Digital Government
Federal agencies quietly joined health data superhighway governing council
The rapidly growing superhighway — known as TEFCA — will help federal agencies digitally obtain health records from thousands of hospitals, clinics and other medical providers.
Acquisition
Cloudflare to seek DOD IL4 authorization after new FedRAMP, GovRAMP designations
The connectivity cloud giant recently achieved FedRAMP High certification and GovRAMP Moderate authorization.
Digital Government
DOGE took credit for savings that never happened, watchdog finds
The Department of Government Efficiency claimed tens of billions of dollars in savings on its infamous “Wall of Receipts,” but the Government Accountability Office found it touted savings that never happened and could not be substantiated.
Acquisition
Palantir calls on GSA to withdraw draft AI acquisition rule
The stance is more aggressive than that of many groups representing contractors, who told GSA to revise, rather than withdraw, the proposed large language model acquisition rule.
Acquisition
Contractor alleges Army inappropriately used AI to make $450M contract award
An industry lawyer anticipates more bid protests will likely allege that agencies misused AI in the procurement process but that could be hard to prove if agencies don’t report their use of AI as “high-impact.”
People
National Institutes of Health names Maureen Falvella as permanent CIO
She served as acting CIO for roughly 10 months before moving into the role officially.
Digital Government
GSA teases future steps to improve Login.gov user experience
The agency is touting recent updates to the platform ahead of its 10 year anniversary next April.
People
Greg Barbaccia to return to Palantir after leaving government
The federal CIO’s departure comes after a turbulent period for the federal technology workforce where thousands of technologists left the government.
People
U.S. Digital Corps graduates largest class of fellows yet
“This government has starved for talent,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said during graduation remarks.
Digital Government
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.
Digital Government
HHS continues health tech initiative with 7 new industry pledges
The Trump administration says 60% of Americans now have access to medical records through an app of their choice because of its health technology initiative.
Acquisition
GSA strikes new OneGov deal with CORAS
“This partnership with CORAS expands the range of AI-enabled capabilities available to agencies as they evaluate solutions that support mission and operational requirements,” according to Federal Acquisition Service acting Commissioner Laura Stanton.
Emerging Tech
FDA announces first company to participate in health tech pilot
Under the TEMPO pilot program, Dexcom can receive Medicare reimbursement when seniors receive care from their software.
Digital Government
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.
Artificial Intelligence
State department releases playbook for generative AI
The playbook cites the development and deployment of StateChat, an enterprise chatbot, as a case study for other federal agencies eyeing the technology.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: Regulating chatbot-child communication; AI in the VA; and more
Bills this week focused on how minors — and seniors — engage with generative AI, gauging AI’s efficacy at the VA and addressing a myriad of policy issues.
Acquisition
VA awards Salesforce $1.6B contract for veteran care and services
The contract adds to existing Salesforce deployments for suicide prevention, health care communications and more.
Modernization
The Technology Modernization Fund has saved little — but big savings are expected later — GAO finds
The head of GSA — which administers the TMF — argued that the GAO report understates the benefit of the program because it distinguishes between cost savings and cost avoidance.
Emerging Tech
Naval Postgraduate School launches AI supercomputer in first for military
The Monterey, Calif-based naval command will use the powerful Nvidia DGX GB300 AI supercomputer to train students in how and when to employ such technologies.
Artificial Intelligence