Agencies improve, but not by much on second FITARA second scorecard

While most agencies showed slight improvement, no reports were soaring in the second Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard, according to FCW.

The act, known as FITARA, is a bill that governs how the government buys new technology.

While it is clear that technology’s potential has yet to revolutionize government, FCW reported, agencies are at the very least moving in the right direction, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) was quoted as saying.

As far as results go, seven agencies got better marks, one agency scored lower, and 16 had no charge. In the first scorecard, most agencies received Ds, but three agencies received Fs. NASA, one of the agencies that got an F the first time around, was the lone F on the second scorecard.

NASA CIO Renee Wynn owned up to the bad grade and pledged that her agency would do better in the future, FCW reported.

The highest score—a B—went to the Commerce Department. The most improved agency was the Energy Department, jumping from an F on the first scorecard to a C- on the second. The General Services Administration’s mark dropped from a B to a C.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) stressed the importance of the bill and stated that a bipartisan effort will fight to prevent agencies from creating FITARA exemptions for their components, which the Energy Department was able to do with its national labs.