Washington is grappling with another partial government shutdown after lawmakers were unable to reach a deal on a short-term funding bill by Friday at midnight.

The shutdown is entering its third day, and over the weekend both sides appeared to dig in and ratchet up the blame game.

If lawmakers manage to reach a deal in the coming days to reopen the government, they will be able to turn their attention to some pressing tech issues.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation 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 Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) public safety and homeland security bureau chief, as well as representatives from the wireless and broadcasting industries.

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The FCC has launched an investigation into the incident in Hawaii, during which residents received a false emergency warning 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 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 Energy and 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 Brian Emanuel SchatzVideo of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral Democrat on Graham video urging people to 'use my words against me': 'Done' Polls show trust in scientific, political institutions eroding MORE (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."

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