People
More than 60 Democratic lawmakers want a 5.1% raise for feds
The lawmakers asked the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee to override President Biden’s plan to offer an average 4.6% raise for federal employees in 2023.
Acquisition
Bernie Sanders wants Amazon debarred from federal contracting
The Vermont lawmaker cites the company's anti-union activity in a letter urging President Biden to eliminate the e-commerce and cloud behemoth from federal contracts.
Cybersecurity
New cybersecurity bill authorizes DHS to ramp up incident response efforts nationwide
The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act gives the Department of Homeland Security a range of opportunities to bolster cybersecurity preparedness at the state and local level, including and technical assistance services.
Acquisition
Federal contractors could soon have to disentangle themselves completely from Russia
A top House oversight Democrat says her bill limiting contracts with companies operating in Russia during the Ukraine war would supplement existing sanctions.
Cybersecurity
New cyber bill calls for shadow IT assessment at VA
The bill tasks VA with obtaining an independent cybersecurity review of the agency's most critical systems.
Cybersecurity
FBI confirms increase in Russian cyber scanning of U.S. companies
A senior FBI official suggested potential cyber attacks were coming amid increased Russian-linked cyber scanning activities targeting major U.S. businesses and tensions with the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.
Acquisition
Senators look to root out contractor conflicts of interest
A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation they say will help prevent potential conflicts within businesses that work with the federal government after concerns were raised over McKinsey's work with the Food and Drug Administration while it was consulting with pharmaceutical firms.
Defense
Lawmakers worry about cyber risks in space
Senators questioned the commanders of Space Command and Strategic Command on their plans to handle an increase in space-based threats.
Defense
Russia’s invasion will boost 2023 defense budget, top Democrat Says
Rep. Adam Smith: Putin’s war “fundamentally altered what our national security posture” needs to be.
Digital Government
GSA’s Trump Hotel lease is under scrutiny again
Lawmakers are calling for the agency to consider terminating the lease after the Trump Organization’s accounting firm said it could no longer vouch for the company’s financial statements.
Modernization
Connolly, Issa launch IT modernization caucus
The lawmakers behind the FITARA legislation are establishing a new caucus centered around IT modernization issues.
Cybersecurity
Is there a path forward in Congress for mandatory cyber incident reporting?
A group of lawmakers is seeking legislation that would require private companies to report cyber incidents and ransomware attacks to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, despite their efforts being derailed late last year.
People
Hill proposal would give feds a 5.1% average pay raise in 2023
A bill from Democratic lawmakers would provide federal workers with a 4.1% across-the-board boost, along with an average 1% increase in locality pay.
Cybersecurity
Defense officials press lawmakers for a 2022 appropriation
Defense officials warned lawmakers that some programs and tech efforts could be delayed or eliminated if Congress fails to pass a 2022 defense spending bill soon.
Cybersecurity
House FISMA draft codifies federal CISO role, looks to shared services
The House Oversight Committee is considering the first updates to the Federal Information Security Modernization Act in seven years, amid increasingly sophisticated cyber risks and threats.
Modernization
OPM faces uncertain funding prospects
The federal government’s human resources agency is still dealing with budget shortfalls arising from moving background checks to the Department of Defense, and the prospect of a full-year continuing resolution could exacerbate existing pressures.
Modernization
Senators want FCC inquiry into Stingray use
Several Democratic senators sent a letter asking the FCC to determine whether law enforcement agencies' use of cell-site simulators is disrupting regular phone service.
Digital Government
Blockchain gains congressional support
Blockchain now has its own congressional caucus to raise awareness among lawmakers and advance policy discussions around the technology for tracking bitcoin transactions.
Digital Government
VA ordering system looks like when we 'first started using computers'
Lawmakers are eager to see update to the Department of Veterans Affair's procurement processes, which GAO describes as "outdated and fragmented."
Cybersecurity