New IT modernization bill combines Obama proposal with cloud adoption bill

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has passed an IT modernization bill that combines the Obama administration’s $3.1 billion IT Modernization Fund proposal and a bipartisan cloud adoption bill that originated in the Senate, reports FCW.

The cloud bill, introduced in July, asks agencies to identify and reprogram funds to move legacy IT to managed services.

Sponsored by Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the combined bill sheds the $3.1 billion value, FCW reported, opting for working capital funds which can come from existing legacy IT expenditures if approved by appropriators or from new appropriations.

The working capital funds can then be used for retiring legacy systems, transitioning to the cloud, or reimbursing a general governmentwide fund. Agencies have a three-year period to use these funds, at the end of which the funds expire.

The Obama administration’s governmentwide fund is still authorized but not funded by this combined bill, FCW reported.

The next step, FCW quoted Hoyer as saying, is to capitalize this fund so that system upgrades can begin where they are needed.

However, time will tell if legislation funding the bill can be a part of a continuing resolution that will fund the government through 2017.