Organizations Call for $300M TMF Boost

Multiple technology groups are urging lawmakers to invest at least $300 million in the Technology Modernization Fund for fiscal year 2023. The coalition also wants appropriators to add funding to help agencies improve their zero trust capabilities.

The organization said in a letter sent to the heads of the House and Senate appropriations committees and the Financial Services and General Government subcommittees that sustainable, strategic and long-term investments in federal information technology modernization are crucial in establishing a more capable and more resilient government. They added that investments must also address tech modernization backlogs faced by the government.

The coalition includes the IT Industry Council, the Alliance for Digital Innovation, the Professional Services Council and the National Defense Industrial Association, FCW reported.

The groups also noted in their letter that additional funding must be available for agencies that are just starting with their adoption of zero trust. They are also calling for a whole-of-government IT modernization strategy that focuses on performance improvements, a simplified user experience for government systems and an improved federal cyber posture.

For fiscal 2023, the White House is requesting $300 million for the TMF. It also allocated a total of $65 billion in IT and cyber investments across civilian agencies.

In 2021, TMF received a $1 billion funding boost through the American Rescue Plan.

TMF was able to issue $311 million in new awards for seven projects in September 2021. It also invested in the Department of Veterans Affairs to support its transition to Login .gov. This is the first time that the fund will support the VA.