Trump budget seeks $150M boost for TMF

The federal government expects to spend $92 billion in information technology in fiscal year 2021, according to the president's budget request released Feb. 10.

Part of that spend, the administration hopes, will be more projects funded by the centrally administered pot of no-year money called the Technology Modernization Fund. Despite two consecutive years of congressional lowballing, the administration is looking to boost the TMF with a $150 million addition in fiscal year 2021.

While the administration is looking to boost the TMF, the budget request for tech oversight at the White House continues its steady decline. The Information Technology Oversight and Reform budget line – which includes the federal CIO and the U.S. Digital Service – dipped from $15 million in 2020 to just $11 million in 2021. That figure includes $7 million for USDS.

The Federal Citizens Services Fund at the General Services Administration is getting a slight boost in the budget request to $58.4 million, up from $55 million. This account includes funds for contract support for activities associated with the President's Management Agenda as well as professional communities of practice – the various tech councils – that are focused on developing and implementing best practices in digital services delivery. Also at GSA, the Technology Transformation Services is holding steady at $39 million.

The GSA budget request also seeks $20 million in new no-year money to migrate government payroll to the NewPay shared services system. The addition comes in the form of a request to add to GSA's working capital fund.