House passes FITARA extension

The House of Representatives passed the FITARA Enhancement Act, a bill that expands on the 2014 legislation to permanently authorize transparency and risk management in IT investments and extends the sunset dates of data center consolidation provisions.

The bill passed by a vote of 408-0.

The bill makes permanent the IT Dashboard, which records agency-by-agency technology spending and risk assessments. The site is hosted by the Office of Management and Budget, which also maintains the data center consolidation plan through 2020.

In remarks on the House floor, sponsor Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said the sunset provisions were included in the original legislation "in the hope and expectation that, by having that, we would encourage cooperation and implementation." He added that so far, "cooperation and implementation is uneven throughout the federal government."

A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

The House also passed the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Improvements Act of 2017, which contains an amendment that instructs federal agencies to give preference to small businesses conducting cybersecurity R&D.

The amendment, authored by Rep. Clay Higgins (D-La.), “identifies cybersecurity as a priority field.” Higgins said.

The bill, which passed unanimously, was first introduced in May by Rep. Stephen Knight (R-Calif.). In the past, the Department of Homeland Security has used SBIR to fund small businesses developing blockchain technology.