Author Archive
Natalie Alms
Artificial Intelligence
Trump signs AI executive order
The order calls for the development of an AI action plan and sets up a process for revoking actions taken under President Biden’s previous AI executive order signed in October 2023.
Artificial Intelligence
Trump axes Biden’s AI executive order
President Donald Trump vowed to repeal the order during campaigning and in his presidential platform.
Digital Government
IRS Direct File to open a week after Trump’s inauguration
Republicans on Capitol Hill have asked the incoming president to scrap the free tax filing service developed during the Biden administration.
Exclusive
Digital Government
Coming federal cyber executive order includes a push to mobile drivers licenses
The draft order does not, however, tackle the full breadth of actions that were expected from a promised identity executive order that has yet to materialize.
Digital Government
SNAP theft reimbursements could end for many without congressional action by Friday
Senators are also urging the Agriculture Department to speed up its rulemaking around card security that could help prevent the problem.
Digital Government
Republican lawmakers ask Trump to kill IRS Direct File
The new program intended to enable free, online tax filing directly with the government has garnered controversy and praise since its inception.
Exclusive
Digital Government
Slow progress towards more secure EBT cards highlights the challenges ahead for states
The U.S. Agriculture Department doesn’t have a timeline for fully moving food assistance accounts to industry-standard chip cards, leaving beneficiaries vulnerable to digital theft.
Digital Government
Inside the Department of Labor’s collaboration with New Jersey to overhaul unemployment programs
A new application for unemployment claims in the Garden State marks the result of a years-long federal effort to help states modernize their jobless aid efforts.
Digital Government
States get streamlined access to Treasury’s Do Not Pay system for unemployment
The move comes as federal agencies work with states to combat the rise in jobless aid fraud following the pandemic.
Digital Government
IRS gears up to launch Direct File pilot
The pilot will only be available on a limited basis to certain taxpayers.
Digital Government
GSA partners with state, local governments on text alert service
The pilot program helps state and local governments notify residents of critical deadlines. Norfolk, Virginia, has already been using the service to remind people about Medicaid reenrollment.
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Workforce
Feds calls on states to reevaluate unemployment benefit accessibility
Access to unemployment has been declining and differs drastically across demographic groups. The Labor Department is urging states and territories to do something about it in new guidance.
Digital Government
Feds hope more data access will improve states’ SNAP delivery
The U.S. Agriculture Department is working to help states address card skimming and other persistent problems in the SNAP program.
Workforce
The cyber workforce gap is growing
Despite a significant increase in the number of people entering the cyber field in 2023, demand is still far outpacing that supply.
Digital Government
IRS announces 13 states where taxpayers could use its Direct File pilot
Under the pilot program, residents would be able to use the IRS program to file their federal tax returns online for the 2024 tax season. New York and Arizona are developing state-level filing systems.
Digital Government
The money's out the door in nationwide unemployment insurance modernization push
A Labor Department official said efforts to help states modernize their UI systems are trending in the right direction, but funding may be insufficient.
Digital Government
Hawaii’s wildfires led to fast tracking federal identity tools for unemployment claims
Unemployment is on the rise in Maui due in part to the drastic drop in tourism after the devastating wildfires. But the state's rapid deployment of an underutilized federal identity verification tool will help it get benefits to the people who really need it.
Digital Government
Real ID requirements temporarily waived for states' mobile IDs
The coming rulemaking would waive REAL ID Act requirements so that federal agencies can still accept mobile driver's licenses when the law’s implementation starts in 2025.
Finance
IRS seeks states’ input on its direct file pilot
States have until Sept. 4 to tell the IRS if they’re interested in participating.
Digital Government
Unemployment insurance modernization takes hit in Congress
The funding reduction is part of the debt ceiling compromise, but the Labor Department says it still plans to focus on helping states combat identity fraud and strengthening the integrity of the UI system.
