Ideas
Driving innovation from the middle
COMMENTARY | NASA's Jennifer Elkins is an example of how senior civil servants can affect change in large organizations.
Digital Government
Labor Department to use TMF to build a retirement ‘lost and found’
The registry will enable people to search for private employment retirement, group health and other welfare benefit plans that still owe them benefits.
People
VA attributes record-breaking year to massive increases in hiring
The department will now focus on retaining those employees through various incentives and process improvements, officials say.
Artificial Intelligence
What are agencies doing with AI? A bipartisan Senate duo wants to know.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, sent letters to three federal agencies probing into their use of artificial intelligence systems.
Cybersecurity
AI can help agencies enhance their cyber defense, study finds
General Dynamics Information Technology’s recent survey of 200 federal officials involved in cyber decisions found that AI tools could help address human-caused vulnerabilities.
Digital Government
House GOP pulls funding bill covering IRS, GSA, OMB and more
The leadership team around new House Speaker Mike Johnson removed the bill — which would have defunded GSA’s digital services team, 18F — from floor consideration because of an intra-party policy dispute.
Breaking News
People
IRS taps new CIO
The current acting CIO of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Rajiv Uppal, has been selected to take the top tech post post at the IRS — the latest in a series of leadership changes in the CIO shop at the tax agency in recent months.
Cybersecurity
NIST releases revised cyber requirements for controlled unclassified information
The proposed revisions will ideally serve as a “balanced, strong starting point” for agencies and contractors that deal with sensitive information, a NIST official said.
Artificial Intelligence
ACLU warns of free-speech risks in FEC oversight of AI-generated election ads
The civil liberties group expressed concern over a possible Federal Election Commission rulemaking that would call out content generated by artificial intelligence in the agency’s regulations on fraudulent misrepresentation.
Acquisition
Biden wants better deals from contractors
A new administration push is underway to leverage procurement data and purchasing power to generate savings.
Digital Government
OMB previews tech accessibility guidance
Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana said coming guidance will focus both on external- and internal-facing government tech.
Cybersecurity
Defense firms can take steps now to comply with enhanced cyber standards, industry officials say
The next version of the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification is expected to be released later this month and will “set the bar higher” for security requirements.
Digital Government
IRS hits key digitization goal months ahead of schedule
Although Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plugged progress in IRS efforts to tame paper in the agency, she also emphasized that “playing politics with IRS funding is unacceptable.”
Cybersecurity
CISA sees ‘routine and standard’ security reports at beginning of Election Day
Working extensively with local jurisdictions, “it’s all about communication,” a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official noted.
People
Service member influencers are helping DOD recruit, Pentagon official says
Social media posts shared by “genuine service members on their own” are helping the Pentagon recruit more young Americans into the U.S. military, according to the deputy secretary of defense.
Digital Government
USDA hopes more data access will improve states’ SNAP delivery
The Agriculture Department is also working to help states address card skimming and other persistent problems in the SNAP program.
Ideas
Generative AI like ChatGPT could help boost democracy – if it overcomes key hurdles
COMMENTARY | New technology offers some interesting opportunities to improve democratic processes.
People
OPM: Federal workers’ morale, engagement rebounded in 2023
Preliminary data from the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey indicates that federal agencies have improved on employees’ engagement, job satisfaction, as well as issues of diversity and inclusion.
Defense
AI can serve as ‘digital concierge’ for Pentagon personnel, DISA officials say
The acquisition of AI technologies and large language models across DOD will bolster the department’s cyber operations and analytical capabilities, officials with the Defense Information Systems Agency said.
Cybersecurity