Technology Modernization Fund reauthorization not included in NDAA

"Lawmakers opted not to include a reauthorization package for the Technology Modernization Fund in the final negotiated text for the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act that was released Sunday night. This means the fund's future is unclear with just four days to go until its authorization expires, as TMF backers were gunning for the NDAA as a way to get its reauthorization to the finish line."

"Without reauthorization, nearly $160 million in funding for government technology will effectively be frozen, as GSA will be able to oversee existing investments but not make any new ones. The revolving fund, set up in 2017, is meant to help government agencies pay for yearslong modernization projects that don't fit well within the annual appropriations cycle. This week, for example, the National Nuclear Security Administration received over $28 million to build artificial intelligence models for nuclear security and to modernize its emergency response systems used for wildfire alerts and in radiological or nuclear emergencies."

Lawmakers omitted a reauthorization package for the Technology Modernization Fund from the final National Defense Authorization Act text, leaving the fund's status uncertain with four days until authorization expiration. Without reauthorization, nearly $160 million intended for government technology modernization will be frozen; the General Services Administration can manage existing investments but cannot initiate new ones. The TMF, created in 2017, finances multi-year modernization projects that do not fit annual appropriations. Recent disbursements include over $28 million to the National Nuclear Security Administration for AI and emergency-response modernization. The House Oversight Committee plans a reauthorization markup in the new year, and appropriations remain an alternative pathway.

Read at Nextgov.com