Technology
Inside the effort to connect Congress with the feds enacting its policies
Those writing laws don’t often hear from those charged with implementing them. The POPVOX Foundation wants that to change.
Education tech chief heads to OMB as deputy federal CIO
Thomas Flagg is a longtime government executive, having worked in the Labor Department for over 11 years prior to joining the Education Department.
White House weighs reining in contractors’ control over how agencies use AI
Draft policy language under review would assert the government’s authority to decide how tech it buys gets used, as officials debate guardrails and vendor influence.
How State finally got online passport renewal to stick
After a failed first rollout, the department reworked how it builds and deploys tech, bringing frontline staff into the process and scaling a system that’s now handling millions of renewals.
Growing agency talent is critical for modernization, Transportation’s IT head says
“When there is support and excitement, then you can do magic,” Pavan Pidugu, the Transportation Department’s chief digital and information officer, said about engaging personnel across the agency to drive meaningful IT modernization.
One CEO’s push to speed up how the Pentagon adopts technology
Meagan Metzger saw barriers in government contracting as problems she could find a path to solve.
CBP seeks AI solutions to keep pace with rising volumes of border scans
A new sources sought notice seeks artificial intelligence tools to help agents sift through tens of thousands of X-ray images at ports of entry.
White House is drafting plans to permit federal Anthropic use
The move suggests the Trump administration is easing its stance on the AI company, which faced a Pentagon supply chain risk designation and phaseout directive.
Treasury missed security controls in giving DOGE system access, GAO finds
The finding is among the first oversight reports Congress’ watchdog has released about the controversial cost-cutting team.
NIST is giving fingerprint examiners better tools for a messy job
COMMENTARY | A newly annotated fingerprint dataset combined with open-source software could help forensic examiners work more consistently, train more effectively and sort through evidence faster.
IRS lacks transparent plans to leverage tech in the face of staffing cuts, GAO and employees say
Agency leaders are “shoving AI at us,” one IRS employee said, despite the fact that “they don’t have the right tools for us yet.”
OPM cuts degree requirements for government tech jobs in new standards
The changes have been years in the making and represent a federal hiring apparatus more focused on applicable skills than specific backgrounds.
OPM seeks cybersecurity talent to join Tech Force
"Through Tech Force, we’re recruiting highly skilled cybersecurity professionals to take on real challenges and strengthen the government’s defenses where it matters most,” OPM director Scott Kupor said in a statement.
Treasury is creating a database with pandemic aid recipients’ sensitive information
Critics say the scope established in the agency’s systems of record notice “is an astonishing and dramatic departure from prior Treasury practice.”
CIA employees will get AI 'coworkers'—and eventually run teams of AI agents, deputy says
Deputy Director Michael Ellis said the spy agency recently used AI to generate an intelligence report for the first time.
VA’s FY27 budget proposal seeks funding for additional AI adoption
VA’s decision intelligence and automation activities would see a 10.9% increase over FY26 enacted levels, with the growth “driven primarily by the AI Infrastructure solution.”
Agencies could be required to move loan systems to 1 platform under bipartisan bill
COMMENTARY | A push to centralize federal lending would force agencies to rethink contracts, staffing and control over their systems.
The IRS wants to shrink its workforce by nearly 4,000 — and use technology to make up the difference
“Without modernization, the IRS would be unable to sustain performance with a reduced headcount,” the budget document says.
Cuts hit CISA, NIST and IRS in Trump’s FY27 budget
The proposal shifts funding away from cybersecurity, standards and tax enforcement while boosting AI, quantum research and VA modernization.
Most government leaders say they outpace private sector on AI adoption, survey says
Research by IDC found that 82% of public sector organizations have adopted agentic AI, and 60% of agency heads believe they are ahead of the business community on the technology.
