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The Frame

What this does

The scorecard directly influences how federal agencies manage their IT budgets and cybersecurity practices, with the committee using these grades to hold agency leadership accountable for technology performance.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Federal Agencies

Agencies are subject to the FITARA scorecard grading process and must report on their IT management and acquisition practices.

Chief Information Officers (CIOs)

CIOs from agencies like NASA and DHS are required to provide testimony and respond to questions for the record regarding their IT performance.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This hearing reviewed the ninth iteration of the scorecard, a tool used by the House Subcommittee on Government Operations to track how federal agencies manage and acquire information technology. The committee discussed how the scorecard has evolved since 2014 to include metrics from other laws like the MEGABYTE Act and the Modernizing Government Technology Act.

Key Facts

  • The hearing took place on December 11, 2019, in the Rayburn House Office Building.
  • The FITARA Act (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) was originally enacted in 2014.
  • The average federal agency FITARA grade improved from a 'D' in November 2015 to higher marks by December 2019.
  • The current FITARA scorecard incorporates metrics from the MEGABYTE Act, the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).
  • The subcommittee uses the scorecard to monitor IT acquisition and management practices across federal agencies.
  • Questions for the Record were submitted to the CIOs of NASA and the Department of Homeland Security.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the FITARA scorecard?
It is a grading system used by the House Subcommittee on Government Operations to evaluate how well federal agencies manage their IT acquisitions and cybersecurity.
Has federal IT management improved since 2014?
According to the Chairman, the average grade across federal agencies improved from a 'D' in 2015 to higher levels by 2019.

Why It Matters

The scorecard directly influences how federal agencies manage their IT budgets and cybersecurity practices, with the committee using these grades to hold agency leadership accountable for technology performance.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Expansion of Oversight Metrics

The committee intentionally expanded the FITARA scorecard over time to include metrics from other laws like FISMA and the MGT Act, showing a trend toward consolidating IT oversight.

Connected Entities

personGerald ConnollyChairman of the Subcommittee on Government OperationsMap →
personRenee WynnCIO of NASAMap →
personElizabeth CappelloActing CIO of the Department of Homeland SecurityMap →
organizationSubcommittee on Government OperationsHouse committee conducting the hearingMap →
personCarol HarrisDirector of IT Management Issues at the GAOMap →
personMark MeadowsRanking Minority Member of the SubcommitteeMap →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy10
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz10
    Current news / social attention level

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