Senators go for tech and telecom goodies in defense bill

When senators return to Washington next week, one of the most pressing issues they’ll face is passing the National Defense Authorization Act, which has been pushed back much further than usual. Lawmakers have filed nearly 700 amendments to the annual defense bill, including several related to tech and telecom. Politico has compiled a list of major Democrat, Republican, and bipartisan amendments in these areas. Two of the Senate’s tech-related amendments had already been approved in the House version. One calls for an annual State Department report on surveillance sales to repressive governments, and another would establish the National Digital Reserve Corps, through which private-sector tech workers could work on short-term federal assignments.