Congressional Committees

SBA faces fraud risks and IT security woes, IG says

The Small Business Administration has struggled to cope with an onslaught of potentially fraudulent activity within its direct lending programs spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, Inspector General Hannibal Ware testified to the House Small Business Committee.

  • By Chris Riotta

Grady talks spectrum, cyber concerns in nomination hearing

Adm. Christopher Grady told senators that Defense Department moves to free up swaths of spectrum would have consequences when it comes to operations, training, and readiness.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

House passes NDAA compromise bill

The bill, which supports $778 billion for national security spending, was filed in lieu of a traditional conference report and combines the text passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in July and the House bill passed in September.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Coast Guard completes MHS Genesis deployment

The U.S. Coast Guard has completed its rollout of the military's new commercial electronic health record system, following a long journey that was paused during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

GSA addresses plans for FBI headquarters at House hearing

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan told lawmakers she was in contact with FBI Director Chris Wray about ongoing plans to build new headquarters for the bureau after the years-long plan was scrapped by the previous administration.

  • By Chris Riotta

Senate Republicans seek IG probe of TSA pipeline directives

Republican leaders on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are calling for an inspector general probe into how the Transportation Security Administration developed its first ever pipeline-specific security directives.

  • By Chris Riotta

White House pick for DOD CIO eyes tweaks to CMMC

The Biden administration's pick to be the Pentagon's tech chief wants to make it easier for small businesses to adhere to the Defense Department's cybersecurity standards and expand network optimization across the entire enterprise.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

IC leaders drill in on diversity issues at House hearing

Although there have been some gains in the representation of women and minorities in the IC workforce overall, the highest ranks are less diverse.

  • By Natalie Alms

DOD looks to civilian workforce to close technology gaps

The Defense Department has been increasingly looking to recruit civilians to fill its tech talent needs, but some lawmakers are concerned that the mission of uniformed troops could suffer.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Biden nominates FCC, NTIA chiefs

President Joe Biden filled out his technology and telecom team with three key nominations on Tuesday.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

IGs look to expand investigative authority

Agency watchdogs told lawmakers that they would like authority to subpoena former federal employees, contractors and other non-governmental witnesses to give testimony in IG probes.

  • By Natalie Alms

Lawmakers seek probe of veterans' records requests backlog

The National Personnel Records Center is facing a backlog of 550,000 requests that built up over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • By Natalie Alms

FLRA faces backlogs, staffing woes

The agency has been without a general counsel for years, leaving it unable to resolve charges of unfair labor practices, but the Senate is poised to confirm new leadership.

  • By Natalie Alms

DHS faces uphill climb with financial systems modernization

The agency made some awards on a long-delayed financial management modernization effort earlier this month, but years of work awaits the agency on establishing an enterprisewide system.

  • By Natalie Alms
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TSA head says more union rights coming to airport screeners

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want the agency to resolve longstanding compensation issues for the frontline Transportation Security Administration workforce.

  • By Natalie Alms

Federal CIO tees up 7 new TMF awards

The awards, the first since TMF's $1 billion plus-up in the American Rescue Plan Act, are expected to be made public soon.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

House infrastructure bill includes over $3 billion for federal tech

Under an amendment from Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the Technology Modernization Fund could see another $1 billion in capitalization.

  • By Natalie Alms

Senate panel wants DHS to focus intel activities on foreign threats

The Senate version of the annual intelligence authorization bill, which passed out of committee last week, includes a warning to DHS' intelligence arm to distinguish more carefully between its foreign and domestic missions.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

How VA can succeed with its EHR mega-program

The former CIO of the Department of Veterans Affairs offers some ideas for course correction in the agency's flagging $20 billion–plus Electronic Health Records Modernization program.

  • By Roger Baker

DHS recent hiring sprint shows promise, but lawmakers still see gaps in the federal cybersecurity workforce

The federal government continues to face challenges in recruiting a skilled cybersecurity workforce, amid heavy private sector demand and obstacles built into the hiring process, but there are some recent signs that longstanding efforts to improve the situation are starting to pay off.

  • By Natalie Alms

TSA ramps up fuel pipeline cyber strategy

At a Senate hearing, the TSA administrator updated lawmakers on the implementation of two recent cybersecurity directives issued in the wake of the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.

  • By Adam Mazmanian