In the News

Today, Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-VA) joined Congressman Will Hurd, Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and Congressman Mark Meadows today to advance the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act through the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and send it to the House floor, where it is expected to pass next week. The MGT Act marries the MOVE IT Act and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer’s IT Modernization Act to authorize a significant upfront investment to retire vulnerable, large-scale legacy systems and allow agencies to invest savings generated by FITARA and other reforms in accelerating our transition to the cloud.

“The Modernizing Government Technology Act is another piece in the puzzle we are putting together to move federal IT systems into the 21st century,” said Connolly. “It will build on the success of FITARA by investing savings in retiring dated, legacy systems and accelerating our transition to the cloud. I am glad to partner with Rep. Hurd on this effort and look forward to this bill hitting the President’s desk post haste.”

“Last year, the federal government spent $80 billion on IT systems, 80 percent of which was spent maintaining outdated, legacy systems. We don’t have to be stuck in the Stone Age,” said Rep. Hurd. “A move to growing technologies like the cloud can help keep our information secure, while saving billions of dollars. It’s time to stop wasting tax dollars and move government into the 21^st Century.”

“We compliment Chairman Hurd, Mr. Connolly, and all of the members who have worked diligently to produce this strong bipartisan push to help modernize our federal information technology resources,” said David Berteau, President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, the leading national association of the technology and professional services industry.

The working capital funds established by the MGT Act will create an incentive for agencies to find savings and reinvest them internally, creating a virtuous cycle. This reform has the potential to significantly speed up the federal government’s move to 21^st century technologies.