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Watch on Washington Top 5- October

By Yejin Jang posted Oct 25,2017 11:42 AM

  
  1. FirstNet hearing On October 12, the House Homeland Security Committee's Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications Subcommittee invited GAO, FirstNet, and DHS to testify on the current state of interoperable communications at the hearing "Assessing First Responding Communications." Much of the hearing focused on FirstNet and addressing challenges related to coverage, user adoption, and network resiliency.  
  2. New Hampshire Out? NH's Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC) unanimously (15-0; 2 abstentions) recommended that the state opt out of the FirstNet state plan. On October 16, Governor Sununu signed an executive order establishing the FirstNet opt-out review committee which is tasked with assessing the regulatory and financial risks associated with opting out of the FirstNet plan.     

  3. New DHS Secretary Nomination On October 11, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Kirstjen Nielsen as U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secretary. Currently, Nielsen serves as the principal deputy chief of staff in the White House under Chief of Staff John Kelly. Nielsen has an extensive cybersecurity background and is regarded as an expert in this field. 

  4. DHS + Elections Infrastructure Meeting  On October 14, DHS, the Election Assistance Commission, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and state and local elections officials convened the first government Coordinating Council for the Election Infrastructure Subsector. NASS President and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson stated that the coordinating council would give NASS members a venue to inform federal lawmakers on NASS members' role and activities as they prepare for the 2018 elections. 

  5. NGA opens NGA Future  Late last month, the National Governors Association announced the creation of a new technology office, NGA Future. NGA Future will "advise states on how to identify emerging issues and trends across the technological spectrum" and will be led by Timothy Blute, who served as the program director at the NGA Center for Best Practices' Homeland Security and Public Safety Division.

    Read this month's edition of NASCIO Connections here!

#Newsletter
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