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Democrats want to add more taxpayer dollars to a fund to modernize the federal government’s technology systems, even though the fund still has more than $750 million unspent.
The Technology Modernization Fund had a billion-dollar increase in COVID-19 relief spending last year, and a Home Oversight panel said Wednesday it still has $756 million in funding.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said before the fund was established in 2017 but in 2016, Democrats working with the Obama administration thought the fund should be at least $3 billion. The Maryland Democrat said his colleagues are now willing to send in more taxpayer dollars.
“This may sound like a lot of money, $3 billion and it is. Meanwhile, the Biden administration asked Congress for $9 billion in its initial budget, which would be the kind of trust fund you’d need, it could be rotated and filled,” said Hoyer. The government operations panel of the Oversight Committee. He estimates he has spent about $90 billion.”
Mr. Biden offered to give the fund $9 billion in COVID-19 relief last year and asked for $300 million in funding in his fiscal year 2023 budget proposal. Out of the $1 billion the fund ultimately received in COVID relief last year, the fund has raised a total of $175 million from its regular budget process since 2017.
Virginia Democrat Representative Gerald E. Connolly, who leads the government operations subcommittee, said the government wanted to “streamline” the funding application process to speed up spending from the fund.
“I am proud to have played a role in securing a revolutionary $1 billion investment in TMF through the American Recovery Plan in March last year; “I also support President Biden’s request for an additional $300 million 2023 budget,” he said. “Given the high demand we are facing, these investments will not be enough over time.”
According to the fund’s website, the fund is overseen by a Technology Modernization Board made up of seven government officials and four alternative officials who are reviewing the government’s cash access offers.
The fund lists online 22 projects it has invested in since its inception, but the House Oversight and Reform Committee said the fund is facing 130 proposals from 60 institutions seeking more than $2.5 billion.
Democrats cited federal agencies’ taxpayer cash demands as a reason to spend more, while Republicans doubted that the fund was being used exactly as Congress had planned.
Arizona Republican Representative Andy Biggs voiced concerns that the tech fund was not raising cash as lawmakers intended.
“Conceptually, TMF was set up as a productive cycle – it would fund projects to phase out obsolete systems that were expensive to operate and maintain, and then the savings made by these institutions by deprecation of those systems would be used to repay TMF and additional IT. allow modernization projects – but that doesn’t seem to be happening,” Mr Biggs said at the hearing. “Few projects have been awarded and it is unclear whether any of these are documented savings.”
Mr Biggs said it was unclear whether the fund was focused on deprecation of legacy systems, and recent project awards show that the fund has instead focused on issues such as customer experiences and cybersecurity. He said the divergent focus shows that the fund is deviating from the cost-saving approach intended under federal law.
Mr. Hoyer said he did not think increasing government spending for the fund should be a partisan issue.
“I hope this subcommittee continues to shine a light and keep an eye on the fund’s critical work and join the chorus of voices calling for a capital increase in fiscal 2023 and beyond,” Hoyer said. said. “This is not a question of partisanship.”
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