Both the House and Senate government oversight committees have advanced legislation that would make information regarding federal government spending more transparent to the public. The legislation, entitled the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2019, was introduced by Congressmen Mike Quigley (D-IL) in the House and Gary Peters (D-MI) in the Senate.

Last week, a coalition of civil society organizations covering the political gamut under the auspices of the Make It Safe Coalition sent a letter to House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill highlighting challenges to whistleblower rights and protections in the United States.

Senators from various Finance, Budget, and Oversight Committees have come together to introduce legislation to reform how federal officials spend taxpayer funds. The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Vision Act of 2020 will standardize CFO responsibilities, among other reforms. The legislation, lawmakers note, is in response to the 115th Congress’ passage of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, which called upon agencies to use data to drive program reforms.

Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have introduced the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act to stop federal government use of facial recognition until comprehensive ethical guidelines can be created. The legislation provides exceptions for some federal law enforcement use and creates a commission to recommend uses for facial recognition in the future.

The House has passed legislation by voice vote to codify the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) within the General Services Administration (GSA) into law. The legislation also establishes a board to conduct security assessments into cloud computing services and to ensure cloud operators meet FedRAMP security guidelines.

Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) led legislation to expand union worker rights through House committee last month. This week, the entire House chamber is expected to move forward with the legislation entitled the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2019 or HR 2474.

In December, Congress passed and the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020, including a provision granting federal employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Due to the construction of the provision, most federal employees were eligible for the new program, but at least two major agencies were not granted access. This month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation entitled the “Federal Employee Parental Leave Technical Correction Act” to rectify this error.

The Competitive Pay for Leaders in Veterans Health Care Act, S. 3084, has been passed by unanimous consent in the Senate last week. The legislation makes employees in Senior Executive Service-equivalent positions hired under a special authority created by a 2010 law eligible for a higher salary, rather than capping them at the lowest level of the Executive Schedule.

The Senate voted to pass the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act last week to establish an interagency panel to provide recommendations and a report on the internet of things. The “internet of things” refers to the growing number of connected and interconnected devices that work in consort with each other to provide services.

The bipartisan Building Blocks of STEM Act was signed into law just before the Congress’ holiday recess to encourage the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve and expand STEM education initiatives in schools around the country. The legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), focuses on early childhood STEM education and introducing more women to computer science programs.

Congressional leaders announced an agreement with the White House last week to fund all federal agencies through September 2020. The funding legislation, split into two minibus bills, passed the House on Tuesday and will need to be passed in the Senate and signed by the president before Friday to avert a government shutdown.

The NDAA summary report released by the committees includes several provisions impacting the civilian federal workforce. Most notably, the conference agreement provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave to all federal civilian employees.

Legislation introduced last week by Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) in the House and Rick Scott (R-FL) in the Senate would prohibit the federal government from purchasing drones manufactured in countries identified as national security threats. Lawmakers fear these drones would be a risk to national security.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed a temporary funding measure, or continuing resolution (CR), to fund the government until December 20. House members voted Tuesday with the hopes of moving the legislation to the Senate for a vote later in the week and onto the president’s desk for signature before the current CR expires at midnight on Thursday.

The Senate Budget Committee advanced legislation last week to reform the congressional budget process, the first bipartisan budget reform bill to pass the Committee since 1990.