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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), along with Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), has introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which seeks to eliminate duplication and waste in federal information technology (IT) acquisition and management. The amendment is closely based on bipartisan legislation passed by the House as part of its version of the NDAA (Title LI and Sec. 5504 of H.R. 1960). Supporters of the Udall-Moran-Johanns Amendment include the Business Software Alliance, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Amazon, Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), Professional Services Council, and Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

"It is becoming increasingly clear that reforms to and increased oversight of our federal IT procurement is desperately needed," Sen. Moran said. "The systemically-flawed rollout of Healthcare.gov is one high-profile example of IT procurement failures, but numerous other projects incur cost overruns, project delays or are abandoned altogether. These examples of waste come at a cost of billions of dollars to American taxpayers. Our amendment will help the federal government transition into the 21st Century by requiring greater accountability and transparency in the IT procurement process to make certain taxpayers get a good deal when Congress invests in technology."

The federal government spends roughly $80 billion annually on information technology, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that federal IT reforms have the potential to save billions of dollars. A recent GAO report found that federal IT projects too frequently incur cost overruns and result in duplicative systems while contributing little to mission-related outcomes.

The Udall-Moran-Johanns Amendment would:

  • Empower federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs), elevating their role in civilian agency budget planning processes, and increasing their ability to optimize how agencies use information technology;
  • Reinvigorate the CIO Council within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to encourage cross-agency best practices and shared IT services;
  • Codify the existing OMB practice of providing a public website – the IT Dashboard – for greater transparency of federal IT spending; and
  • Increase the transparency of IT investments by requiring 80 percent of Government-wide IT spending be covered by the IT Dashboard.

Click here for the full text of the Udall-Moran-Johanns Federal IT Savings, Accountability and Transparency Amendment.

 

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