Trade groups renew bid for IT funding in stimulus

A group of tech associations urged senators not to forget money to help with federal IT modernization efforts that could help the government better deal with the outbreak when considering future COVID-19 relief.

In a June 29 letter to Senate leaders, the Alliance for Digital Innovation, BSA-The Software Alliance, Coalition for Procurement Advocacy, CompTIA, Cybersecurity Coalition, Information Technology Industry Council, and the Internet Association.

The groups asked that the Senate consider putting a higher priority on IT and cybersecurity funding in any upcoming legislative package, including putting more money into the Technology Modernization Fund, a revolving pot of multi-year funding authorized for moving legacy systems to the cloud and managed services.

The groups asked the Senate to match the $1 billion TMF infusion passed by the House of Representatives in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act in May. The HEROES Act is a massive $3 trillion relief bill designed to continue unemployment insurance expansion and cover costs of cash-starved state and local governments during the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. The Republican-controlled Senate has yet to take up the bill, but may look to deal piecemeal with some of its provisions.

"This will enable the government to quickly and effectively leverage commercial capabilities and services that are vital to maintaining operations, deprecating legacy systems and improving the abilities of agencies to manage IT resources effectively throughout changing circumstances," the letter states.

The groups also proposed a set of principles for IT modernization to support telework, state and local operations, cybersecurity and federal agency upgrades.