Commerce CIO Calls for Tighter Federal IT Budget Allocation

Andre Mendes, chief information officer of the Department of Commerce, expressed the need for greater accountability in information technology appropriations at government agencies.

Speaking at an AFFIRM panel discussion, Mendes said he wants to see tighter appropriations as previous federal budgets have been relatively generous. He argued that agencies have to justify their IT budget and work on using the funds efficiently to reduce IT costs in the long run, Fedscoop reported Thursday.

Mendes added that this new approach to IT budget allocation would change turn agencies into innovation centers instead of being thought of as cost centers.

Currently, Commerce spends 30 percent of its budget to meet the IT needs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institute for Standards and Technology, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Census Bureau.