Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act
The Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act would overhaul how the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is used and overseen. It realigns funding toward core modernization priorities—such as retiring or upgrading legacy information technology, bolstering cybersecurity and privacy, and improving overall IT efficiency and service delivery—while tightening controls to ensure funds are used as Congress intends. The bill also imposes new requirements on federal CIOs and agency CIOs to inventory high-risk legacy systems, compile a formal federal IT inventory, and produce prioritization reports to Congress and GAO. It emphasizes repayment and milestone-based funding, introduces stronger safeguards against fraudulent or misleading project statements, and extends the fund’s longevity to December 31, 2032. In short, the bill aims to sharpen use of TMF dollars, improve accountability and transparency, and accelerate progress in modernizing federal IT infrastructure, with explicit oversight and reporting requirements and a clearer path for reimbursements and milestones.
Key Points
- 1Realigned use of TMF funds: Funds may be used to modernize, retire, or replace legacy IT, enhance cybersecurity/privacy, or improve long-term IT efficiency and mission delivery; funds can also support services tied to those activities, with a requirement that programs have not been denied by Congress and that costs can be reimbursed to maintain fund solvency.
- 2Stronger accountability for false statements: The Administrator must suspend or terminate funding for projects where the agency head provided fraudulent or misleading statements (including about technical design, business case, or program management).
- 3Milestone-based and reimbursable funding: Funds transferred to agencies should generally be incremental and tied to measurable development milestones; agencies must provide information to the Director to justify disbursements, and the head of the agency must reimburse the Fund to keep it solvent until sunset.
- 4CIO-led legacy IT inventory and prioritization: Federal CIOs must compile a Legacy Federal IT Inventory of high-risk legacy systems, updated annually, and the Federal CIO must create a prioritized list of the 10 most risky systems, with rapid reporting to Congress and GAO.
- 5Sunset date and solvency: The bill moves the TMF sunset to December 31, 2032 and requires ongoing funding solvency, ensuring the Fund remains operational through the sunset.