Acquisition reform effort hits the House floor
The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act moved to the House floor this week for a vote that could reshape how the government buys IT.
UPDATE: As of 3:42PM EST, the House website reported that it was on motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as agreed to by voice vote.
The House will be voting today on a bill that could change the way government agencies buy information technology systems, according to a NextGov report.
The bill in question is the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, introduced a year ago by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
The bill is aimed at cutting down on waste in IT procurement, and the pair of sponsors issued a letter Monday urging passage of the bill, noting that experts say that as much as one-quarter of the government’s $80 billion annual IT budget is sucked up by systemic inefficiencies and burdensome contracting requirements.
Among other changes, the bill would mandate one CIO for each federal agencies, making a single person responsible for the success or failure of an IT-related project.
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