Gerry Connolly, congressional champion of federal IT reform, dies at 75
Gerry Connolly, the longtime Virginia Democratic congressman responsible for some of the most influential federal IT reform legislation of the past two decades, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 75.
Connolly’s family shared in a public message that the Northern Virginia congressman “passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family.”
“Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better. He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless,” they wrote. “He always stood up for what is right and just. He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many. But more important than his accomplishments in elected office, Gerry lived by the ethos of ‘bloom where you are planted.’”
While Connolly served on a variety of committees during his 16-year career in the House of Representatives, including an assignment on the Committee on Foreign Relations that spanned the entirety of his service, he was most known in the federal technology community for his leadership on the Oversight and Reform Committee, during which he made agency accountability for modernization and cybersecurity a staple issue.
On that committee, for which he was most recently the ranking member, he worked closely with his counterparts across the aisle to pass technology modernization legislation that has been paramount to bettering the business of government technology.
In 2014, he worked with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., then-chair of the Oversight Committee, to pass the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, better known as FITARA. Nearly 11 years later, FITARA remains the foundational statute for chief information officer authorities in the federal government. And since its passage, Connolly made it a top priority on the committee to hold agencies accountable to compliance with the law through biannual FITARA Scorecard hearings and meetings.
Later, Connolly worked with Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, to pass the Modernizing Government Technology Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in late 2017 as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Notably, that legislation birthed the Technology Modernization Fund, which has since become a staple — though with its fair share of criticism — for alternative funding of federal modernization projects.
Connolly announced in November that he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. While he was optimistic at one point that he had “beaten back” the disease, the congressman announced in April it had returned and that he would step down from his role as Oversight ranking member and step away from Congress at the end of his term.
Despite his declining health, Connolly remained active in oversight during his final days. Just last week, he penned a letter asking a Treasury Department watchdog to open an investigation into DOGE’s data and IT modernization dealings at the IRS following reports of an internal “hackathon” at the tax agency.
Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., shared his condolences Wednesday morning.
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Ranking Member Gerry Connolly,” Comer said. “He was a dedicated public servant who represented Virginia’s 11th Congressional District with honor and integrity. We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
