What Washington really knows about the Internet of Things

President Barack Obama wears a FitBit monitor on his wrist to count his steps and calories, and has waxed poetic about the power of wearable technology to “give each of us information that allows us to stay healthier.” On Capitol Hill, 13 members have joined together across party lines in 2015 to launch the Internet of Things Caucus. Started by a former Microsoft marketing executive and a Republican who made his fortune in electronics, the caucus pledges to help foster the coming explosion of “products, services and interconnected opportunities that didn’t exist a generation ago and will be taken for granted by the end of this generation.” Then again, the caucus hasn't even held its first meeting yet. President Obama's own government panel has warned of a "small -- and rapidly closing -- window" for the US government to successfully figure out how to deal with the tech explosion everyone is so excited about. The number of web-linked gadgets surpassed the number of humans on the planet seven years ago, and today the Internet of Things, the profusion of networked objects and sensors that increasingly touch our lives, is quickly turning our physical world into something totally new.

As American consumers start filling their homes and businesses with networked technology -- smart watches sending health data wirelessly, cars that can take over for their human drivers, and drones tracking wildfires and cattle -- POLITICO set out to determine how well government was keeping up. Beyond one fledgling caucus, how is Washington grappling with this sweeping new force? The short answer: It's not.