Digital Government
Bureau of Prisons would issue IDs to released inmates under new bill
The bipartisan proposal would also require BOP to set up a system where ID cards issued by the bureau could be traded for state IDs.
Artificial Intelligence
House lawmakers join push for agencies to disclose public-impacting AI uses
A group of House members from both parties rolled out companion legislation to a Senate bill that would require agencies to notify individuals when they are engaging with AI tools.
Artificial Intelligence
House lawmakers introduce AI risk management bill
The measure is a companion to a Senate bill offered last year
Artificial Intelligence
Improving government capacity is key for AI deployment, experts tell Congress
The chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Gary Peters, D-Mich., said he plans to zero in on procurement and AI, specifically.
Artificial Intelligence
Bipartisan bill protects artists’ and individuals’ likenesses from AI duplication
The No AI FRAUD Act penalizes cyber actors who leverage generative artificial intelligence and machine learning to duplicate images and voices without a person’s consent.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers request extra $10M for NIST AI research
Four senators sent a letter to leadership on the Senate Appropriations Committee encouraging more funding for NIST’s efforts to standardize and test AI-centric technologies.
Policy
OMB head 'not optimistic' about avoiding a government shutdown
Congress is back next week with a short clock to pass a 2024 budget or extend the existing stopgap measures funding the government.
Artificial Intelligence
Bill sets transparency standards for AI models, including use of copyrighted material
New House legislation would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish standards for “making publicly available information about the training data and algorithms used in artificial intelligence foundation models.”
Artificial Intelligence
Senate's top tech official greenlights research use of generative AI
The chief information officer for the Senate Sergeant at Arms evaluated three popular AI platforms and offered members and staff instruction on how to leverage them safely.
Artificial Intelligence
House lawmakers press for transparency in NIST’s new AI grant funding
A bipartisan cadre of lawmakers is asking for details on the funding methods and oversight of NIST’s new Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute.
Cybersecurity
NDAA provision looks to close cybersecurity gaps in nuclear weapons systems
The requirement included in the fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill follows a 2022 GAO report that found the National Nuclear Security Administration did not fully implement “foundational cybersecurity risk practices.”
Emerging Tech
Government’s quantum efforts are shifting to a near-term strategy
As the National Quantum Initiative Act is set to advance to a House vote, one federal official described the technology as “the next thing” on the horizon.
Digital Government
GSA is at a ‘critical juncture’ to salvage faith in TTS, agency watchdog warns
GSA’s inspector general says that it’s “trying to prevent the next Login.gov” — referencing a bombshell oversight report on GSA’s single sign-on service issued earlier this year.
Acquisition
Senate bill would limit federal contracts with foreign-linked biotech firms
The legislation from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., comes after he objected to a more focused provision in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act that sought to limit government contracts with one specific Chinese biotech company.
Modernization
TMF’s planned cost savings have been ‘minimal’ in reality, GAO finds
The original intent of the revolving fund anticipated repayments on finished projects replenishing the pool for new ones. In reality, such repayments have been slow and slim.
People
Coker confirmed as cyber director
On a bipartisan vote, the Senate confirmed Harry Coker to lead the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House.
Artificial Intelligence
Senate Democrats seek to establish civil rights offices for AI
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is sponsoring legislation that would require all federal agencies that use artificial intelligence to set up offices “focused on bias, discrimination and other harms resulting from covered algorithms.”
Emerging Tech
Research institutions must better secure sensitive data from foreign adversaries, experts say
To prevent foreign nations from gaining access to sensitive research data, U.S. institutions need to “have a higher sense of internal security” when it comes to protecting critical information.
Modernization
NDAA includes bill backing new data center standards
The measure would require the General Services Administration to set new resiliency, cybersecurity, availability and sustainability expectations for federal data centers.
Artificial Intelligence