TMF wants to fund AI, faster permitting tech projects before money runs out

The Technology Modernization Fund is open for proposals and prioritizing faster permitting technology and artificial intelligence adoption projects, its acting director said Thursday.

Jessie Posilkin said that as of this week, the TMF is “being explicit” about its desire for Council on Environmental Quality-supported projects to speed and scale permitting, and to advance USAi adoption in agencies facing capability and infrastructure gaps preventing responsible use.

“TMF was made for moments like this, where agencies can’t afford to wait on budget and procurement cycles,” Posilkin said in a LinkedIn post. “I’m excited we’re still poised to help agencies meet a critical moment of opportunity – and a bipartisan one, at that!”

Last month, Posilkin said the fund had $200 million left, pending potential reauthorization for fiscal 2027. But that might not stretch as far as it would have in the past, even with 100% of agencies repaying TMF loans, as the “scale and scope of government technology challenges are only going up” because of AI, Posilkin said at the time.

“We are only seeing that the way that AI tooling is changing how people code is actually increasing some of the governance concerns and ability to manage information,” she said. “We are a country that continues to have really significant service delivery challenges, which is what the government should ultimately be providing. And when you have it set up that way, $200 million is actually quite the drop in the bucket.”

The current version of the fiscal 2027 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill authorizes $5 million for the fund, but has not yet received a floor vote in either chamber.

Agencies can submit a project proposal until July 24, but Posilkin encouraged them to move quickly so the small TMF team can review proposals expeditiously.

“This call is moving fast, partly out of necessity. We have a very narrow window between now and September 30, when our authorization to make new investments ends (absent congressional action, of course…),” she said in the post. “With more time, we could do even more — but we’ll meet as much of the agency need as we can, while we can.”