Policy
Tech Bills of the Week: Civil rights offices for AI; Expanding veterans' education; and Curtailing ICE’s biometric use
A trio of new bills focus on the positives and negatives of emerging capabilities.
Trump administration gets less tech funding than requested in new bicameral bills
The fund that supports the U.S. DOGE Service would receive less than half of what was requested, and the bills do not include explicit reauthorization for the Technology Modernization Fund.
Lawmaker looks to shake up VA’s software management
Legislation from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., prioritizes waste reduction when it comes to the roughly $1 billion that VA spends annually on software assets.
New bill seeks ‘phase-out’ of LiDAR tech tied to foreign adversaries
The ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said his new bill “takes a proactive, commonsense step to secure our supply chains, protect advanced technologies from compromise, enhance Americans’ security, and ensure these systems are built by trusted partners.”
Lawmakers seek details behind SSA plan to slash office visits
Nextgov/FCW first reported the agency’s intention to reduce field office visits last week.
Trump’s national security strategy risks blinding US to other threats, former officials warn
The White House’s push to prioritize Venezuela, coupled with hardline policies on migration and drug trafficking, threatens to pull intelligence resources away from enduring security challenges in Europe, Asia and beyond, they argue.
Push to 'reform the government root and branch' detailed in Trump’s new management agenda
The President's Management Agenda for Trump's second term offers fewer specific policy plans than other recent agendas.
House Homeland leaders seek briefings from Apple, Google on ICE-tracking apps
Republican lawmakers say crowdsourced tools that flag immigration enforcement activity may endanger federal personnel and disrupt operations.
Bill prioritizing American customers for AI chips not expected to make it into final NDAA, sources say
With the defense authorization bill being finalized this week, the chips-centric GAIN AI Act lost steam, according to sources familiar with the proceedings, but an amendment prohibiting U.S. investment in Chinese technology is expected to be included.
Civilian agency spending cratered during shutdown
October spending during the shutdown dropped by as much as 80% for some agencies compared to October 2024.
House Science Dems call for investigation into NASA Goddard cuts
The administration’s ongoing push to close labs and facilities at the Goddard Space Flight Center “risks permanently degrading Goddard’s scientific and technical capabilities with these moves,” Democratic members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee wrote.
Congress weighed measure to curtail scope of DHS intelligence office
A provision, ultimately left out of the Intelligence Authorization Act, would have removed commonplace collection and analysis authorities granted to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, rendering much of the office’s functions inert.
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SSA abandons planned disability program overhaul expected to cut benefits for thousands
Trump administration officials informed the co-founder of a nonprofit disability advocacy group that a proposed rule — which would have updated decades-old occupational data, in addition to changing eligibility considerations — will no longer be moving forward.
Trump administration resumes funding for inspectors general hub after previously blocking it
OMB’s move to restore CIGIE funding until Jan. 30 comes as the president has already fired or replaced more than 20 agency inspectors general.
‘We’re closer to the end': Lawmakers signal some progress in bipartisan talks to end shutdown
The funding lapse is set to reach record levels but senators in both parties voice mild hope of progress.
DHS proposes biometrics expansion for immigrants, dropping age restrictions and requiring biometrics from some US citizens
A new DHS regulatory proposal would allow CBP and ICE to collect biometrics from children under the age of 14.
House Republican questions government stake in tech companies
Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick disputed the Trump administration’s approach to investing in the private sector while aligning with its broader low-regulatory regime.
Shutdown is ‘holding my veterans hostage,’ VA chief says
Some critical services are paused and many employees are not getting paid, Doug Collins says, though he will not guarantee their back pay.
Report: Government needs a sweeping anti-scam strategy to counter modern fraud
Though many federal agencies have fraud-prevention responsibilities, no one agency has the authority to coordinate such efforts.
Trump budget office is hiding federal spending information, ethics nonprofit alleges
Federal courts have ordered the Office of Management and Budget to publish information about how agency funding is disbursed, but Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington contends that officials are using footnotes to obfuscate disclosure.
