Digital Government
Customer satisfaction with government jumps again
Citizen satisfaction increased almost 3% in 2023, according to the latest data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
People
House punts effort to impeach Biden cabinet secretary
Some Republicans joined Democrats to postpone the exceedingly rare effort.
Digital Government
White House spectrum strategy leans into sharing, tech standards
The Biden administration is targeting 2,786 MHz of spectrum to study for possible sharing or reallocation to commercial users.
Emerging Tech
House proposal prohibits agencies’ use of blockchain tech tied to China
The bipartisan bill would limit the government’s ability to acquire or enter into contracts with firms that use “covered distributed ledger technology and blockchain equipment or services.”
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