House extends law streamlining federal IT systems

An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House Wednesday would extend components of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), legislation to streamline and cheapen federal IT networks. 

The amendment, helmed by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), would push back or eliminate end dates for rules encouraging agencies to consolidate data centers, requiring risk assessments for IT investments and reviewing IT investments for efficiency and waste. 

“We need to let agencies know that they are not going to be able to run out the clock on FITARA’s transparency and reporting requirements,” said Connolly. 

{mosads}The data center consolidation rule was set to end in October 2018. The amendment would add two more years.

The other two rules, which will now be made permanent, were slated to expire in December 2019.