The Wrap: On the Hill for Arthritis Cures; TMF/FITARA Changes Coming; AI Doom Scrolling

Welcome to The Wrap for Thursday, May 11!

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From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:

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Arthritis Cure ‘Shark Tank’ on the Hill

Angry@Arthritis, the?recently launched?nonprofit that is seeking cures for OsteoArthritis (OA), in partnership with the Arthritis Foundation kicked off its first "Shark Tank" session on Capitol Hill today to present the science behind the promising cures in the pipeline, and issued a call for more Federal government action to find cures more quickly. Steve O’Keeffe, who created Angry@Arthritis this year to pursue cures and to provide fellow patients with a better guide to the disease than when he was diagnosed 18 months ago, pledged to stay in the fight for the long haul. “I’m not going anywhere until this problem is solved,” said O’Keeffe, who is also the founder of MeriTalk. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., himself a long-time arthritis sufferer, said today that an estimated 70 million Americans have some form of arthritis, and that 32.5 million of them have OA. He noted that the Biden administration’s FY2024 budget request includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for arthritis work, but said “I’m sure we can do more.” A?slew of doctors from around the world joined Angry@Arthritis today to spotlight the promise of new treatments and cures, and the nonprofit issued a set of recommendations to Congress including for additional funding, and for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide more clarity on the state of arthritis cure research funding across Federal agencies.

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TMF, FITARA Changes Coming

House tech leaders said late Tuesday they are planning to introduce legislation that would revamp the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), and are also considering the addition of a legacy IT modernization category to the semi-annual FITARA Scorecard that ranks Federal agency progress across a range of IT-related measures. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who chairs the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, said she is planning at bill to “sharpen” the TMF, which was created in 2017 to help agencies jump-start tech modernization efforts. While Rep. Mace did not dive into the exact details of the bill, but noted that the subcommittee will continue to focus its oversight and legislative efforts on “innovative solutions that actually move the needle on the old problem of IT modernization – and that’s what this legislation will do.”

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Cut the AI Doom Scrolling

That’s the word from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component agency official who pushed back this week against what he called the recent wave of negative attention being paid to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, arguing instead that responsible use of the technology is proving to be a boon for his agency. Damian Kostiuk, Deputy Chief Data Officer at DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component, offered those views – sometimes with tongue in cheek – saying that just weeks ago, “ChatGPT just seemed like this cute little baby … it was just this nascent little thing over there in the corner.” But since then, he said, “we’re coming up with workgroups everywhere, and we’re going to have new policy, and Congress is making commentary, and AI is on the verge of becoming a sentient … boogeyman monster.” Kostiuk then laid out how the use of AI at USCIS is having the effect of empowering people, rather than taking their power away from them.

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NARA Chief Confirmed

Congrats to Colleen Shogan, who the Senate voted on Wednesday to?confirm?to head the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).?She was confirmed by a 52-45 vote, and will begin her tenure next week as the 11th archivist of the United States, and the first woman to lead the agency in a permanent capacity. Shogan was first nominated by President Biden in August 2022 – following the retirement of the 10th archivist, David Ferriero – but the nomination was quickly?blocked?by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who cited Shogan’s “partisan views” as the reason for the deadlock. President Biden refreshed?Shogan’s nomination in January.

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DoD S&T Strategy ?

The Department of Defense (DoD) on Tuesday?released?the 2023 version of its National Defense Science and Technology Strategy (NDSTS) – released yearly – articulating the need to outpace China in the technology realm, and to better communicate with Congress and allies abroad. Every year, the NDSTS outlines the DoD’s science and technology priorities, goals, and investments and makes recommendations on the future of the defense research and engineering enterprise. Similar to the 2022 strategy, the DoD called for outpacing China in quantum science, hypersonic, cyber, artificial intelligence, and related areas in the 2023 strategy. “Our competitive edge in defense science and technology is built on our global leadership in these fields,” the 12-page document reads.

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Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more tomorrow. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy.

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