Digital Government
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USDA inches ahead in plan to secure EBT cards from skimming

The U.S. Agriculture Department doesn’t have a timeline for fully moving food assistance accounts to industry-standard chip cards, however, leaving beneficiaries vulnerable to digital theft.

White House probes the collision of AI and personal data

Policymakers are examining how the advent of artificial intelligence could create new privacy risks around the federal agency purchase and use of personal information from data brokers.

Why governments are ‘particularly well-positioned’ to offer identity validation

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, governments that use its guidance to offer attribute validation services may have to rely less often on commercial data for identity.

Hill Dems question IRS on identity verification requirements for Direct File

Taxpayers had to go through outsourced identity verification to use Direct File during the last tax season, a level of assurance the lawmakers note is not required for commercial tax prep companies.

GSA's Login to offer face recognition to customer agencies

Agencies using the government-created service will have the option to incorporate new face-matching capabilities or stick with existing offerings.

Bipartisan Senate duo seeks to push IRS customer service forward

The tax agency is already working on some of the items in the bill — like improving online accounts.

Agencies have struggled to meet IDEA Act requirements, watchdog finds

The Government Accountability Office found that only 70% of the 24 agencies covered by the IDEA Act submitted annual reports between December 2019 and December 2023.

IRS Direct File to be available in 24 states next year

The agency is also expanding the scope of tax situations the tool will cover.

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GSA's identity service on track to meet key standards, program director says

The director of Login.gov says that the federally managed identity service is on track to finally meet an important standard for digital identity verification.

Lawmakers want government to promote use of digital IDs

Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., told Nextgov/FCW that he’s hoping to get his Improving Digital Identity Act included in the House AI Task Force’s list of recommended policy proposals.

Commerce launches initial phase of its space traffic coordination system

The new system will provide conjunction data messages “for approximately 1,000 space objects six times a day” during phase 1.0.

VA offers veterans nationwide access to emergency telehealth care

The department said the new tele-emergency care resource will allow veterans to connect with clinical triage nurses for timely medical evaluations.

FCC to vote on georouting for suicide and crisis lifeline calls

The FCC plans to vote on rules during its Oct. 17 open meeting that would require all U.S. wireless carriers to implement georouting for calls to the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.

CX bill passes Senate committee

The proposal is one of many that moved through House and Senate committees this week, including a transparency bill that brings additional congressional oversight to the General Services Administration.

Veterans Crisis Line looks to balance anonymity with location tools

Matthew Miller, the executive director of VA’s office of suicide prevention, said crisis line responders “want to be very careful how much we pursue information from the veteran, unless it's absolutely necessary to provide them with the highest quality care.”

State Department goes big with online passport renewal

The latest pilot has been ongoing since June, but limited in scale. Now, Americans can renew online anytime.

TSA proposes softer rollout of Real ID enforcement

Federal agencies would have the option to gradually require the secure documents after May 7, in part to avoid chaos at state DMVs when the deadline approaches.