The Hack Roundup: White House Says Neuberger Leading Federal Response Anton Medvedev/Shutterstock.com
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A spokeswoman for the National Security Council disputed Congressional intelligence leaders’ characterization of the federal response to widespread unauthorized intrusion into federal and private-sector networks as leaderless, saying Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger has been in charge of coordinating the effort.
On Tuesday, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee sent a letter to the heads of agencies making up the Unified Coordination Group and urged them to choose a leader.
“The briefings we have received convey a disjointed and disorganized response to confronting the breach,” reads the letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se
By Russell Smith
Feb 09, 2021
In government contracting, there is always uncertainty when a new president takes office. As someone in the sector for many years, I have seen the patterns that come with these changes.
There is typically a small drop in overall business for contractors when a Democratic administration comes onboard. In addition, there’s usually a five to seven-month delay in some procurements due to on-boarding political appointees.
However, the Democratic control of Congress and the economic situation are speeding things up at a pace not seen with recent administration changeovers. And this could be a sign that opportunities will be moving quickly in 2021.
Quick Hits
Information Technology Industry Council, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the
Professional Services Council are urging congressional leaders to include a $9 billion boost to the Technology Modernization Fund as proposed in President Biden s pandemic relief and recovery legislation. Aging IT at the Federal and state levels has hindered the ability of governments to quickly and efficiently get dollars, programs, and services to Americans in need, the groups wrote in their Feb. 2 letter to House and Senate leaders.
Michael Regan, Biden s nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, repeatedly stressed the roles of science and law as guiding principles for the agency at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The hashtag #BidenLied exploded on Twitter over the weekend
It came after the Democratic Party posted a tweet outlining Biden s plan to distribute $1,400 stimulus checks, on top of the $600 already approved
Critics expressed outrage at the size of the forthcoming checks and claimed that Biden previously promised to deliver $2,000 checks
But in reality Biden never made that promise, instead saying that he would add on to the original $600 checks for a total of $2,000
Democrats pledge to push Biden s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan through Congress without Republican support despite president s bid for unity
Biden s plan will unleash $400 billion to expand vaccinations and to reopen schools, $1,400 direct payments to households, and other priorities
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are laying the groundwork to start the go-it-alone approach as soon as next week
Democrats said the stubbornly high unemployment numbers and battered U.S. economy leave them unwilling to waste time courting Republican support
Biden has been appealing directly to Republican and Democratic lawmakers while signaling his priority to press ahead