Last night, as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, the House adopted Congressman Gerry Connolly’s FITARA Extension amendment. The amendment, cosponsored by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), would extend key provisions of FITARA that were set to expire.
Connolly’s amendment would extend three expiring provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition and Reform Act:
• Federal data center consolidation
• Transparency and risk management of major IT systems
• IT portfolio, program, and resource reviews
“We are committed to the successful implementation and oversight of FITARA,” said Congressman Connolly. “Previous major IT reform efforts have fallen short of their potential because of a lack of congressional oversight. I will not let that happen with FITARA.”
“In working with GAO and OMB on FITARA implementation, we have found that there are areas of FITARA that would benefit from an extension of their original sunset date,” Connolly said. “These areas include the provisions on federal data center consolidation, transparency and risk management of major IT systems, and IT portfolio, program, and resource reviews.”
“Very simply, the federal data center problem is bigger than we initially thought. In 2009, the government estimated it had roughly 1,100 data centers. In reality, by 2015 we found we had more than 11,700,” Connolly said. “We are potentially leaving money on the table when it comes to data center consolidation if we allow FITARA’s data center reporting and planning requirements to expire in 2018.”
“We need to let agencies know that they are not going to be able to run out the clock on FITARA’s transparency and reporting requirements. A limited extension of the data center provisions of FITARA, scheduled to sunset October 1, 2018, will help us do that.”
“Additionally, the IT Dashboard and PortfolioStat provisions of FITARA have allowed OMB to evaluate the efficiencies and risk of IT investments and would benefit from a permanent extension of the current December 1, 2019 sunset. These are valuable oversight tools, and we should continue to use them to reform federal IT procurement."
FITARA Extension Background
Three provisions of FITARA are set to expire in 2018 and 2019.
1. IT Dashboard
OMB and agencies are to make publicly available detailed information on federal IT investments, and agency CIOs are to categorize IT investments by risk. Additionally, if major IT investments are rated as high risk for 4 consecutive quarters, the agencies are to conduct a review of the investment.
2. PortfolioStat
Agencies are to annually review IT investment portfolios in order to, among other things, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and identify potential waste and duplication. OMB is required to develop standardized performance metrics, to include cost savings, and to submit quarterly reports to Congress on cost savings.
3. Data Center Consolidation Initiative (DCCI)
Agencies are required to provide OMB with a data center inventory, a strategy for consolidating and optimizing the data centers (to include planned cost savings), and quarterly updates on progress made. OMB is required to develop a goal of how much is to be saved through this initiative, and report on progress annually.
GAO Reporting Requirements: GAO is required to report on the information provided to OMB on data center consolidation.
FITARA Extension Changes
1. REMOVE SUNSET: Section 832 of Public Law 113-291 (44 U.S.C. 3601): IT Dashboard
Scheduled to sunset on December 1, 2019.
Will be made permanent.
2. REMOVE SUNSET: Section 833 of Public Law 113-291 (44 U.S.C. 3601): PortfolioStat
Scheduled to sunset on December 1, 2019.
Will be made permanent.
3. AMEND SUNSET: Section 834 of Public Law 113-291 (44 U.S.C. 3601): Data Center Consolidation Initiative (DCCI)
Scheduled to sunset on October 1, 2018.
Will be extended to sunset on October 1, 2020.
INCLUDES: Section 834 (b)(4) of Public Law 113-291 (44 U.S.C. 3601): GAO Reporting requirements
Scheduled to sunset on October 1, 2018.
Will be extended to sunset on October 1, 2020.
