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From COBOL to cloud, Burton reflects on four decades in government

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When Adriane Burton joined the federal government nearly 40 years ago, the IRS trained her to work on Unisys mainframes using COBOL.

Burton, who retired in April after 37 years of federal service, had a front-row seat for all the major technology changes the government went through since the late 1980s.

Burton, who spent her last 11 years as the chief information officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, said the evolution of networked systems and data centers may have been the most significant advancement during her career.

Adriane Burton (left), the former CIO at the Health Resources and Services Administration in HHS, retired earlier this year after 37 years of federal service.

“That’s the foundation for a lot, and especially in terms of being able to communicate. I remember when I started working at IRS, they used to send out tape to service centers. That was the file transfer, putting a tape on a plane and bringing it out. So without that network infrastructure, you could never do some of the things that we do now and that we’re just so used to having,” Burton said during an “exit” interview on Ask the CIO. “When I first started my federal career, of course there was no internet. So you can imagine it’s life before the internet and after. So the internet became mainstream, and it really revolutionized the ability to communicate outside of your specific silo and your mainframe environment. That just really opened up the opportunity to collaborate with anyone throughout the world, which was pretty amazing during that time. Then I remember we used to send Buckslips around, and now email transformed everything as did virtual private networks, Wi-Fi and smartphones. I remember when I went to the National Institutes of Health and they had BlackBerrys, and I thought, ‘wow, this is so cool. I really want to work here, look at all this new cutting edge technology that they have.’ Then came cloud computing, being another game changer, where you’re not focused on building data centers, but really procuring those services and using them and software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service, and moving from custom code to low code, no code environments.”

Burton said all of these transformative technologies came to the forefront during the pandemic for HRSA. She said one of her biggest accomplishments during her career is how the agency responded during the crisis, in part because of the technology modernization she helped usher in.

“When we got the call stating that the federal government needs to work remotely, we were really able to pivot quickly with that, especially in terms of the infrastructure. So we were already there. Folks already had laptops. We had our VPNs that were sized at the appropriate capacity. So we were able to transition without skipping a beat,” Burton said. “I don’t think very many things escalated to that level in terms of the emergency, during COVID in my 37 years of federal service. We were able to expedite grant funds to healthcare providers, and then we got that $175 billion for the provider relief fund that we needed to disperse, and we didn’t have a system to disperse that. Within two weeks, we were able to push out $40 billion to healthcare providers.”

Customers, mission drives IT upgrades

Burton said thanks to the infrastructure modernization HRSA has been pursuing, a lot of the capabilities they needed were in place or could be put in place with the help of a contractor fairly quickly.

Burton also pointed to how HRSA improved its management of data. It created a data lake a few years before the pandemic hit and the agency seamless was able to share data across different programs and with private sector partners.

“We always have been able to embrace security and different things and still not let that prevent us from actually doing the work that we needed to do within our organization,” she said. “One of the great things that I loved about HRSA was it was a right size. It wasn’t too small and too big, so that we could actually implement new technologies fairly quickly. I’m really happy with the progress that we made over the 11 years, and I’m really proud of my team.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Burton said HRSA also adopted business intelligence capabilities to take further advantage of its data.

All of these modernization changes, Burton said, were driven by the needs of the mission and her customers.

“I think that I’ve always, even if I supported mandatory services, treated folks as customers that they didn’t have to use our services. I think that that really helped to improve the services over time and to really listen to the customers to find out what do they really need, what will really help them?” she said. “It may be process improvement. It could be some of the technology or it could be educating them on the technology or it could be supporting their meetings for them. The key is trying to figure out how can we partner and how can I make their lives better by with the use of technology?”

Burton said understanding that aspect of her job was among her most important lessons learned over her career. While a CIO may come in as a technologist, she said being a top level technology executive is more about strategy and meeting mission goals.

“Technology is always going to change, but the overall goal for delivering healthcare doesn’t change. So then for us, because we were limited in funding, we really have to be practical about how to fund things, to be creative and that means that sometimes you’re not going to get this big budget for this whole thing that you want to do, and really to think about it in different segments so that you can implement things like a foundation and build on it over time,” she said. “That’s what we did with our data lake. We implemented for one program, and then we were able to expand it for other programs along the way. I think that’s important. It’s also really important to invest in your people. I spent a lot of time mentoring folks, developing them, allowing them to go on different types of details so that they grow because if your people are happy, then usually, they’re able to produce more.”

As for her future, Burton said she plans to take some time off for a vacation and then enjoy the summer. She said she will continue to work with two non-profit organizations and reassess what she wants to do in the fall.

The post From COBOL to cloud, Burton reflects on four decades in government first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Gov. JB Pritzker Brokers Deal to Host Roughly 30 Texas Democrats in Chicago for Week-Long Plot Against GOP Redistricting Plan

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15 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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Credit: Staff Sgt. Aaron Rodriguez (Joint Force Headquarters – Illinois National Guard Public Affairs)

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is now playing host to roughly 30 rogue Texas Democrats who fled the Lone Star State to block a mid-decade redistricting vote backed by President Donald Trump and the Republican legislature.

The Texas Democrats, once again resorting to legislative cowardice, broke quorum just before a scheduled special session that would have cemented a new congressional map, one expected to create five new GOP-leaning seats.

In their desperate attempt to stop the vote, these runaway lawmakers fled across state lines to Chicago, where they are being sheltered and advised by none other than far-left Governor Pritzker himself, according to NBC.

This marks the second time in recent years that Texas Democrats have pulled this unconstitutional stunt. They tried the same tactic in 2021—and failed.

In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blasted the lawmakers, saying: “Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately. We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.”

Last month, Paxton issued a stern warning, vowing to arrest any Democrats who attempted to play political games.

“If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go. The people of Texas elected them to do a job, not run away and hide like cowards. Lawmakers must answer the special session call and pass the important priorities that the Governor has put forward.

My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater.”

Now, far-left Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has brokered a deal to host 30 Texas Democrats in Chicago in a last-ditch attempt to sabotage a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans.

These rogue Texas lawmakers fled the Lone Star State like cowards, deliberately breaking quorum to grind legislative business to a halt.

NBC reported:

The roughly 30 Democrats are expected to stay for the week in a plan brokered with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who had met with the Texas caucus late last month and has directed staff to provide logistical support for their stay. A news conference with the governor and Texas Democrats is expected later Sunday.

“We’re leaving Texas to fight for Texans,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. “We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”

[…]

Politically, the move puts Pritzker at the center of a high-profile national fight. The governor, who is running for his third term in office, is also widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender. He has implored Democrats to resist Trump’s agenda.

The origins of Pritzker’s involvement began when the governor gave a keynote address to Oklahoma Democrats in June. Pritzker met privately in a “robust” meeting with the party chair to talk about the Texas redistricting, according to a person close to the governor. When Pritzker later met with Texas Democrats, he assured them they could come to his state and find support, including finding hotels, meeting spaces and other logistical assistance.

The Texas Democrats, however, face the risk of a $500-a-day fine and even possible arrest for fleeing the state. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure in 2023, two years after state Democrats left the state for three weeks to block an elections bill from progressing.

“Democrats have got to stand up at this point and tell every individual in this nation, ‘This is not normal. This is not democracy,’” Democratic state Rep. Ann Johnson told NBC News on Saturday.

The post Gov. JB Pritzker Brokers Deal to Host Roughly 30 Texas Democrats in Chicago for Week-Long Plot Against GOP Redistricting Plan appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Sydney Sweeney Is Revealed to be Registered Republican Amid Woke Backlash Over American Eagle’s ‘Good Jeans’ Ad

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15 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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In a stunning revelation that’s sure to infuriate the radical left even more, bombshell actress Sydney Sweeney has been outed as a registered Republican in Florida, just as she’s facing absurd backlash over a harmless American Eagle jeans advertisement.

The 27-year-old “Euphoria” star, known for her roles in hit shows and films, registered with the GOP in Monroe County in June 2024, according to public voter records viewed by The Gateway Pundit.

This comes at a time when left-wing activists are desperately trying to cancel her for an ad that playfully puns on “great jeans” and “good genes,” twisting it into some far-fetched eugenics conspiracy.

The controversy erupted last week when American Eagle launched its fall campaign featuring Sweeney. In the ad, the blonde beauty struts in denim while narrating about her family heritage: “My parents always said I got good genes… Great jeans look good on everyone.”

The ad’s slogan is a clever play on words, tying into the brand’s jeans line and celebrating confidence and personal style. But in today’s hyper-woke climate, nothing innocent escapes the outrage mob. Critics on social media, particularly from progressive circles, accused the ad of promoting “white supremacy” and eugenics, claiming the “genes” reference evokes Nazi-era ideals of genetic superiority, simply because Sweeney is white, attractive, and unapologetically feminine.

American Eagle fired back against the nonsense, issuing a statement that read, in part, “Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way.”

This isn’t the first time Sweeney has faced scrutiny for not toeing the Hollywood leftist line. Rumors of her conservative leanings have swirled for years, fueled by photos from a family gathering where people were seen wearing red MAGA hats. Sweeney never commented on the controversy.

Sweeney is no longer just a talented actress, she’s emerging as a symbol of resistance against cancel culture.

The post Sydney Sweeney Is Revealed to be Registered Republican Amid Woke Backlash Over American Eagle’s ‘Good Jeans’ Ad appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Motorcyclist Gets Taught a Hard Lesson After Performing Dangerous Stunts in Front of Police Officers (VIDEO)

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15 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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Credit: Pueblo Police Department

A motorcyclist got taught a hard lesson after deciding to perform stupid stunts while driving in front of police.

As KKTV reported on Thursday, a person in Pueblo, Colorado got busted by police last month after officers witnessed a series of reckless moves by him and two of his cronies.

These motorcyclists blocked traffic with their stunts, causing several community members to call the cops and complain.

As the video below shows, motorcyclists perform sets of wheelies and stand up on the seat, endangering themselves and others on the road.

Once the motorcyclists reach a stoplight, the Pueblo police spring into action. They gang tackle the motorcyclist closest to them, and the other two drivers speed off.

He is then put into handcuffs.

WATCH:

One of the officers angrily explains to the motorcyclist that he has a whole dashcam of him doing stupid things while driving on the road, endangering everybody.

Then the idiot receives news that he probably considers worse than an arrest: the police officer tells him they will tow his bike and put a hold on it for a nuisance.

“Oh no, please don’t do that,” he whines.

The policeman further explains that the bike will now go into storage, and the biker must pay the tow fee every day for six months.

“No, dude. Please don’t do this. It’s a minibike, I hardly ever ride that thing,” he whimpers.

The cop closes by telling the motorcyclist they are not trying to make his life harder, but that he put everyone in danger. Thus, he needs to suffer the consequences for his actions.

The post Motorcyclist Gets Taught a Hard Lesson After Performing Dangerous Stunts in Front of Police Officers (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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