The Professional Services Council has thrown its support behind H.R. 6004, the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2016, urging the 114th Congress to act on the House-passed bill when it’s back in session on Nov. 14.
In a Nov. 4 letter addressed to Sens. Mitch McConnell, Harry Reed, Ron Johnson, Tom Carper, Jerry Moran and Tom Udall, the trade association expressed its belief that the bipartisan bill offered “an important opportunity … to improve cybersecurity and address concerns with the government’s legacy IT systems,” PSC President and CEO David Berteau said.
“That bill provides centralized management of and sources of future funding for upgrading legacy IT systems,” Bertreau added. “It also gives agencies authorities and funding to prioritize and obtain individual agency IT system enhancements. … Perhaps most importantly, this bill will address many cybersecurity vulnerabilities inherent in the government’s outdated computer systems.”
According to the letter, PSC feels the bill represents a balanced compromise of the interests of the agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, and stakeholders in Congress and will enable the adoption of new, more effective federal IT.
