bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate this week would staff the newly-created Office of National Cyber Director (NCD) and authorize non-reimbursable detailees for NCD to support coordinating national cybersecurity policy and strategy. […]
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved H.R. 550, the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021 during a markup session on July 21. The committee’s vote sends the bill to the House floor for further consideration. […]
The FedRAMP Authorization Act sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., has been nearly four years in the making without crossing the goal line. But after the House approved the bill earlier this year, Rep. Connolly said today that the House is “working in lockstep” with Senate colleagues to hopefully pass the bill in 2021. […]
Without a secure, reliable, and trustworthy digital identity system for people, entities, and things, the increasingly digital new reality is vulnerable to attacks, threatening individual safety and national security. […]
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, reintroduced the Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act on July 14, which requires government agencies to establish COVID-19 safety plans to protect Federal workers returning to the office. […]
Bicameral, bipartisan legislation introduced by four lawmakers this week aims to create international security standards with American allies for emerging technology research such as AI and quantum science. […]
Senate-approved legislation that would boost Federal funding for U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing and provide the National Science Foundation (NSF) with another $52 billion over five years for research initiatives received strong endorsements from private sector witnesses at a July 15 Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing. […]
A House Appropriations subcommittee late Monday approved the just-released Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022. […]
Republican members of Congress have written separate letters to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressing concerns about the companies’ collection of data on students, among other issues. […]
The House Appropriations Committee agreed with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) $4.8 billion IT systems budget request for Fiscal Year 2022, but cut $26 million from the VA’s request for funding for its electronic health records (EHR) project. […]
Reps. Bill Foster, D-Ill., John Katko, R-N.Y., Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., have introduced legislation that aims to modernize the United States’ digital identity infrastructure and protect Americans from having their personal information stolen. […]
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., have introduced a bill that would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to study the risks and benefits of allowing private organizations to respond in kind to cyberattacks. […]
For once, the biggest problem with engineering effective IT modernization may not boil down to a lack of money to tackle the job. That conclusion was a top-line takeaway from Republicans, Democrats, and private sector experts at a hearing of the House Government Operations Subcommittee hearing today on how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed state and local governments’ antiquated IT systems, and what governments should do about it now that pandemic conditions are easing in many areas. […]
The House of Representatives on Monday evening passed by wide margins two potential and complementary alternatives to the Senate-approved United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (USICA), both of which would funnel tens of billions of new research funding to Federal government agencies. […]
President Biden on June 26 pledged his support for a separate voting track in Congress for legislation containing a $1.2 trillion compromise infrastructure agreement that the White House reached last week with a bipartisan group of senators. […]
Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., is calling on Inspectors General (IGs) from select agencies to assess the impact of telework agency missions, employee performance, and service during the pandemic. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved by voice vote the Biden administration’s nominees to lead the General Services Administration (GSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and to take the role of National Cyber Director. […]
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Angus King, I-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill that aims to close the digital divide and promote “digital equity” utilizing $250 million in annual grants, according to a press release. […]
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., introduced a bill that, if passed, would commission a study on blockchain technology and digital currency, and another on how artificial intelligence (AI) can aid the Consumer Product Safety Commission. […]