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Policy

People use IRS Direct File at the Internal Revenue Service Building on April 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Economic Security Project)

Bill backed by 160 Democrats seeks rebirth of IRS’s Direct File

The legislation would make the free electronic filling tool a permanent program and bar the Treasury secretary from sabotaging it through other agreements.
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., speaks during a press conference on Jan. 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

NIST bill for small business AI assistance passes House

The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act tasks the NIST director with developing a suite of AI resources aimed at helping Main Street, lawmakers say.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., attends a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Feb. 4, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

House bill seeks AI workforce tax credits, agency-led outreach

The AI Workforce Training Act would amend the federal tax code and task the departments of Commerce, Labor and Treasury with leading a campaign to inform companies.
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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks during the Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Senate takes up push to modernize environmental permitting process

The bipartisan legislation directs agencies to standardize data systems and use cloud-based platforms to digitize federal permitting. A companion bill already passed the House.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., listens as Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on May 15, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Lawmakers take another shot at NSF-run prizes for using AI to solve problems

The bipartisan, bicameral AI Grand Challenges Act would task NSF with overseeing $1 million competitions where innovators use AI to solve problems in health, energy, cyber and…
A humanoid robot learns to organize shelves at the data collection training ground for humanoid robots in Qingdao, Shandong, China, on January 12, 2026. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

House lawmakers lay groundwork to create robotics commission

The potential independent, temporary commission is part of a bipartisan effort meant to better inform future legislation, the Trump administration and relevant federal agencies.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., confer during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Bills to fund TMF, overhaul IT procurement move forward in House

Legislation to scale back educational requirements for federal cyber jobs also advanced out of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, speaks at a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus news conference on Capitol Hill on Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Bipartisan House duo wants Treasury-led push to fight identity theft, fraud

A bill from Reps. Pete Sessions and Bill Foster would task the Treasury secretary with doling out fraud prevention grants to states to develop digital IDs that…
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