Digital Government
Trump’s 'big, beautiful bill' directs Treasury to find a replacement for Direct File
The IRS debuted Direct File — which enabled taxpayers to file online with the agency for free — as a pilot in 2024 and it received largely positive reviews from those that used it.
VA is overlooking accessibility requirements when procuring IT, watchdog says
VA’s Office of Inspector General said the agency “did not establish a control environment that makes accessibility a priority” when it acquires new systems.
Portal of federal employment metrics to get a facelift, OPM announces
The announcement comes months after the removal of race and ethnicity data from the statistics about federal employees.
Mass layoffs likely to remain blocked, for now, thanks to a Supreme Court footnote
The Trump administration is cheering a SCOTUS ruling and its impact on the federal workforce, but attorneys on a key reduction-in-force case say its impact on feds is currently limited.
SSA head wants to beef up agency tech as it sheds thousands of staff
Some experts are skeptical that technology can make up for staffing losses in critical parts of the agency.
Lawmakers spar over DOGE as Republicans look to lock in cuts
Republicans again blocked an attempt to subpoena billionaire and former DOGE leader Elon Musk.
Lawmakers propose digital delivery option for GI Bill documents
Bipartisan legislation seeks to provide veterans and their beneficiaries with the ability to receive electronic correspondence about their GI Bill education benefits.
IRS isn’t sufficiently checking the performance of its identity proofing vendor
The identity validation service, ID.me, is the only option for taxpayers looking to access the more sensitive online services offered by the IRS.
Civic tech leaders worry DOGE is ‘tarnishing’ its tools to improve government
USDS, the White House team DOGE took over in January, was a flagship civic tech organization. Six months later, civic tech is figuring out what’s next.
Trump guts Biden-era digital identity policies, citing false claims about immigrants
The rollback of policies that were intended to help counter fraud comes even as the Trump administration says that fighting fraud is a top priority.
Exclusive
Direct File is 'beloved by its users,' internal IRS report says
The IRS is reportedly ending the Direct File, but a report obtained via the Freedom of Information Act says that 94% of users rated their experience as “excellent” or “above average.”
USDA wants to modernize farmer services, even as staffing cuts could hurt the effort
The department plans to digitize farmer-facing applications that are still on paper.
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VA now has ‘100% visibility’ into its software license inventory, official says
Jeff VanBemmel, director of end user operations at VA’s Office of Information and Technology, told lawmakers that the department’s total inventory of software licenses includes 4,433 commercial off-the-shelf products and another 224 software-as-a-service offerings.
GSA, Salesforce agree to major Slack discounts for government
The General Service Administration announced another cost-savings offering through its OneGov effort.
Legislative watchdog rebuffs DOGE efforts to install on-site team
“DOGE’s attempted intrusion into an independent, nonpartisan legislative branch agency is a direct assault on our nation’s sacred separation of powers,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
SSA changes phone fraud policies after finding very little fraud
The change follows reporting by Nextgov/FCW about the policy and its contributions to a slowdown in retirement claims processing.
Exclusive
DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none
Since SSA installed new anti-fraud checks on claims made over the phone, only two claims out of over 110,000 were found to likely be fraudulent, according to internal documents obtained by Nextgov/FCW.
Republicans want Treasury to study free tax filing options — again
The reconciliation text being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee includes $15 million for the IRS to study how to give Americans free ways to file their taxes that would replace both the Free File and Direct File programs.
Federal retirement applications to go fully electronic next month
DOGE has touted the announcement as a win, but development and testing for the new Online Retirement Application began under the previous administration, per past budget requests.
Senate Dems press HHS over cuts to suicide lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth program
A leaked HHS FY26 budget proposal includes a measure to defund the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services pilot program.
