Hearing Wrap Up: IT Modernization Will Increase Government Efficiency and Effectiveness

WASHINGTON—The Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation today held a hearing on “Unlocking Government Efficiency Through IT Modernization.” At the hearing, members examined opportunities to save taxpayers money, enhance security, and achieve efficiencies by building on groundbreaking initiatives started during the first Trump Administration to modernize legacy IT systems in the federal government.

Key Takeaways:

The federal government wastes billions on legacy IT that is expensive to maintain, inefficient to operate, and vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks.

• The federal government spends over $100 billion on information technology and cybersecurity every year. Approximately 80 percent of IT spending goes toward operating and maintaining systems that include outdated, obsolete legacy systems. Legacy systems create security and operational risks and are costly to maintain over time. Some legacy federal IT systems are more than a half-century old.

• Margie Graves—the former U.S. Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Office of Management and Budget and Deputy CIO for the Department of Homeland Security, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration—testified, “The federal government has long struggled to address technical debt that exists within the legacy system portfolio. There is bipartisan agreement that transforming technology systems and infusing current technology into government platforms is key to mission delivery, customer experience, and efficient operations across all departments and agencies. Yet, the adoption rate for new technologies is slower than needed and transformations have not proceeded apace.”

• Suzette Kent, the former U.S. Federal CIO who served during President Trump’s first term, testified: “Today modernization success can be unlocked for every agency across government. Systematic elimination of the legacy process barriers and automation of critical processes combined with leveraging commercially proven tools makes modernization less complex, less costly, and lowers the risk profile of modernization efforts.”

President Trump, Elon Musk, and the DOGE team are taking decisive action to modernize outdated IT systems, bring the federal government into the 21st century, and make the government more efficient and effective.

• During the first Trump Administration, several modernization initiatives addressed legacy IT, including the creation of the Technology Modernization Fund and the General Services Administration (GSA) IT Modernization Centers of Excellence. President Trump’s Executive Order 14158 issued earlier this year, “Establishing and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’,” builds upon these efforts by instructing the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS) Administrator to institute a software modernization initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government technology.

• Maria Roat—former U.S. Deputy Federal CIO during the first Trump Administration—testified about what it takes to modernize federal IT: “[T]he journey towards enhancing federal interoperability and modernizing IT infrastructure is a continuous and collaborative effort. By embracing a federal-wide enterprise portfolio approach, multi-year funding, leveraging shared services, fostering interagency collaboration and removing barriers, processes can be streamlined and service delivery to citizens improved. It is essential to have a broad strategic plan that is not only aspirational but also actionable, with mechanisms in place to systematically remove barriers and address challenges. With the right vision, funding, leadership, and skilled workforce, transformative outcomes can be achieved that benefit the American public and ensure the resilience and efficiency of federal agencies.”

• Suzette Kent, the former U.S. Federal CIO who served during President Trump’s first term, testified: “The actions being taken through Executive Orders, the streamlining of acquisition at GSA, proposed policy changes, and the new laws being introduced loudly signal that it is understood that achieving efficiency and delivering effective mission outcomes requires modern technical capability.”

The House Oversight Committee’s Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee will continue to advance solutions to modernize our government’s IT and complement DOGE’s efforts.

• Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) recently introduced a bipartisan bill to modernize federal IT systems, the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Reform Act (H.R. 2985). The bill institutes much needed reforms to increase transparency and ensure a pathway to modernize, replace, or retire federal legacy IT systems. 

• Margie Graves praised Rep. Mace’s bill: “The enhancements proposed in the Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act will continue to move the needle as we accelerate the use of the Technology Modernization Fund to transform government missions by leveraging current technologies.”

Member Highlights:

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, discussed with expert witnesses the barriers that obstruct IT modernization.

Rep. Mace: “What is the biggest barriers that obstruct change?”

Ms. Roat: “When you look at the barriers to change, it takes many things to happen. We’ve talked about the funding, right? Multi-year funding, but it also is the leadership, the project management. It’s all of those things coming together.”

Ms. Kent: “Every one of the successful examples that we shared had an agency Secretary that leaned in and said, ‘We want to get this done’, and ensured there was funding, that we moved fast through procurement and that the outcome was measured. I think the legislation that this committee has proposed actually has some language to measure that results are being delivered and hold individuals accountable. And I think that actually moves the needle.”

Rep. Mace further questioned witnesses what could be done immediately to modernize technology.

Rep. Mace: “What is the single most important thing the Trump Administration should do to modernize federal technology?”

Ms. Kent: “I would take that GAO list that is appalling and make it first priority and say, plan it, fund it, and measure that it gets done.”

Ms. Graves: “I would take a portfolio view of that GAO list, and I would look for common solutions that could uplift multiple agencies if they were implemented.”

Ms. Roat: “And I will add on to Ms. Graves and say that portfolio approach, when you look at the cross-cutting funding for across the federal government, you can achieve some efficiencies and address the gaps.”

Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) detailed how the Trump Administration and DOGE are taking on obsolete IT to make the government more efficient and effective.

Rep. McGuire: “Thank God we got President Trump and Elon Musk and DOGE taking it seriously. If a government was a business, it would be out of business.”

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) discussed with expert witnesses how to improve the procurement system to prevent duplicative, wasteful systems that do not talk to each other.  

Ms. Kent: “I think that’s why some of the efforts for visibility, clarity, and the discussions with many of the vendors need to look at the government as an enterprise, as a whole. There were efforts that I took as Federal CIO to bring that visibility across government and clarity to what agencies were buying and, more importantly, what they’re using. And that is an effort that needs to continue. And I think we have seen Members of Congress put forth some legislation to help and to make that something that agencies are held accountable for, but also in changing the dialog with many of the vendors that serve the government—making sure that we are looking at taking that enterprise view.”

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