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lincoln network

The umbrella organization over Studio, Deployed and Policy seeking to bridge the gap between innovators and policymakers for a freer and more abundant future.

lincoln studio

A product studio that partners with donors to create new technology products to solve policy and social problems. The liberty skunkworks.

lincoln deployed

A full-service digital agency that specializes in product strategy, design, and software engineering, for customers that align with our mission.

lincoln policy

A boutique think tank that works with policymakers and tech innovators to promote market-oriented ideas to stengthen American innovation.

Blog

April 16, 2020 | Garrett Johnson

SBA.gov vs. Instacart – Collapsing IT Infrastructure During Covid 19

Exploding demand for government assistance at nearly every level has strained many old technology systems to the point of crashing, causing millions of Americans nightmares. Any startup would dream of the hockey-stick traffic spikes experienced by state unemployment pages or by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) since mid-March, but the current crisis provides another
Blog

November 23, 2021 | Brandon Detweiler

America is Losing its Lead as the Innovation Capital of the World

Due to lack of clarity on regulations from the SEC, and not being publicly open and supportive of the innovation happening in the crypto space (especially DeFi) the US is already missing the opportunity to advance what America has always been…the country where entrepreneurship, innovation, and advancement overflow and the GO-TO place for the greatest inventors, technologists, and innovators from around the world, bringing ever growing prosperity to all. It’s time to stop trying to apply laws that are almost 100 years old and embrace the future.
Blog

November 19, 2021 | Luke Hogg

New Report Adds Confusion to Stablecoin Regulation

A new interagency report from the President’s Working Group (PWG) on Financial Markets regarding stablecoins was intended to provide policymakers a clear path forward in handling this fledgling industry. Instead, it raises more questions than it answers.  The report does an excellent job of laying out the benefits and risks of stablecoins to financial markets
Blog

November 17, 2021 | Luke Hogg

Technical Disagreement Grounds 5G Rollout

A disagreement between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on spectrum interference has hit a wall leaving plans to roll out a 5G frequency band in limbo.    Wireless carriers had originally planned to begin rollout of 5G services on December 5th, but agreed to a one month delay as the FAA
Blog

November 16, 2021 | Dan Lips

GAO Saved Taxpayers $66 Billion Last Year

But Congress’s watchdog has the potential to do more to make government work better  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its annual Performance and Accountability report this week. The Comptroller General reported that the Congressional Watchdog agency’s work resulted in “about $66.2 billion in financial benefits—a return of about $93 for every dollar invested in
Blog

November 16, 2021 | Lars Schönander

A Review of Industrial Policy Books

Below you can find part of our review of the literature on industrial strategy, developmental states, and innovation policy. The list of essays and texts ranges from more academic works to historical overviews of countries that succeeded in economic development. Hopefully these works can provide a starting point for others interested in learning about industrial
Blog

November 10, 2021 | Zach Graves

Lincoln welcomes Antonio García Martínez as senior fellow

WASHINGTON (Nov. 10, 2021) – Lincoln Network is excited to announce the hiring of Antonio García Martínez as senior fellow on its policy team. In this role, he will focus on the intersection of technology, media, and digital free expression. Antonio brings a wealth of experience to Lincoln, having been the founder of a YC-backed
Blog

November 8, 2021 | Luke Hogg

Senate Seeks to Punish Big Tech by Blocking Mergers & Acquisitions

But would blocking M&As starve the Big Tech beast, or hamstring their future competitors by weakening the startup ecosystem? Last Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Min.) — Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights — introduced new legislation targeting Big Tech companies’ ability to engage in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). This
Blog

November 3, 2021 | Luke Hogg

Coalition Urges Senate Appropriators to Prioritize Article I

Today, Lincoln Network and six other organizations and individuals sent a letter to Senate Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairman Richard Shelby and Senate Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Ranking Member Mike Braun urging them to prioritize Congress’ policy making capacity and increasing its oversight capabilities. This letter cited the lack of proportional investment in the
Letters & Testimony

October 27, 2021 | Luke Hogg

New Framework Could Help Bring Clarity to Confusing Crypto Rules

Innovative and disruptive technologies are often confusing by their very nature. Without some prior frame of reference, understanding whether and how to regulate these technologies can be even more challenging. Nowhere is this phenomenon more clear than with cryptocurrency and other digitally native financial assets.  A new high level policy proposal from one of the
Blog

October 14, 2021 | Luke Hogg

Senate Unveils Bipartisan Antitrust Legislation

But is it doubling down on the House’s flawed approach? Following the House Judiciary Committee’s introduction of its package of bills to address alleged anticompetitive practices in the tech industry back in June, Senate Judiciary Committee members Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have announced the first in a series of long awaited companion
Blog

October 6, 2021 | Reynold Schweickhardt

Leveraging Technology to Improve How People Communicate with Their Representatives in Congress

Click here to download a PDF version of the paper. In 2021, the political parties on Capitol Hill have found little common ground. Yet they do agree on at least one key point: Congress needs to work better.  Few congressional responsibilities are more vital than lawmakers’ interactions with their constituents. Constituents provide significant input in
Research

September 29, 2021 | Dan Lips

Bipartisan Senate Bill Highlights Congress’s Opportunity to Save “Tens of Billions”

The Hassan-Ernst bill would rescind $1.5 billion from a fund Congress terminated decades ago While Congress is focused on the debt limit and trillion-dollar spending packages, the  Government Accountability Office (GAO) continues to highlight opportunities for lawmakers and federal agencies to save “tens of billions” implementing the nonpartisan watchdog’s recommendations for reforming the government.  And
Blog

September 22, 2021 | Zach Graves

Lincoln Announces New Fellowship on Emerging Technologies

FACET — Fellowship on Advancing Critical Emerging Technologies Lincoln Network is excited to announce a new resident fellowship program at the intersection of national security and emerging technologies. Fellows will spend a year working with our team in Washington, DC to translate academic ideas to actionable policies that advance American innovation. The program will focus
Blog

September 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

Congress should know what federal agencies are wasting

Congressional leaders remain focused on passing the $1 trillion infrastructure package and answering the Senate’s $3.5 trillion budget resolution. But a  bipartisan effort is also underway that has the potential to save hundreds of billions of dollars over time by curbing waste, fraud, and abuse across government agencies.  In July, the House of Representatives passed
Commentary, Publications, Uncategorized

September 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

Congress Is Warning That the Federal Government Remains Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

Over the past year, Russia and the People’s Republic of China conducted successful cyber espionage campaigns against federal agencies, compromising some of the United States’ most sensitive information. The American public may wonder why federal networks remain vulnerable to serious data breaches despite the government spending billions on cybersecurity programs. But new reports from key
Commentary, Publications

September 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

How Congress and NIST Can Help Organizations Better Manage Cyber Risk

On Aug. 25, the Biden administration announced a new public-private initiative to improve the nation’s cybersecurity. The White House directed the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to partner with industry and other stakeholders to develop a new framework to “improve the security and integrity of the technology supply chain.”  The White House’s announcement
Commentary, Publications

September 2, 2021 | Dan Lips

Reviewing the Data: How GAO Saves Taxpayer Dollars

A review of nonpublic data estimating GAO’s financial accomplishments since 2002 In July, the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2022 Legislative Branch funding bill—legislation that would provide $729 million for the Government Accountability Office, an increase of $68 million over the prior year’s funding level. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is Congress’s watchdog:
Publications, Research

September 1, 2021 | Zach Graves

Announcing the second Policy Hackers cohort

We’re excited announce Lincoln Network’s second cohort of Policy Hackers–10 tech professionals from around the country passionate about helping bridge the gap between innovators and policymakers. Fellows will remain in their current roles while engaging with policy experts, lobbyists, academics, and government officials throughout the year-long program. The programming is aimed at helping fellows build
Blog

August 26, 2021 | Dan Lips

On Bitcoin and Border Security

How El Salvador’s plan to make crypto legal tender might change the “push”and “pull” factors  The crisis at the U.S. southern border continues unabated with Customs and Border Protection reporting a more than three-fold increase in encounters at the border compared to last year. While 2020 was a down year for illegal border crossings (perhaps
Blog

August 3, 2021 | Dan Lips

Why Fiscal Conservatives Should Cheer the House’s Leg Branch Funding Bill

The House of Representatives passed the Legislative Branch funding bill last week–increasing funding for Congress, the Capitol Police, and related agencies by nearly 14 percent over last year’s budget. For fiscal conservatives concerned about the ballooning federal debt, this is one area of the budget where we should be cheering for more funding than less. 
Blog

July 27, 2021 | Bonnie Kavoussi

The Case for a Longevity Moonshot

As the government debates spending more money on community college and the child tax credit, there is one form of government spending that could significantly improve the lives of every single person on earth. It’s time for the U.S. government to devote significant resources to finding a cure for aging and extending the human lifespan.
Blog

July 26, 2021 | Joel Thayer

Options to Give the Universal Service Fund a Much-Needed Upgrade

As telecommunications revenues decline, a tax to promote universal service – passed onto everyday consumers – continues to increase. The reason: That tax replenishes the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund’s annual budget of $5 billion to $8 billion. The fund is the commission’s primary tool to close the so-called “digital divide” by supporting four
Research

July 22, 2021 | Zach Graves

Coalition to Congress: Invest in Policy and Oversight Capacity to Strengthen Article I

Click here to view a PDF of the letter. Hon. Richard Shelby, Vice ChairU.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Hon. Mike Braun, Ranking MemberSubcommittee on the Legislative BranchU.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Re: Strengthening Article I with Policy and Oversight Capacity Dear Vice Chair Shelby and Ranking Member Braun, We the undersigned right-of-center organizations and individuals
Letters & Testimony

July 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

Congress May Soon Know How Much Federal Agencies Are Wasting

Fiscal conservatives haven’t had much to cheer on Capitol Hill in recent years. Even before the pandemic, Republican and Democratic leaders alike embraced a long-term path of deficit spending. The federal government’s debt is projected to grow faster than the nation’s economy, and there appears to be little political will to address the government’s structural fiscal
Commentary

July 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

The GAO at 100

The Government Accountability Office will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Wednesday; members of Congress are marking the occasion by boosting the watchdog agency’s budget and leveraging its nonpartisan oversight to deliver new taxpayer savings and improve governance. The House Appropriations Committee recently included $729 million for GAO in the new legislative branch spending bill, an increase of
Commentary

July 6, 2021 | Zach Graves

Policy Update for April-June 2021

The following post was originally set as an email newsletter to our friends and supporters. Re: Lincoln Policy Team Activities for Q2 Dear friend of Lincoln: I’d like to share with you some of our team’s recent outputs, covering a range of issues from technology governance, to national security, to congressional modernization and the future of oversight.
Blog

June 28, 2021 | Dan Lips

Cost-Effective Policy Options to Help States Manage Growing Cybersecurity Risks

State and local governments are facing growing cyber threats. From ransomware attacks to data breaches, local governments are on the frontlines of the global cyber conflict that remains a top national security threat, according to the Director of National Intelligence.  Like all organizations, state and local governments have limited resources to manage cybersecurity risks. Nationally,
Blog

June 24, 2021 | Zach Graves

Funding Bill Takes a Giant Leap to Rebuild Congressional Capacity

Today at noon the House Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch Subcommittee will mark up its funding bill for fiscal year 2022. This legislation constitutes a big leap towards addressing the devastating decline Members of Congress have inflicted upon the Legislative Branch over the past quarter century, including a nearly 40 percent staffing reduction at committees and
Blog

June 22, 2021 | Zach Graves

Expanding the FTC’s role to counter China

The House Judiciary Committee’s package of anti-tech monopoly legislation heads to markup tomorrow. Included in it are several proposals to strengthen the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ-ATR), the two primary US competition enforcement agencies. Out of this package, the two bills that are least controversial, and thus most
Blog

June 16, 2021 | Zach Graves

House anti-monopoly proposals seek to radically reshape the tech sector

Following the House Judiciary Committee’s year-long investigation into digital market competition in the 116th Congress, a group of House lawmakers are advancing a bipartisan package of bills aimed at reining in big tech firms—namely, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. What the bills do If enacted, this package would dramatically reshape the US innovation ecosystem,
Blog

June 16, 2021 | Zach Graves

Building state capacity at FTC and DOJ

Within the House’s package of anti-monopoly proposals, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 is the odd one out. It has a longer legislative history, stronger bipartisan support, is relatively incremental, and is not explicitly targeted at big tech. Despite some nay-saying from the peanut gallery, as well as a more fraught political environment
Blog

June 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

A New Strategy to Use Technology to Promote American Values Abroad

President Biden’s ongoing trip to Europe, including meetings with the G-7 and NATO, has highlighted the many challenges facing the world’s leading democracies including the ongoing global democratic recession. The past year marked “the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom,” according to the non-profit Freedom House. Writing in the Washington Post before the
Blog

June 14, 2021 | Marshall Kosloff

The Realignment Conference

Join The Realignment podcast’s Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti for a live and in-person conference in Miami, Florida. Much like the podcast, this conference will explore the realignment reshaping America and the world — and what it means for politics, technology, foreign policy, and the ways we live and work. The conference will bring together
Blog

June 9, 2021 | Dan Lips

Questions for Thursday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing On “Atrocities in Xinjiang: Where Do We Go From Here?”

On Thursday, the subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be holding a hearing to examine the People’s Republic of China’s atrocities in Xinjiang. Senators will hear testimony from leading human rights experts about the ongoing genocide occuring in the region. In March, the State Department issued its annual report on global human rights
Blog, Letters & Testimony

June 2, 2021 | Dan Lips

A New Strategy for U.S. Public Diplomacy: Using Virtual Education and Incentives to Promote Understanding of American Values

Click here to download a PDF version of the paper Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has not established an effective strategy for winning hearts and minds or promoting democratic and liberal values abroad. During this period, the United States reduced its capacity for effectively conducting public diplomacy. While the United
Research