Senate committee advances Technology Modernization Fund bill

The bill to update the Technology Modernization Fund passed out of a Senate committee this week, teeing it up for a full vote soon.

The Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act passed out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday by a 10-1 vote, a win for House lawmakers and TMF advocates across the government.

The bill passed the House floor in May via voice vote under suspension of rules after the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability marked it up in September and passed the bill unanimously. A fiscal year 2024 spending package from the House threatened to rescind $100 million from the TMF, drawing calls from board chair and federal CIO Clare Martorana for Congress to “please fund the TMF.” 

This follows a second appropriations package for fiscal year 2024 that did in fact rescind $100 million from the funding vehicle.

An Oversight and Accountability aide previously told FedScoop: “I think we have additional conversations to have on the Hill about how to appropriately fund the TMF while ensuring that it’s a revolving fund and those funds are being best used to support legacy IT projects.”

Additionally, the aide had confirmed that the committee was in “a series of positive conversations” with the General Services Administration, which houses the TMF program office. 

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan previously addressed the dwindling TMF funds following a series of targeted investments to help agencies address IT modernization needs. 

“It is essential that Congress provide resources to allow the TMF to continue to meet the growing demand for investments which address constantly evolving technology needs, threats and advancements so that government can deliver better for the American people,” Carnahan said. 

In February, the agency updated its policy for entities seeking the fund’s assistance to a 50% minimum repayment floor with some room for exceptions. 

The legislation aims to impose additional reimbursement constraints to provide agencies with flexibility for repaying the fund.