WASHINGTON – The IT Alliance for the Public Sector (ITAPS), a division of ITI, welcomed the introduction of the bipartisan Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017 (MGT Act) in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate by Reps. Will Hurd (R-Tex.) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), and Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.). The legislation, similar to a bill passed by the House last year, was praised by the group in letters sent to House and Senate lawmakers as a means to reform the way government funds acquiring information technology (IT) and for the government to better keep pace with innovation.
“Incidents like the OPM breach underscore why the federal government needs to invest in modernizing outdated technology, however, the government cannot take such actions because it is trapped in a funding cycle where it spends $60 billion just to sustain the systems that it has," said Senior Vice President for Public Sector Trey Hodgkins. "The MGT Act will help federal agencies adopt new technologies like cloud computing and other innovative technologies as well as strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities. We hope the strong bipartisan and bicameral support for the MGT Act will compel Congress to act swiftly and send this legislation to the president to sign into law and boost our national security."
ITAPS has been advocating for introducing the legislation, most recently last month before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. Before that, the group offered its recommendations to the Trump administration on steps needed to modernize IT, reform acquisition processes, and improve cybersecurity at federal agencies including proposing an immediate inventory and assessment of federal IT systems and a systemic approach to modernize out-of-date technologies.
# # #