What States Need from Washington in 2026: NASCIO’s Advocacy Priorities

Alex and Amy talk about NASCIO's recently released 2026 federal advocacy priorities--as well as our personal goals for the new year.

Find the priorities here: https://www.nascio.org/government-affairs/federal-advocacy-priorities/

Transcript

Amy Glasscock 0:05

Hi, and welcome to NASCIO Voices, where we talk all things state IT. I'm Amy Glasscock in Lexington, Kentucky.

Alex Whitaker 0:11

And I'm Alex Whitaker in Washington, D.C. Today we are talking with a very special guest, me.

Amy Glasscock 0:16

That's right. Today our very own Alex Whitaker, Government Affairs Director at NASCIO, will talk about the newly released 2026 NASCIO Advocacy Priorities and just might give us a preview of what to expect from Congress and the administration this year.

Alex Whitaker 0:31

That's right, and there's a lot going on in DC right now, though. So why don't we just get right to it?

Amy Glasscock 0:36

Sounds good to me. So, Alex, first tell us about NASCIO's advocacy priorities, you know, just the basics. What are they and why do we release them?

Alex Whitaker 0:45

Yeah, sure. So we have been doing NASCIO advocacy priorities for uh for a long time. Certainly before I came, before Mr. Matt Pincus uh was here, even. So we've been doing these for a few years. And what they are is just sort of a standing set of four to five, and sometimes a little more, sometimes even a little less, principles that we use to guide our advocacy over the next year. And so what they are is they are selected, and they're sort of suggested by NASCIO staff and then approved by the CIOs, specifically the executive committee, but they're reviewed by all the membership. And they they are the things that we are going to focus on over the next year with both Congress and federal agencies. And again, these are federally focused. They are not everything that we do in a given year. Um, just because something is not on the advocacy principles doesn't mean that we don't get involved with it. And I'll go into a little bit more detail later about other things that we do. But they are the things that we say, look, these are the the respective sort of combined priorities of our membership and the things that we really would like to see Congress and the agencies support or pass or or in some situations um don't do over the next year. And it might be legislation, it might be regulations. So that's what they are, and those are kind of the basics. And we release them at the beginning of every year, and again, they sort of guide what we do over the following months.

Amy Glasscock 1:58

Gotcha. Okay. So tell us about the 2026 advocacy principles. What's what's happening this year?

Alex Whitaker 2:05

Yeah, so we see a lot of the same. There is a big change, which I'll talk about in a minute. Um, but really we are keeping some of the really basic things that we uh I say basic, but they're very important, but what we kind of call them meat and potatoes what we do. So, first, we are, of course, keeping language to reauthorize the state and local cybersecurity grant program. And I think anybody who's a listener of this program will know that the grant program is something that Nastio has been really committed to. We've seen a lot of tremendous success in the states and with local governments about putting this money to good use. I talk about the money a lot, but the other things we talk about are kind of the relationships that are being built, both between state and locals and between states and Congress, kind of talking about the needs of cybersecurity. Um, we have seen a lot of great progress from Congress over the last year. I want to thank our friends in Senator Hassan's office, with Congressman Garbarino as well, and the committee staff over on the House side. There are two legislative vehicles working their way through Congress right now. Um, NASCIO doesn't think that either of them are perfect, but that's okay. We want to keep working with our partners to make it sure that it works for state. So we will continue working on reauthorizing state and local cybersecurity grant program. Um, and of course, artificial intelligence is back as well. That was one we introduced last year. And I think that reflects some of the concerns that we have about federal policy. You know, NASCIO has been discouraged a little bit with the executive order that is effectively a state moratorium on state regulations concerning AI. We're gonna continue to push back against that, both from executive order but also in Congress as well. Um, and again, the thing that I always want to say here is that NASCIO is not against federal policy concerning artificial intelligence. You know, that that's not where we are. But we want to make sure that any federal policy that is enacted, it is done in consultation in conjunction with the states. Um, because states have done so much proactively to develop and implement good AI policy. And we don't want to see that roll back. Um, and then finally, too, we also are supporting broader adoption of.gov. We think.gov is such a great and cost-effective way to improve cybersecurity. That's been up there, I think, for years. Don't expect that to change. And then the one that is a bit more, a bit more of a tongue twister, but it's harmonizing disparate federal cybersecurity regulations. If regulatory harmonization is your thing, definitely encourage you to check out the one pager there. But we do want to see more regulatory harmonization when it comes to cybersecurity reaction of the federal government because it makes it so much, you know, I say easier, but it's it's not just that we're trying to make things easier for states, but it makes it more effective, both when it comes to the spending aspect of of complying with all these regulations, and we think it just makes things more secure to have kind of one federal standard. Um, so those are four of the big ones that we are really concerned about, and we're gonna keep working on.

Amy Glasscock 4:43

Awesome. I mean, who doesn't love some regulatory harmonization? Should be everyone's thing.

Alex Whitaker 4:48

Yeah.

Amy Glasscock 4:49

Okay, and so you mentioned that there's a new priority this year. Tell us about that.

Alex Whitaker 4:52

There is. So what we're doing is we previously last year, and I think for two years, we had had um some language about strengthening and improving the federal cybersecurity workforce. Now we're removing that advocacy principle. But I want to be very clear NASCIO is not done with advocating for a uh more resources for states to hire the workers that they need for cybersecurity needs. But what we're doing is we're removing that language and we're replacing it with an advocacy principle that champions reauthorization of the first responder network authority, or it's more commonly known as FirstNet. We're doing that for two reasons. One, there's not a lot of kind of comprehensive federal action right now when it comes to strengthening the cybersecurity workforce. We can talk more about that later, but then you know that's just something that we we don't see as much of an appetite about addressing that. Again, doesn't mean it's not important, doesn't mean that NASCIO is not going to be working on it, but we do see that FirstNet is up for reauthorization this year. FirstNet has been an extremely effective tool for states when they're responding to disasters, both man-made and otherwise. So that would of course include a cybersecurity disaster if it came to it. And we want to make sure that FirstNet is supported and reauthorized. And we see that really um the states, the local governments, everyone is really committed to that. I think it's likely, but it's not a done deal. So we want to express to our friends in Congress that NASCIO supports that, that we've seen a lot of effective uh effective uses by FirstNet so far. And we thought it was important enough to make it an advocacy principle. So that's one of the things we'll be champion this year.

Amy Glasscock 6:18

Great. So, you know, how have these been received so far now that we have them out there, and how will they feature in the work that you're doing for NASCIO?

Alex Whitaker 6:26

Yeah, so um, you know, normally we have a big in-person event that would have happened last week where we have a strategic partners briefing. Um, NASCIO's strategic partners are incredibly important to us. Those are groups like National Conference of State Legislatures, the budget officers, all kinds of other groups who we work with to advocate for a lot of things that I've mentioned already. But of course, the massive snowstorm got in our way last year, and even Doug Robinson didn't come to DC. And when Doug Robinson is not traveling, you know that it's serious. Um, we did a pivot to a Zoom virtual event where we briefed our strategic partners and we rolled out these uh advocacy principles. Again, I I know we're all sick of Zoom events, but it it actually went very well. And I think it was one of those instances where you know we're we're glad to be doing in person, but Zoom still does have a a lot of relevance for us. So had our virtual event, we've gotten a lot of great reactions so far from friends in Congress and the agencies as well as others. Um, we've talked a lot of publications about it. So overall, the reaction's been great. I think that um people are are always sort of in the same way that you're glad to see NASCIO's top ten priorities from the CIOs. I think that having the ability to say here's what the CEOs are really focused on from a congressional and in a federal and agency perspective is very helpful. So good feedback so far. And they're gonna feature in the work that we're doing. Again, it's just such a helpful thing for me in federal affairs to be able to say to our partners in Congress, look, here are the top things that we're focused on. And we we know there's a lot going on, but here's where the COs are really focused. Here's how the money is gonna be put to the best use, here are the most efficient things. Um let's just kind of speak with a very clear voice, which is so helpful in DC, particularly these days.

Amy Glasscock 8:03

Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's all very exciting. And uh before we move on to DC at large, is there anything else you want to mention about the priorities?

Alex Whitaker 8:12

Yeah, so I mean, one of the things I want to say is I I've said this a couple of times, but um, these aren't the only things that we work on. So if you are a NASCIO partner, if you are a a a member, or if you're just somebody who'd like to know more about NASCIO, please feel free to reach out. You know, some of the things that we're also we we always want to be is um responsive and adaptive. So if there are other things that come up on the radar and you think, hey, NASCIO should know about this, or here's a way that NASCO can be helpful, um, please let us know. Because you know, we always want to be as helpful as we can and on kind of whatever's going on in DC. So if there's anything else, let us know because we're always happy to have another conversation about ways that we can be helpful in a federal process.

Amy Glasscock 8:47

Awesome. All right, so now that we've got the 2026 NASCIO advocacy priorities washed out, tell us what we might expect from Congress and this administration over the next year or so.

Alex Whitaker 8:57

Yeah, well, let me first say any predictions are non-binding. So please no one come back and say I told you so in a month or a year. Uh, because predicting anything is, of course, really tough right now. You know, we are technically in the midst of a government shutdown, which is kind of flying under the radar. We think we're gonna get a spending deal, but we don't know. And I think that that uncertainty is gonna be really indicative of of how things are sort of shaping out over the next year. So there are things that are gonna be outside of our control when it comes to shutdowns, spending battles. Um, we've also got major midterm elections in November, which not just for Congress, and where you could see flips in in the House and potentially the Senate as well, but we have a huge number of governors' races that are up in November too. So I think that the politics are really gonna dominate the landscape in combination with the spending battles. But it's not all bad news. I mean, we have seen some really great, I mentioned earlier, some really great movement on getting state and local cybersecurity grant program reauthorized. There have been short-term extensions included in both the last government shutdown deal and this one. So that's hopeful. Again, NASTEO wants a long-term reauthorization, but I think the fact that those keep getting included show that Congress would love to get this done as well. So I think that we're gonna have some good, I hope and think we'll have some good news on SLCGP this year. On artificial intelligence, too. Look, again, I just want to be so clear that we are not against the idea of federal policy on AI. We're just against blanket moratoriums. And I think that people in Congress are hearing that. Legislatively, these moratoriums have been defeated every time that they've been included in major deals. So I think that's indicative of of where um some of our friends in Congress are. We're also really, I think we've seen great movement on the.gov domain option. So again, there's gonna be uncertainty based on spending, based on politics, uh, but that's not really gonna stop NASCIO from working on the things that are important to us and to CIOs. And I and I do think we'll have some good news over the next few months.

Amy Glasscock 10:50

Yeah, absolutely. Well, as always, it's going to be a busy year for you. So any other parting thoughts before we wrap up?

Alex Whitaker 10:58

No, I don't think so. Um, you know, mostly again, like I said, please feel free to reach out. We're always happy to chat with anyone about things that are going on in Congress. And yeah, I think that's the the big stuff. It's gonna be a a wild ride this year, but um maybe we can check back in a few months and I can give another update on how things are going in Congress.

Amy Glasscock 11:16

Absolutely. Okay, well, since it's just the two of us, I think we can skip the regular lightning round for the day, but we have to do at least one fun question, right? I mean, why else are people listening and stuff? Right. And since we're 2026 focused in this episode, do you have any goals or resolutions that you want to share for 2026?

Alex Whitaker 11:32

Yeah, so 2025, it was all about the number of books that I had read. I wanted to read more and I I had a number, I got that goal, but this year I've got some like specific books I want to read. Like I've never read Lord of the Rings, I've never read that really long, intimidating churnal grant book. So that's that's kind of the goal this year. I'm trying to go for quality over quantity. What about you?

Amy Glasscock 11:54

Yeah, that that's a good one. Uh yeah, that's interesting. I maybe you you I'm sure you do this too. My husband also like writes down all the books that he reads throughout the year, and so I started doing that too, just to kind of I feel like it'll encourage me to read more in a variety of things. So yeah, I've been able to read a few books already. One was really long. Uh I don't know if you've heard of this book. It's called The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It was written in 1992, but I feel like it's been getting some like buzz again lately. I don't know. I saw it pop up a couple times and I read it and it was really long.

Alex Whitaker 12:25

So I'm I'm I'm interested. I'm not putting it on my list. I've got too many long ones, but I'm glad you were able to get through this.

Amy Glasscock 12:32

Yeah, it's uh you'll have to look into it. It's pretty good. Um just you know, sort of those those normal uh resolutions that people have to, you know, be healthier and move more and get strong and all of those things.

Alex Whitaker 12:45

Um reading and we'll we'll we should have a NASCIO uh lifting um competition, workout at our next session.

Amy Glasscock 12:54

Yeah. That's awesome. And then of course, sort of had this long ongoing uh renovation of our attic in our house. And so being able to finish that this year is uh my sort of main goal.

Alex Whitaker 13:08

I love the Instagram updates. I mean, it feels like you're really making progress. I'm living like a year.

Amy Glasscock 13:12

We've got drywall, so yeah, it's all downhill from here, right? All right. Well, thanks so much for the rundown. I know NASCIO's advocacy has a lot going on this year. And if you want to read more, you can read the priorities in full and download our one-page PDFs on the NASCIO website.

Alex Whitaker 13:29

Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, busy year, but um it's an exciting year too. I think we have a lot that we can accomplish.

Amy Glasscock 13:34

All right, thanks, Alex.

Alex Whitaker 13:36

Got it. Thanks again for listening to NASCIO Voices. NASCIO Voices is a production of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Learn more at NASCIO.org.

Amy Glasscock 13:46

We'll be back soon with more great IT content, and don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.