Lawmakers set oversight agenda for IT modernization
Leaders on the House Oversight Committee offered a first look at plans for oversight of MGT Act implementation.
Leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from both parties pressed the Government Accountability Office to expand oversight of the $90-plus billion in annual federal IT spend and agencies' modernization efforts.
In a Dec. 13 letter, Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) requested GAO chief Gene Dodaro expand his agency's IT oversight duties to include five new areas.
The lawmakers asked GAO to identify the 15 to 25 most mission-critical IT acquisitions, to report on their status and to do the same for the top 10 legacy systems modernization projects. Additionally, they asked GAO for the top 10 modernization successes in the last five years.
They requested GAO begin identifying best practices used by agencies that have scored well on Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecards or significantly improved their grades for the law's implementation, as well as assess agencies' progress on FITARA's portfolio review requirements to make sure agencies are eliminating duplicative systems.
Lastly, they asked GAO to evaluate the current state of IT human capital in each of the 24 CFO Act agencies and to identify challenges, successful strategies and recommendations for improvement.
In the letter, the lawmakers, all chairmen or ranking members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee or a subcommittee, said they intend to conduct IT oversight of the implementation of FITARA and the recently passed Modernizing Government Technology Act.