Independent Agencies

Senate Banking Chair Asks CFPB How It Plans to Address Risks of Chime and Other Banking Apps

With an estimated 12 million customers, Chime is the largest in its highly competitive subcategory of financial technology companies that serve low- to moderate-income individuals.

Lawmakers Tell National Archives to Use Tech Modernization Funding to Fix Veterans’ Backlog

Congressional oversight chiefs want the National Archives to apply for funding through the Technology Modernization Fund.

EEOC Wants a Quality Check For Its Data and Automation Strategy

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s inspector general wants an independent third party to look over the agency’s Digital Process Transformation and Automation strategy.

GPO To Offer Full-Time Telework After COVID

Around one-third of the agency’s 1,500 employees will be able to work entirely remotely, and officials said some will be able to move out of the Washington, D.C., area.

Millennium Challenge, SBA Agree to Apply U.S. Tech to Global Issues

Small businesses will be able to pilot and scale their technologies to various countries' needs in energy, agriculture and other sectors.

Regulators Want to Know How AI Should (and Shouldn’t) Be Used In Nuclear Power Plants

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission put out a call for feedback on using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the safety and reliability of the grid.

Regulators Want to Know How Financial Institutions Use AI and How They’re Mitigating Risks

Five federal agencies will publish a request for information Wednesday seeking feedback on 17 specific questions.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Employees Want to Telework at Least Twice Per Week Post-Pandemic

Commission staff and leadership report higher productivity during mass telework and more benefits than drawbacks.

SBA Relaunches COVID Loan Program As Watchdog Warns About Possible Fraud 

The recent COVID relief package included funding for a third round of the program, which has come under much scrutiny. 

FCC, USAID Partner to Advance U.S. 5G Security Policy  

An agreement between the agencies aims to encourage the use of trusted networks and interoperable infrastructure.

EEOC Turns to Predictive Analytics to Understand How Pandemic Affects Employment Discrimination

The capability shows that the commission should expect an increase in the number of discrimination charges in the next six to 12 months due to the economic downturn, the agency’s chief data officer said.

VA, CFPB Solicit Partners to Conduct Diversity-Focused Training

Several solicitations have been launched for inclusivity-centered services in recent weeks.

Federal Register Tech Issue Caused by Oversized Document

The site directed users to a temporary rundown of regulatory notices for April 30 while two federal offices worked to resolve the issue.

Survey: Financial-Sector Agencies’ Policies for Sharing Cyber Threats Inconsistent

Respondents describe barriers ranging from a lack of resources to intelligence agencies’ classification decisions.

Like Voldemort, Ransomware Is Too Scary to Be Named

Wary of alarming investors, companies victimized by ransomware attacks often tell the SEC that “malware” or a “security incident” disrupted their operations.

Employers Used Facebook to Keep Women and Older Workers From Seeing Job Ads. The Federal Government Thinks That’s Illegal.

Dozens of other complaints have been filed with the EEOC about discrimination in targeted advertising on Facebook.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Eyes Tech Sprints to Accelerate Advancements

The hope is to rapidly identify technological solutions for the agency’s toughest problems.