Included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) approved Friday is a technology reform package designed to significantly change the way federal agencies manage IT.

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) has many components, all aimed at centralizing authority with the top department CIOs and increasing accountability over IT procurement and projects. Whether the bill helps or hinders IT programs will depend entirely on how it is implemented.

Of all the cyber and technology legislation considered on the Hill this year, FITARA is "nearest to [federal employees] and going to have the most immediate effect," according to Rick Holgate, CIO at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and president of the American Council for Technology.

"In our department we're already anticipating how we need to adjust our governance structure," to respond to the new authority of the lead CIO, he said. "[Office of Management and Budget] is going to provide us an interpretation of the statute that we should all follow," but until that time "we're all trying to anticipate what adjustments we'll need to make to adapt to the law."

The central thrust of the bill gives CIOs at the largest agencies oversight on programs, spending and hiring for all component agency CIOs. For example, ATF is part of the Justice Department, giving DOJ CIO Joseph Klimavicz approval over ATF's IT programs.

The major challenge will be dealing with an added layer of oversight while still trying to advance at the speed of technology.

"Interpreting the level of control — approval or oversight or governance — from our departmental CIOs that he or she would influence on us at the component level," Holgate said. "How do we introduce that in a way that is workable and useful on a daily basis so that it doesn't create roadblocks that would essentially hamstring our ability to move quickly at the component level."

Dan Chenok, executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government and chairman of the Industry Advisory Council, agreed FITARA will mean significant change for some agencies. However, for others it is in line with how they currently operate.

"It's a continued evolution of authorities that CIOs have," said Chenok, who was at OMB when the Clinger-Cohen and E-Government acts — the last two major IT reform bills — were passed. "Some agencies will probably not see a lot of requirements internally change because the way they implemented Clinger-Cohen and E-Gov were consistent with the practices that FITARA is making more common."

"There's a diversity of governance today" depending on the agency, Holgate agreed. "FITARA would tend to normalize that."

Along with more authority, the bill also contains measures to increase transparency and accountability.

The bill requires departments to create standardized, public-facing dashboards detailing every major IT investment, both new and existing. The definition of "major IT investment" is left to the discretion of the lead department CIO.

The dashboards — which must be updated at least twice a year — will include information on cost, performance schedule and risk.

"The taxpayer has the right to know where their money is being spent," Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said during floor debate on the NDAA Friday. "The taxpayer has the right to know what programs are out there. The taxpayer has the right to know what's working and what isn't."

"The big question is if the IT dashboard is useful as a management tool or if it's just for accountability," said Hudson Hollister, founder and executive director of the Data Transparency Coalition. "The information is only meaningful if it's used for internal management as well as external transparency."

"What's crucial and one thing FITARA doesn't do ... is explicitly tie the IT dashboard to the data elements that are going to be adopted under the DATA Act," he said. Specifically, when agencies input data on a contractor it should match the standards employed under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, which requires departments to release more detailed spending information to the public through USASpending.gov.

"I think all of the agencies should do that as a best practice," Hollister said. "And we hope they will."

"Over the last several years, Chairman [Darrell] Issa and I have worked together to develop and pass the first major comprehensive reform of the laws governing how the federal government manages information technology since the 1996 enactment of the seminal Clinger-Cohen Act," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, one of the prinicple authors along with Issa. "A lot has changed in the world of technology and in the federal government's use of technology since that time, and the need to streamline and strengthen how government buys and manages technology is long overdue."

About Aaron Boyd

Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.

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