Category: Congress

Lawmakers boost funding for NIST after proposed cuts

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Congressional appropriators are looking to maintain, and in some cases increase, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s work in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum research. The appropriations agreement released by House and Senate negotiators this week would include $ 1.8 billion for NIST, instead of funding cuts for the agency proposed by the Trump administration. The “minibus” appropriations package rejected many of the administration’s proposed budget cuts and limited agency reorganizations. The agreement includes $ 1.25 billion for NIST’s research and services division, more than $ 542…

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FAA ramps up billions in spending as ‘down payment’ for air traffic overhaul

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The Federal Aviation Administration has been working to update its aging air traffic control system, literally, for decades now. But 2026 is looking to be a big year on the FAA modernization front. The One Big Beautiful Bill Congress passed earlier this year puts more than $ 12 billion toward air traffic control modernization, and the FAA’s new administrator expects to obligate about half of that by the end of this fiscal year. The agency is on an aggressive schedule to completely replace the air traffic control system within the…

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Reducing the government’s real property portfolio: Meeting the moment

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The hybrid and remote work paradigms spawned by COVID, coupled with the severe downsizing of the federal workforce, are resulting in a surfeit of federal office space, both owned and leased. Add the aging of the federal inventory and the growing cost and impact of decades of deferred maintenance, and literally hundreds of government properties nationwide have the potential to be vacated and disposed of. And yet, in the world of federal real estate, there persists the sense that despite all the alignment on the requirement for action, the government…

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VA in 2026 looks to get EHR rollout back on track, embark on health care reorganization

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is embarking on major changes next year. It’s looking to get the rocky rollout of a new Electronic Health Record back on track. VA medical facilities already using the system have been beset with problems for years. Meanwhile, the VA is planning to roll out the biggest reorganization of its health care operations in decades. Here’s a look ahead at VA’s plans for 2026. VA EHR next steps VA is planning for its new EHR from Oracle-Cerner to go live at 13 sites in 2026…

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Senate confirms GSA leader, top tech official, raft of DoD nominees

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The Senate approved 97 Trump administration appointees before leaving town for the holidays on Thursday, with the confirmed list including top officials at the Defense Department, the General Services Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The vote on Thursday leaves just 15 nominations awaiting confirmation in the Senate heading into 2026. It also brings the total number of confirmed presidential appointees to 417 so far in Trump’s second term. Tech officials confirmed Ethan Klein was confirmed to serve as the fifth U.S. chief technology officer and as associate director…

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Trump’s ‘Warrior Dividend’ for troops is housing money approved by Congress

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President Donald Trump’s “Warrior Dividend” bonus for service members, which he suggested would be funded by tariff revenue, is actually a one-time basic allowance for housing stipend already approved by Congress, according to a senior administration official. The $ 1,776 bonus payment Trump announced while addressing the nation Wednesday night will be paid using funds Congress appropriated to the Defense Department in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed into law in July, to supplement the basic allowance for housing. Congress appropriated $ 2.9 billion to supplement the…

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