In the News

On Monday, July 20, 2020, at 1:30 p.m., Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, will hold a hearing to examine the longstanding issue of legacy information technology (IT) systems, the challenges they present to federal agencies, and the urgent need to modernize federal IT systems, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, the federal government is operating on legacy systems that can be more expensive to maintain, more vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, and less effective in accomplishing their intended purpose.  In June 2019, GAO identified and reported that the ten most critical federal IT legacy systems in need of modernization are maintained by ten different federal agencies, whose missions are essential to government operations such as emergency management, healthcare, and wartime readiness.

The challenges these agencies face due to their IT legacy systems have been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic to the detriment of many Americans.  The IT legacy systems of the Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and Department of Labor all failed to efficiently get Americans aid when they needed it most.  

This hearing will examine these failures and the federal government’s need to prioritize modernizing federal IT systems.