Policy
White House Threatens to Veto House-Passed Election Security Bill
The SHIELD Act would require political campaigns to report offers of campaign assistance from foreign powers to the FBI.
Digital Government
Efforts to Reform Federal Hiring Already Showing Results
Administration officials said that performing pass-fail interviews earlier in the hiring process led to a faster turnaround, better candidates and more hires from public job announcements.
Cybersecurity
House Committee Advances Bill to Expand DHS Cyber Monitoring Program
As state and local governments face rising cyber threats, the legislation would give them free access to the tools provided under the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.
Digital Government
How Donald Trump Turned to a Comics Titan to Shape the VA
Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin shares details about the interactions in his new book.
Emerging Tech
Silicon Valley Rep Calls For Task Force, Legislation on Government Use of Biometrics
Rep. Ro Khanna said Congress should dictate exactly how federal agencies use technologies like facial recognition. But first, the legislative body needs to get properly educated.
Artificial Intelligence
Trump Reestablishes Science and Tech Advisory Council
After lying dormant for almost three years, the president signed an executive order reestablishing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and naming seven of 16 potential members.
Modernization
OMB Focused on Trust and Agility in Tech Improvements
Increased agility will help tech officials maximize their IT modernization efforts—and perhaps build more trust in government among the public.
Emerging Tech
Justice to Require DNA Sampling of Nearly All Detained Migrants
Once collected, the samples will be moved into the FBI’s massive DNA database.
Modernization
FedBizOpps Will Be Retired After Veterans Day Weekend
The public repository of federal contracting opportunities will be migrated to a central procurement website following a weekend-long “data freeze.”
Modernization
Federal CIO Outlines the Administration's 2020 Tech Priorities
Suzette Kent flagged priority data sets and a focus on supply chain security.
Cybersecurity
Silicon Valley Lawmaker Proposes Cyber Training for Every Federal Employee
Rep. Ro Khanna plans to introduce a bill that would require feds to learn basic cyber hygiene, including how to securely navigate the internet of things.
Policy
Privacy Bill Could Put Dishonest Tech Execs Behind Bars
The Mind Your Own Business Act would expand FTC authorities and introduce comprehensive new protections for consumers’ personal data.
Emerging Tech
House Committee Votes to Increase Funding for Energy’s DARPA by $2.9B
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee moved a bill to reauthorize ARPA-E with additional funding, as well as new restrictions and oversight.
Cybersecurity
Industry Wants More Legal Cover for Sharing Supply Chain Threats
Sharing potential threats are critical for ensuring companies avoid shady vendors, but under current laws, firms that do so could wind up in court.
Digital Government
EPA Rule Will Make Its Custom Code Open Source By Default
As part of the new policy, EPA will create an enterprise code inventory to classify the extent to which all custom-built software will be shared with other agencies and the general public.
Ideas
What America Didn’t Anticipate About China
For too long, policy makers ignored the possibility that China could transform the U.S., rather than the other way around.
Policy
Tech Giants Fight Digital Right-to-Repair Bills
Twenty states considered bills to allow independent repair shops and tinkerers to fix broken smartphones, laptops and other equipment.
Artificial Intelligence
Building the Public’s Trust in AI Is Key to Coming Guidance, White House Official Says
The administration’s assistant director for artificial intelligence shared details about an in-the-works memo to modernize agencies’ regulatory approaches to the emerging tech.
Digital Government
Senate Bill Would Open Some Weather Agency Models to the Public
The bill would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to share more weather modeling data with third parties and review possible innovations.
Cybersecurity