Digital Government

GSA is looking for participants for its facial recognition study

Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Sonny Hashmi said the study will help determine how to move forward with Login.gov.

Digital Government

CFPB helms multi-agency effort to scrutinize sale of Americans’ data

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission are teaming up to investigate long-awaited regulatory steps into the sale of Americans’ data by third party companies. 

Digital Government

Senators seek details on SSA’s plan to modernize and simplify disability benefits applications

Three Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee asked the Social Security Administration for details on improvements to the Supplemental Security Income application.

Digital Government

National intelligence strategy calls for new partnerships to harness emerging technologies

Federal agencies must collaborate with private sector partners and allies to better understand the implications of emerging technologies, according to the new strategy.

Digital Government

IRS must speed up efforts to resolve IT security weaknesses across the agency, watchdog says

The IRS’s failure to expeditiously resolve weaknesses in its IT systems puts the agency “at risk for exploitation by threat actors,” according to an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Digital Government

How the IRS accidentally tagged thousands of taxpayers as dead

The IRS confirmed that 6,821 tax accounts were marked as deceased and locked — meaning that the agency wouldn’t process the tax returns associated with it — when the person was, in fact, alive.

Digital Government

VA extends PACT Act filing deadline after website glitches

The Department of Veterans Affairs is giving eligible veterans an extra week to announce their intention to submit claims under a law that expands benefits for exposure to toxic substances.

Digital Government

'High volume’ of last-minute PACT Act submissions caused tech glitches, VA says

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough stressed that no veteran or survivor who received an error message “will miss out on a single day of benefits due to this issue.”

Digital Government

GAO: IRS must enhance cyber oversight of third-party vendors, modernize online services

The IRS continues to ignore GAO’s recommendation to streamline oversight of third-party tax vendors’ cyber practices, despite concerns about mitigating digital threats.

Digital Government

Government contractors grapple with enforcement challenges of TikTok ban

Industry groups are raising censorship and privacy concerns over a ban of popular social media app TikTok on devices used by government contractors. 

Digital Government

IRS’s digital platforms tax users searching for in-person assistance

The tax agency's watchdog said the functionality of the agency’s website and mobile app make it difficult for Americans to find information on taxpayer assistance centers.

Digital Government

GSA seeks a better way to reach higher education for federal challenges

The General Services Administration wants to know where to reach university-affiliated students and faculty to participate in national requests.

Digital Government

US is falling behind in global digital leadership, report says

The loss of influence comes amid rising domestic anti-tech sentiments in Congress and across multiple White House administrations, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a report released Monday.

Digital Government

How the Agriculture Department is ‘hardwiring’ customer experience into its work

The department’s chief customer experience officer, Simchah Suveyke-Bogin, told Nextgov/FCW that her primary goal is building capacity for customer experience.

Digital Government

IRS seeks states’ input on its direct file pilot

States have until Sept. 4 to tell the IRS if they’re interested in participating.

Digital Government

DOD’s data integration experiments help to identify benefits and barriers to new tech 

“We want to fail,” the deputy chief of the Pentagon’s AI office said about a series of experiments supporting the Defense Department’s JADC2 efforts.

Digital Government

GSA issues a ‘roadmap’ for Login.gov’s future

The General Services Administration wants to improve Login.gov’s identity proofing rates, add more options for how users can be identity proofed and more.

Digital Government

New bill aims to simplify federal grant applications, boost funding for underserved communities

The Streamlining Federal Grants Act was introduced by a bipartisan trio of senators to build upon a 2019 law.

Digital Government

CDC rolls out new COVID-19 website

The reworked COVID-19 website is part of a larger push to make the public health agency’s web presence easier to navigate, with plans to relaunch CDC.gov early next year.