Post by bot on Sept 25, 2016 22:39:29 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on the Passage of the Modernizing Government Technology Act
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the House of Repesentatives passed the Modernizing Government Technology Act, which includes the Information Technology Modernization Act that he introduced earlier this year and is part of House Democrats’ Renewing Faith in Government agenda:
“I’m very pleased that the House has passed the Modernizing Government Technology Act, which is an essential component of the reforms I outlined in July to renew Americans’ faith in their government, which is sadly at historic lows.
“Technology plays a central role in government today. Modern technology can make government more efficient, transparent, user-friendly, and secure. In the same vein, outdated technology systems make it harder for government to provide services effectively and places classified or personal data at risk. Unfortunately, the technology infrastructure of the federal government is currently in terrible shape. We cannot continue with the status quo, where flat-line budgets lead to essential technology upgrades being delayed indefinitely.
“That’s why the bill passed today, which includes legislation I introduced called the Information Technology Modernization Act, is so important. By authorizing the creation of an Information Technology Modernization Fund, we are taking the first step toward upgrading systems to improve performance and protect against cyber threats. Such a fund would be used to finance rapid upgrades of large, vulnerable systems with the latest best practices from Silicon Valley, such as cloud computing, shared services, and agile development. Once the upgrades are completed, agencies will pay back into the Fund over time using the savings achieved through greater efficiency. As a result, $3 billion invested today could finance up to $12 billion worth of investments over the first decade alone. Transparency would be maintained by requiring all Fund upgrade details to be updated regularly online for the public to see.
“I want to thank Rep. Gerry Connolly, the lead Democratic cosponsor of the Modernizing Government Technology Act, for maintaining such a strong focus on this issue for many years. I also want to thank those who originally cosponsored my Information Technology Modernization Act as well as Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for lending their support to this effort, making it a truly bipartisan one.
“While I’m glad the House has moved ahead today with the legislation of this Fund, we will still need to capitalize it. I will continue working to achieve that next step as we move forward.”