Weekly Roundup - March 16-20, 2026

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Senate Bill Aims to Curb AI Use by the DOD.  New Senate legislation would establish restrictions on the Defense Department's use of artificial intelligence technologies for surveillance of U.S. citizens, among other proposed limits — raising broader questions about AI governance, accountability, and civil liberties in national security contexts.

DOE Announces $293M in AI Research Funding Under Genesis Mission. The Department of Energy announced $293 million in research funding through its Genesis Mission, supporting interdisciplinary teams developing novel AI models and frameworks to address national scientific challenges — a significant federal investment in applied AI for mission-driven research.

GSA, NIST Launch AI Evaluation, Standards Partnership. GSA and NIST's Center for AI Standards and Innovation launched a joint initiative to test and measure AI systems to accelerate the deployment and adoption of AI technologies across the federal government — a pivotal step toward standardized AI evaluation frameworks for public-sector use.

NIST's CAISI Seeks Input on Barriers to AI Adoption. NIST's Center for AI Standards and Innovation is soliciting feedback from organizations in education, healthcare, and finance to identify the most significant barriers to adopting AI technologies, hosting a series of virtual workshops to inform future guidance and standards development.

Pentagon Challenges Academia for 'Groundbreaking' AI, Cyber Curriculum. The Department of Defense issued a call to academia for new entry-level curriculum in AI and cybersecurity — seeking to build the next generation of talent equipped for the digital front lines, at a time when the federal government faces acute shortages of technology professionals.

AI is Now a Competitive Edge in Federal Capture — and Small Firms Need to Adjust Fast. As AI reshapes the federal contracting landscape, small businesses face mounting pressure to integrate AI tools or risk losing ground to larger primes. The Federal Drive's Terry Gerton explores with former VA and OPM executive Desmond Brown how 2026 is shaping up as a pivotal turning point for small business competitiveness in the federal market.

TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION & INNOVATION

Congress Reauthorized the Technology Modernization Fund Through the Fiscal Year — Why That Matters and What's Next. Congress has reauthorized the Technology Modernization Fund through September 30, 2026, preserving a critical revolving fund that finances agency IT modernization projects. The piece makes the case that a permanent, long-term reauthorization — not annual extensions — is essential to sustaining meaningful modernization at scale.

DOE Aiming to Put More Nuclear Power on U.S. Grid. The Department of Energy unveiled a new initiative to increase nuclear power generation from U.S. facilities to meet surging electricity demand from industrial manufacturers and AI-driven data center operators — underscoring the intimate connection between the national AI build-out and energy infrastructure policy.

NTIA Plans to Launch a '6G Call for Action' to Unite Allies. NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth announced plans for a '6G Call to Action' to rally U.S. allies around a common approach to next-generation wireless networks — a significant signal that the administration views 6G as a geopolitical and technological priority for maintaining American leadership in telecommunications.

Matsui Urges Spectrum Caucus Revival. Rep. Doris Matsui called for reviving the Congressional Spectrum Caucus and advancing the integration of AI with open radio access networks (Open RAN) to strengthen U.S. communication infrastructure — linking spectrum policy directly to AI-driven network modernization and national competitiveness.

Rep. James Walkinshaw Urges Federal Innovation, Technology Reforms. Rep. James Walkinshaw emphasized the critical need for federal investment in innovation and technology modernization to keep the United States competitive globally — advocating for reforms to the Technology Modernization Fund and other vehicles that enable agencies to acquire and deploy modern capabilities at pace.

CYBERSECURITY & INFRASTRUCTURE

CISA Reaches 'Tipping Point' in Critical Infrastructure Partnerships. Acting CISA Director Nick Andersen said the agency is reaching a 'tipping point' in its relationships with critical infrastructure operators, shifting from building partnerships to operationalizing collaboration — a sign of maturation in the government's whole-of-nation approach to cybersecurity resilience.

FEDERAL WORKFORCE & LEADERSHIP

IRS Staff Exodus Threatens 'Severe Risks,' GAO Says. More than 17,000 IRS employees — roughly 17 percent of its workforce — resigned or retired early in 2025 under administration-driven workforce reductions. A new GAO report warns the losses pose 'severe risks' to agency operations, raising pressing questions about institutional capacity, knowledge retention, and technology modernization continuity at one of government's most mission-critical agencies.

Watchdog Warns of Challenges as IRS Handles First Tax Season After Trump Staffing Cuts. A government watchdog report highlights the operational challenges confronting the IRS as it navigates its first full filing season following the mass departures of 2025 — with concerns focused on workforce depth, technology system readiness, and long-term institutional resilience.

Highly Educated, Relatively Younger Federal Workers Depart D.C. A report from D.C.'s Office of Revenue Analysis found that more than 30,000 federal workers based in Washington left their jobs in 2025 — disproportionately younger, highly educated employees who represented a significant share of the capital's federal knowledge base. The findings add a concrete economic and human dimension to the workforce transformation now reshaping government institutions.

When Senior Leaders Lack People Skills, Transformations Fail. McKinsey’s research shows that roughly 70% of transformation efforts fail, and the root cause is rarely a flawed business case. It’s the human element: leaders who can’t detect resistance, misread silence as buy-in, or dismiss valid concerns as complaints. When the people leading the transformation can’t read the people living it, even the best-designed initiative stalls. Leaders who respond effectively don’t begin by replacing their teams or scrapping the plan. They begin by closing the gap between what leaders perceive and what people actually experience. Four strategies can help: 1) Diagnose the gap without making it personal; 2) Build the skill through repetition, not training; 3) Redesign the system to compensate for the gap; and 4) Know when to replace, not develop.

4 Capabilities that Drive Operational Improvement. Many organizations hope to improve operations using a cycle of fragmented, standalone, short-term improvements. While a great deal of effort is expended, it often isn’t enough to move the needle. Research on why some companies outperform others even when adopting the same operational improvement practices found that success comes down to developing cumulative capabilities: a sequence of interlinked capabilities that, when deliberately built one on top of the other, enable organizations to anticipate, adapt, and evolve continuously and strategically.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

Modernizing OPM and Reimagining the Federal Workforce by Michael J. Keegan. In his latest essay, Michael explores how Kupor is working to modernize and reimagine the federal HR infrastructure and processes—from hiring and performance management to skills-based talent and AI adoption. This isn’t incremental change. It’s a shift in how government attracts, develops, and empowers talent at scale. If you’re thinking about the future of public service, workforce strategy, or how government must evolve to meet the moment—this conversation is worth your time.

ICYMI – This week Michael J. Keegan hosted Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on The Business of Government Hour to explore how Kupor is working to modernize and reimagine the federal HR infrastructure and processes—from hiring and performance management to skills-based talent and AI adoption.