The Consolidated Appropriations Act–the bill negotiated by Democrats and Republicans in Congress that could fully fund several Federal agencies and avert another partial government shutdown–features a variety of funding for IT modernization projects at multiple agencies, according to the joint explanatory statement released with the bill:
TMF Holds Steady at $25 Million
As the earlier conference report agreed to in January outlined, the Technology Modernization Fund is set to receive $25 million for FY19 – way below the original House-appropriated number of $150 million but a big improvement over the $0 allotted by the Senate in initial funding bills.
SBA Sets Up MGT Working Capital Fund
The Small Business Administration will establish a working capital fund for IT modernization under the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, fulfilling its promise to do so as reflected by the latest FITARA Scorecard.
IRS Gets Funding for Business Systems Modernization
The bill appropriates $150 million for the Internal Revenue Service and its business systems modernization effort. The funding comes in the wake of online filing and payment portals going down on Tax Day last year.
White House Gets in on IT Modernization Efforts
The bill allots $12.8 million for IT modernization efforts at the White House through the Office of Administration. If the legislation is approved, a new face would be in charge of implementation – the White House named Roger L. Stone as the director of White House IT this month.
OMB Gets $28.5 Million for IT Oversight
The funding bill provides $28.5 million for OMB’s IT oversight activities. Led by Federal CIO Suzette Kent, the bill calls on OMB to continue the “IT Dashboard, the OMB Policy Library, and IT policy compliance tracking.”
OPM Looks to Modernize IT
The bill also allots $14 million to the Office of Personnel Management “to improve IT security and infrastructure.” OPM recently named Clare Martorana as the new CIO for the agency.
NIST Keeps FY18 Funding Levels for Cyber
The bill dictates that NIST keep FY2018 funding levels for the Scientific and Technical Research and Services account, rejecting reductions proposed by the Department of Commerce.