Bills to fund TMF, overhaul IT procurement move forward in House

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced several tech-related bills Wednesday, including legislation to strengthen the Technology Modernization Fund, reform federal IT procurement and pare down educational requirements for agency cybersecurity roles. The TMF, which was created by law in 2017 to fund tech modernization projects across agencies, has been the subject of much hand-wringing in govtech circles after Congress let the funding vehicle expire late last year. The Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act (H.R. 2985), however, would get the TMF back on track, reauthorizing the TMF and its governing board through 2032. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who chairs House Oversight’s Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee, said it was her “privilege” to work with former Rep. Gerry Connolly on the bill before he died of cancer last May, calling the late Virginia Democrat one of TMF’s “strongest supporters” and a “good-faith partner” on the bill. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, ranking member of the cybersecurity subcommittee and co-sponsor of the TMF bill, said extending the TMF “is critical to ensuring federal agencies, many of which still rely on outdated IT systems, can modernize their infrastructure and defend against growing cyber threats.” In addition to reauthorizing the TMF, the bill would require agencies to “fully reimburse the fund” at levels that ensure it remains operational through 2032, per the bill text. The legislation also requires agencies to pay back administrative fees and create inventories of their legacy IT. The bill also included an amendment from Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., Connolly’s longtime chief of staff, that would require the Government Accountability Office to issue biannual reports on how TMF funds have been used to address legacy IT projects the watchdog deems high-priority. Improving government IT systems is also top of mind in the Federal Improvement in Technology (FIT) Procurement Act (H.R. 4123), which advanced out the committee by a 42-0 margin. The legislation would streamline the federal procurement process for small businesses and push federal contracting officers to examine larger acquisitions “where the potential for waste, fraud and abuse is high,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer. The Kentucky Republican noted that the bill would increase the micro-purchase threshold from $10,000 to $25,000 and raise the simplified-acquisition threshold from $250,000 to $500,000. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.