Data Governance

Trump signs veterans benefits order calling for improved data sharing

The order instructs the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to conduct a broad review of information technology-related contracts to ensure greater interoperability.

SSA needs to enhance its data verification systems, watchdog finds

Improving matches between agency and external data could reduce improper payments, inaccurate records and manual work for federal employees the agency’s inspector general found.

NSA looks to AI to help analysts sift through vast data troves

The tools can speed up work that takes days or weeks, the agency’s cybersecurity chief said.

Microsoft Fabric integration platform launches for select federal customers

The platform is now available on a preview basis for Government Community Cloud High environments and is designed to support the needs of agentic AI tools.

CDC releases overdose prevention data hub

The agency “wants to ensure maximum transparency to empower patients, providers and other stakeholders as we continue our battle against the opioid epidemic,” said CDC Director Erica Schwartz.

Lawmakers call for watchdog review of Transportation’s passenger privacy practices

The Department of Transportation “has never taken a single enforcement action related to privacy,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, said in a letter to the Government Accountability Office.

Exclusive

Trump administration softens demand for hospitals to share emergency room medical records

A consumer safety agency is assuring hospitals that participation in an injury surveillance system overhaul is voluntary despite earlier correspondence obtained by Nextgov/FCW claiming they are required to join.

Social Security expands electronic health record sharing to speed up disability claims adjudication

A health data sharing superhighway “allows SSA to access complete, structured medical records within seconds or minutes for claimants, helping to significantly reduce disability claim processing times,” an agency official told Nextgov/FCW.

CMS quietly moved a Medicaid technology project to a federal data hub as new eligibility requirements approach

Federal technology offerings promise to help states implement some parts of Medicaid work requirements kicking in on Jan. 1, 2027, but not all of them.

The perimeter is gone. Security has to follow the data.

COMMENTARY | Many zero trust plans are still anchored to the old idea of the border. That protects a version of government IT that no longer exists.

Government service delivery needs standard definitions, former government tech leaders say

A patchwork of technical definitions mean Americans are missing out on benefits and agencies face an additional administrative burden, a new paper from Democratic think tank Searchlight Institute says.

Energy expects $74M in annual savings from new AI and data tools

The agency is expanding an enterprise data platform to all department elements and increasingly using artificial intelligence in daily operations.

FDA launches updated AI and consolidated data platform

The Food and Drug Administration’s flagship internal AI tool, Elsa, is being integrated with the data platform so that staff can accomplish work more easily.

Treasury is creating a database with pandemic aid recipients’ sensitive information

Critics say the scope established in the agency’s systems of record notice “is an astonishing and dramatic departure from prior Treasury practice.”

Trump’s goal to create state-by-state citizenship lists isn’t feasible, experts say

A Tuesday executive order mandating that DHS create state-by-state citizenship lists is Trump’s latest effort to exert some control over state-run elections.

Agency data leads worry about staff capacity to tackle statutory requirements, survey finds

The Data Foundation found that some 40% of chief data officers lost six or more employees last year.

Safe AI pathfinding is essential for government adoption, officials say

GSA's architecture lead for AI services said standardized evaluation helps users identify the right models for their needs.