Welcome to December! Following the Thanksgiving break, we saw a flurry of tech media coverage on recent activity on Capitol Hill, the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and more. Here are some of the trending stories in our latest weekly roundup:
Up on the Hill
Legislators are rushing to push forward tech bills before they break for the holidays:
- The Senate introduced a bill this week that would provide $2.7 billion in Federal funding to boost quantum computing research and development, according to Weslan Hansen’s article for MeriTalk. In her coverage of the bill, Madison Alder of FedScoop noted that it would replace a previous authorization that expired in September. Alexandra Kelley of Nextgov/FCW reported that the authorization would support research at agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation and NASA.
- In AI-related news from the Hill, Jon Harper of DefenseScoop had news on the newly-introduced Protecting AI and Cloud Competition in Defense Act to restrict “big tech monopolies” in Defense Department AI and cloud procurements. Also in AI, FedScoop’s Alder had the story this week on questions raised by Sen. Ted Cruz on whether a U.K.-based non-profit is illegally influencing U.S. AI policy. And in MeriTalk, Hansen covered a speech this week by Rep. Jay Obernolte on an imminent report from the House AI Task Force that will call for “bite-sized” regulation of AI so as not to hinder innovation. Perhaps in an illustration of this approach, the House this week unveiled a resolution and a bill to address the impact artificial intelligence has on the finance and housing sectors, according to a FedScoop article by Matt Bracken.
- On the cybersecurity front, members of Congress have called for a DOD investigation on the department’s failure to require greater cyber protections that might have prevented Chinese attacks on U.S. telecom systems, as reported in Federal News Network by Anastasia Obis. Cate Burgan also reported in MeriTalk that the letter raised concerns about the Pentagon’s reliance on unsecured networks, and Edward Graham wrote in Nextgov/FCW that senators stated that Defense networks were needlessly vulnerable to foreign espionage. In related news, Greg Otto published a piece in CyberScoop on a White House statement that the attacks on eight telecom companies had been going on for up to two years. David DiMolfetta also had that story for Nextgov/FCW.
- Natalie Alms wrote in Nextgov/FCW about a House bill requiring federal agencies to complete a comprehensive assessment of their software and make a plan to consolidate software licenses. The article noted this overlaps with reported goals of incoming administration DOGE advisory efforts. In his coverage for FedScoop, Bracken reported on hopes that the bill will pass before the end of the current congressional session.
All Eyes on DOGE
Speaking of the incoming DOGE initiative, the federal tech media has been watching closely as news trickles out on the group’s agenda:
- In MeriTalk, Burgan shared comments by DOGE co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy stating that DOGE’s success hinges on the need to modernize technology across the federal government.
- FedScoop’s Alder interviewed a former Obama White House tech official who thinks the DOGE should work with Congress to achieve its goals. In a similar vein, Tom Temin of Federal News Network interviewed WTOP’s Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller on how DOGE leaders are enlisting members of Congress to promote their agenda.
- In other DOGE-related reporting for Federal News Network, Justin Doubleday noted that members of Congress voicing support for DOGE view reining in telework and promoting IT modernization as a couple of immediate objectives.
The Technology Modernization Fund
The government’s Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) made headlines this week by awarding new grants for projects to modernize operations at a couple of agencies:
- A TMF award to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will fund efforts to use AI to update aging software in agency back end systems, according to reporting by Jason Miller for Federal News Network.
- Caroline Nihill reported on the TMF grant to OPM for FedScoop as well as a grant to the Department of Justice to modernize immigrant case management systems. John Curran also covered the awards for MeriTalk.
- In an article for Orange Slices, Holly Klein quoted TMF Board Chair Clare Martorana on TMF’s 80% success rate for funding projects that fulfill their stated goals – compared to the 13% success rate for traditionally funded IT projects.
- A memo from the Federation of American Scientists called on the government to leverage the TMF to push agencies away from project management — which focuses on following a set plan — to product management — which focuses on meeting the needs of users, according to an article by Alms in Nextgov/FCW.
Thanks for reading. As always, you can subscribe to receive these updates in your inbox by filling out our brief form below with your name and email address. I’ll be back next week with more on what’s trending in government tech media.