Congress
Senate passes 10-day FISA extension after House revolt sinks long-term deal
The short-term patch was cleared by unanimous consent hours after the House sank a five-year proposal and had to pivot to the 10-day stopgap. It now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk.
House passes 10-day FISA extension after prospects of long-term deal collapse
The short-term patch was cleared via unanimous consent after opposition from many Democrats and GOP hardliners sank a 5-year proposal with reforms not satisfactory to privacy advocates.
AI is helping VA speed up claims processing, but Dems worry about errors
“Speed does not equal success,” Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., said about VA’s use of automation and AI to process veterans’ benefits claims.
House readies vote to renew FISA 702 without a warrant amendment
GOP leadership is confronting a possible shortfall in support.
Senate committee approves quantum reauthorization bill with 7 amendments
A markup in the Senate Commerce Committee outfitted the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act to support near-term quantum application development, cybersecurity migration timelines and scaling testbeds for quantum sciences and technologies.
Judge renews procedures for 702 surveillance program that could soon lapse
The program still requires reauthorization from Congress, and the judge notably took issue with how spy agencies use filtering tools to sift through raw data collected by the program.
Former national security officials urge Congress to renew Section 702 before expiration
The surveillance program lapses April 19 unless renewed by Congress. The Trump administration is asking for a clean, 18-month extension.
Lawmaker looks to award grants for veteran suicide prevention AI models
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., told Nextgov/FCW that he wants to provide grant funding to figure out which risks “are the ones that we should be paying attention to most closely that contribute to incidents of suicide.”
Lawmakers question VPN impact on Americans' FISA surveillance protections
Democrats from both chambers sent a letter questioning the impacts to the Director of National Intelligence as Congress faces a deadline to renew FISA Section 702, which allows warrantless collection of foreigners’ communications overseas.
White House official advocates for a ‘give and take’ on state AI preemption
Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios argued the administration’s AI policy framework allows states to regulate some things about the technology — like child safety and state government procurement — while ensuring a national standard.
GOP policy leads highlight child safety as key step in national AI legislation
Legislators are still working through options for what that legislation will look like, including the possibility of reviving the proposed moratorium on state AI regulations.
Mullin confirmed to lead DHS as shutdown drags on and 100,000 employees remain unpaid
Trump's new DHS chief promises some reforms and renewed staffing efforts.
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Lawmaker calls for GAO review of threat actors weaponizing AI
In a letter to the federal watchdog, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, warned that “the nature and scope of the challenges associated with countering these AI-enabled threats are not well understood.”
White House releases regulatory vision for AI
The framework includes seven AI policy recommendations for Congress that attempt to balance consumer protections with advancing AI development.
Senate Democrats push Social Security on employee reassignments to phone line
The agency is directing employees who normally process benefits to answer phone lines instead.
Lawmakers seek watchdog probe into former acting CISA chief’s polygraph failures
A letter penned by House Democrats indicates CISA’s former acting director failed a second polygraph examination during his tenure.
Senate confirms Josh Rudd to lead NSA and Cyber Command
The foreign eavesdropping agency and digital combatant command have not had a permanent leader in place for the past 11 months.
Senators call on agencies to capture AI’s workforce impact
A bipartisan group of senators are asking the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau to update their national surveys to better understand artificial intelligence’s impacts in the culture and workforce.
Lawmakers raise questions about security of health data shared with AI tools
“I do think there's some consumer safeguards that should be implemented,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said about the way AI firms may apply users’ healthcare data.
Private sector, former military leaders urge Congress intervene in Pentagon-Anthropic dispute
Over 30 former military officers and individuals working in tech sent a letter to congressional leadership expressing concern over the Pentagon-Anthropic dispute and asking for lawmakers to take action to reign in executive power and set AI guardrails.
