Remembering the legacy of the late Gerry Connolly; The White House is reviewing the nation’s biometrics operation

Gerry Connolly, the longtime Virginia Democratic congressman responsible for some of the most influential federal IT reform legislation of the past two decades, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 75. Connolly’s family shared in a public message that the Northern Virginia congressman “passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family.” “Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better. He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless,” they wrote. “He always stood up for what is right and just. He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many. But more important than his accomplishments in elected office, Gerry lived by the ethos of ‘bloom where you are planted.’” While Connolly served on a variety of committees during his 16-year career in the House of Representatives, including an assignment on the Committee on Foreign Relations that spanned the entirety of his service, he was most known in the federal technology community for his leadership on the Oversight and Reform Committee, during which he made agency accountability for modernization and cybersecurity a staple issue.

A White House group helmed by national security adviser Stephen Miller and other homeland security-focused leaders has taken up a new focus: evaluating the federal government’s powerful biometrics program. The Homeland Security Council is now working with federal agencies and departments to review “all biometrics programs to ensure they perform as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, told FedScoop on Tuesday. “The Safety and Security of the American People is the President’s highest priority,” Jackson said. “Biometric screening and vetting programs are a vital part of the Administration’s efforts to protect U.S. Citizens.” The review comes amid recent FedScoop reporting that the Department of Government Efficiency has extended its operations to the Office of Biometric Identity Management, a small but influential office within DHS that helps oversee one of the world’s largest biometric databases.

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