Draft legislation would overhaul federal IT procurement process

Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) have introduced draft legislation to create a new office in the White House to review and guide major IT projects while working to allow more small businesses to bid for federal contracts, reports The Hill.

The bill, “The Reforming Federal Procurement of Information Technology Act,” also would make permanent the three-year old position of U.S. Chief Technology Officer and give that person authority to hire employees outside the standard government pay schedule to allow for competitive hiring.

Noting that government IT projects often come in over budget and behind schedule, Eshoo said that the current $80 billion IT budget “is an absolutely unacceptable waste of taxpayer dollars.” She said that the bill ultimately “gives all American innovators a fair shake at competing for valuable federal IT contracts by lowering the burden of entry,” according to the article.