People
House punts effort to impeach Biden cabinet secretary
Some Republicans joined Democrats to postpone the exceedingly rare effort.
Emerging Tech
House proposal prohibits agencies’ use of blockchain tech tied to China
The bipartisan bill would limit the government’s ability to acquire or enter into contracts with firms that use “covered distributed ledger technology and blockchain equipment or services.”
Artificial Intelligence
What are agencies doing with AI? A bipartisan Senate duo wants to know.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, sent letters to three federal agencies probing into their use of artificial intelligence systems.
Digital Government
House GOP pulls funding bill covering IRS, GSA, OMB and more
The leadership team around new House Speaker Mike Johnson removed the bill — which would have defunded GSA’s digital services team, 18F — from floor consideration because of an intra-party policy dispute.
Digital Government
Election security threats require more federal resources, officials say
Facing growing cyber and physical threats, election administrators told lawmakers that more federal assistance is needed to safeguard voting systems and personnel.
Artificial Intelligence
New bill aims to codify NIST AI risk management in federal procurement
The Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act is designed to give statutory support to many of the efforts outlined in the Biden administration's AI executive order.
Emerging Tech
Bipartisan House duo looks to extend quantum tech legislation
The chairman and ranking member of a key House committee are looking to reauthorize federal support for quantum computing research for five more years.
Emerging Tech
US would be ‘effectively defenseless’ without counter-drone authority extension, FBI director says
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice’s authority to mitigate threats from unmanned aircraft systems is set to expire on Nov. 18.
Artificial Intelligence
Biden signs AI order but stresses need for legislation
The long-anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence is broad, detailed and expansive, but the White House wants Congress to do more.
Emerging Tech
House Dems seek guardrails for law enforcement’s use of facial recognition
The bill would require agencies to obtain a warrant showing probable cause that an individual has committed “a serious violent felony” before facial recognition can be used.
Digital Government
CX proposal clears Senate committee
The legislation targets “high-impact” government services for streamlining and improvement.
People
House picks new speaker, but shutdown threat looms
Federal agency missions often take a back seat amid preparations for a funding lapse.
Artificial Intelligence
Senate bill mandates disclosures on AI-made material
The bipartisan legislation calling for the labeling of AI-generated content follows similar efforts made in the House earlier this year.
Digital Government
Lawmakers propose establishing new CX lead at OMB
A House bill would also have agencies tap a senior official to coordinate improvements to government services.
People
Biden seeks federal hiring surge in new $100B emergency funding request
A variety of agencies would collectively add nearly 6,000 employees if Congress provides the supplemental funding.
Artificial Intelligence
NIST plans new risk evaluation methods and standards tracking for AI
The associate director for emerging technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology said the evaluations are designed to identify potential harms from AI systems before they are deployed.
Modernization
'Give us the data,' oversight and anti-fraud experts tell lawmakers
Expert witnesses again implored lawmakers to make an existing data analytics center permanent and set up new data powers to combat fraud.
Digital Government
Bipartisan Senate bill tasks agencies with prioritizing CX
The pending legislation looks to reduce burdens on users interacting with government while scouting opportunities for cross-agency collaboration.
Emerging Tech
Lawmakers seek to upgrade quantum sciences research labs, academic resources
A new bipartisan bill seeks to modernize quantum sciences research facilities
Digital Government