Gov performance

A group of 19 Democratic Sens wrote to national security adviser John Bolton urging him to reconsider the move to elminate a top cybersecurity position at the White House, calling it a “step in the wrong direction” and worrying that it would “lead to a lack of unified focus against cyber threats.” The role of White House cybersecurity coordinator was established under the Obama administration to coordinate cybersecurity policymaking efforts across the federal government.

The 13 Democratic Reps on the House Communications Subcommittee accused Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai of trying to evade congressional oversight of his agency. The Reps sent a letter to Chairman Pai calling him out for failing to respond to oversight letters or fully answering questions during congressional testimony. “While we appreciate your continued willingness to testify before our Committee, we are concerned that you have been unable to give complete responses to verbal questions, questions for the record or oversight letters from our members,” the Reps wrote.

The House Commerce Committee's Digital Subcommittee held a hearing on a bipartisan bill, the State of Modern Application, Research and Trends (SMART) IoT Act, which charges the Commerce Department with studying the Internet of Things (IoT) from various angles with an eye toward what the government needs to do to promote adoption while protecting the security of the nation's networks. On hand to talk about the kind of information the government needs were Tim Day, VP at the U.S.

Sens Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) issued a strong call to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to identify and address fraudulent behavior that has led to potentially two million fake comments being filed under stolen identities on public rulemakings. Though they come from different sides of the aisle, Sens Merkley and Toomey share a personal connection to this issue: Both had their identities stolen to file false comments on the FCC’s net neutrality proposals.

On March 13, 2018, Sen Jon Tester (D-MT) and Gov Steve Bullock (D-MT) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express concerns with FCC regulations that are causing significant delays on certain school broadband projects in rural states. "It is unacceptable for bureaucratic red tape to stand in the way of high-speed internet being delivered to rural classrooms. As such, we urge you to take immediate corrective actions," they wrote. On May 10, Chairman Pai responded by writing, "[T]here have been serious flaws in the administration of the E-Rate program.

The Office of Special Counsel has ruled that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai did not violate ethics laws by participating in a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February, but said that it will be conducting standards training with agency employees in the coming months. "After considering all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the event, OSC has concluded that you did not violate the Hatch Act by merely participating in the panel discussion in an official capacity," OSC official Ana Galindo-Marrone wrote in the letter to Ch

In December 2014, Congress gave government chief information officers (CIOs) new powers and authority to manage the IT enterprise at their departments and component agencies under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). Three and a half years later, CIOs don’t have the authority they need, administration officials said. President Trump signed an executive order giving presidential weight to mandates of FITARA, specifically the parts that give department CIOs authority over hiring, budgets and setting the IT agenda for the entire department enterprise.

State, county and local governments are working to modernize their information technology systems, but officials in Illinois say they must also update how they communicate with one another. Agency leaders at all levels discussed the paradigm during the inaugural Chicago Digital Government Summit May 9.

[Speech] Something here is not right—and what is wrong is not confined to the Federal Communications Commission. Because fake comments and stolen identities are pouring into proceedings across Washington. They’ve been uncovered at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The civic infrastructure we have for accepting public comment in the rulemaking process is not built for the digital age.

The Federal Communications Commission began moving almost $9 billion collected to subsidize phone and broadband service from a Bank of America account to what auditors call safer ground at the US Treasury. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has begun shifting the Universal Service Fund money on advice from government auditors, who said keeping the money outside government coffers was risky, according to Mark Wigfield, an FCC spokesman. Auditors recommended moving the money “to better protect and manage this nearly $9 billion fund,” Wigfield said.