House Reconciliation Package Includes $3 Billion for Federal IT
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By
Frank Konkel
The Technology Modernization Fund would get another $1 billion.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., that earmarks more than $3 billion in spending on federal IT modernization efforts.
The committee voted to approve the amendment after a markup of the reconciliation package current under draft in the House.
“This week, Congress continues our important work in rebuilding from this pandemic, and building a 21st century economy that is more equitable, visionary, and sustainable. But the policy prescriptions we adopt will only be successful if our IT can deliver on those promises,” Connolly said in a statement. “The fate of the world’s largest economy rises and falls with the ability of government IT systems to deliver in an emergency and as we recover into the future. And that should galvanize us all.”
The amendment supplements IT modernization funding in three ways. First, it adds $1 billion in funding to the Technology Modernization Fund—the same amount it received under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Those numbers represent approximately ten times more than Congress had ever previously allotted for TMF. But speaking during the markup Thursday, Connolly said more than 100 agencies have submitted applications for IT modernization projects to TMF, and “new applications continue to flood in.”
In addition, the amendment provides $2 billion for the General Services Administration's Federal Citizen Services Fund. The fund promotes innovation regarding how federal agencies engage with the public, as well as cybersecurity and cloud-based initiatives like the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, known as FedRAMP.
Finally, the amendment would allocate another $350 million to the Information Technology Oversight and Reform account within the Office of Management and Budget. The funding influx would improve how the Federal IT Dashboard tracks IT spending across federal agencies. The ITOR account also funds staffing for the U.S. Digital Service, a tech fix-it squad that helps agency partners address tech problems.
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