| By Harper Neidig and Ali Breland Washington is facing another potential shutdown with lawmakers needing to pass a short-term funding bill by Friday at midnight. If lawmakers manage to keep the government open, they will be able to turn their attention to some pressing tech issues. The Senate Commerce Committee is slated to hold a hearing on Thursday examining the nation's Wireless Emergency Alert system, following a false missile warning in Hawaii earlier this month. The panel will hear from Lisa Fowlkes, the FCC's public safety and homeland security bureau chief, as well as representatives from the wireless and broadcasting industries. The FCC has launched an investigation into the incident in Hawaii, during which residents received a warning on their mobile devices about an incoming ballistic missile attack. The message sparked confusion and panic on the islands. It took nearly 40 minutes for authorities to issue a correction. Officials said that the incident was a result of human error during a shift change. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai laid the blame with Hawaii's system. "We have been in close contact with federal and state officials, gathering the facts about how this false alert was issued," Pai said in a statement a day after the incident. "Based on the information we have collected so far, it appears that the government of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert," he added. The House Commerce Committee has also announced plans to hold a hearing with FCC commissioners about the incident in the coming weeks. "We need to make sure that a mistake like what happened in Hawaii never happens again," the House panel's leaders said in a joint statement. "The upcoming hearing will be an important opportunity to hear from the commissioners as they continue to investigate the incident." In addition to Thursday's hearing, the Senate Commerce subcommittee on technology, which oversees the FCC, plans to hold a field hearing in Hawaii, at the behest of Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the ranking member on the subcommittee. The FCC had announced before the incident in Hawaii that it would vote this month on a proposal to overhaul the Wireless Emergency Alert system by allowing authorities to more narrowly target warnings geographically. On Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on cybersecurity is slated to hold a closed-door hearing on "cyber warfighting policy." Recent stories: Ex-Uber CEO nets $1.4B as company closes Softbank deal Apple to allow iPhone users to disable battery slowdowns Senate votes to extend NSA spying program House Dems want to give cities the right to build broadband networks Amazon narrows list to 20 cities for HQ2 Tech trade groups push Trump to allow H1B spouses work Bipartisan group of senators ask Trump to fund broadband in infrastructure plan Twitter to inform users exposed to content from Russian accounts Facebook to investigate Russian interference in Brexit campaign Democrats search for 51st net neutrality vote States sue FCC over net neutrality repeal | 
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