The House on Wednesday passed by a voice vote a bipartisan bill that would authorize federal agencies to create their own working capital funds to update their information technology systems, Nextgov reported Wednesday.
Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and other lawmakers introduced on April 28 the Modernizing Government Technology Act that would direct appropriators to authorize $250 million in annual funds for a central modernization fund over two years.
Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) also proposed a similar version of the bill in April, according to the report.
Hurd said the MGT Act seeks to build up information security, facilitate the federal government’s adoption of cloud computing and other modern technology platforms and provide incentives to cost-saving efforts and chief information officers, MeriTalk reported Wednesday.
“Under MGT, savings obtained by federal agencies by doing things like streamlining IT systems, replacing legacy products, and transitioning to cloud computing can be placed in a working capital fund that can be accessed throughout the three years for further modernization efforts,â€Â Hurd added.
CSRA President and CEO Larry Prior, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2017, said the bill’s passage in the House marks an important step to facilitate updates to the federal IT infrastructure amid cyber threats, the report added.