OMB wants more information and data about government IT purchases

The Office of Management and Budget is asking federal IT leaders to provide more information about what they buy and collect more data about those purchases from the private sector. A Tuesday memo mandates certain agency chief information officers both provide OMB with monthly updates on contracts that they or their subordinates approve, as well as require vendors to provide details about pricing and agency use of those services. “It’s time to put all the cards on the table,” Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia said in a video about the memo posted to LinkedIn. “At the end of the day, this is about using taxpayer’s dollars responsibly, buying smarter, and making sure the government is actually getting value from the technology it depends on.” The Trump administration has already made moves to consolidate IT contracting under the General Services Administration and, more broadly, collect and share better data about federal acquisitions. The new memo appears to bring specific actions to achieve those policies directly to CIOs. The policy, which was signed by OMB Director Russell Vought, points to a statutory requirement that CIOs in Chief Financial Officers Act agencies — a cohort of roughly two dozen larger government departments and entities — must sign off on IT contracts and agreements. One of the House’s top voices on artificial intelligence wants to put an independent federal agency in charge of ensuring the data and algorithms behind foundation models are made public. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., co-chair of the Congressional AI Caucus, is part of a bipartisan trio behind a bill introduced last week that would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish requirements for foundation model transparency. The bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., calls on the FTC to work with the Commerce secretary, the Office of Science and Technology Policy director and the head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology on those requirements. The federal leaders would also seek input from standards bodies, academics, tech experts, civil rights advocates and consumers. Beyer, who has pursued graduate work in machine learning, said in a press release that consumers deserve more information about AI foundation models that are “commonly described as a ‘black box’” — meaning users aren’t privy to why a model may provide a particular response. Giving users more information, such as what the model bases it results on and how it was built, would go a long way toward changing that element of the unknown, the Virginia Democrat said. 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.