Restoring Trust in Government One Customer at a Time
Improving trust will require more than just improving services to citizens, but it’s a critical start.
Emeritus Fellow, IBM Center for the Business of Government
Public trust in government especially the federal government has plummeted in recent years. This has ominous overtones for democracy, which is founded on trust. No wonder a recent survey of corporate CEOs shows the nation’s top business executives believe restoring public trust needs to be at the top of the national agenda.
This steady loss of trust over the years has led to a flurry of efforts in government and in the nonprofit sector to find ways to reverse it. And in some cases, it has worked. For example, after its confidence-busting veterans hospital wait time scandal in 2014, Department of Veterans Affairs secretary Bob McDonald created a Veterans Experience Office in 2015 to change the department’s culture to deliver integrated services to veteran
Congress placed a big bet in the American Rescue Plan on the ability of the General Services Administration to reimagine federal IT services and security.
FedRAMP Board Extends Deadline For Cloud Providers to Pitch Line-Jumping Business Cases (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Get the latest federal technology news delivered to your inbox.
email May 3, 2021 03:54 PM ET
Cloud service providers hoping to secure authorizations to operate at multiple agencies simultaneously got some more time to make a business case for their prioritization by the board.
Prospective cloud service providers now have until May 21 to show demand for their offering among federal agencies in hopes an interagency board at the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, will put them at the front of the line for approval.
By Natalie Alms, Justin Katz, Adam Mazmanian
Mar 12, 2021
President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Thursday. The new paid leave for federal employees and the $1 billion investment in the Technology Modernization Fund and other tech provisions are now law.
The House of Representatives and the Biden administration initially urged $9 billion for the TMF, but the price tag was too steep for many on the Senate side. Eventually, lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee pressed for the $1 billion addition to the fund, which is currently capitalized at $175 million and is funding 10 projects. We need to do more to move away from outdated systems and invest in technology that is cost-effective, secure, and meets the needs of the American people, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) told FCW in an emailed statement. The $1 billion in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund can be used for government agencies to modernize the
By Adam Mazmanian
The House of Representatives passed the Senate s version of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act Plan on Wednesday. The vote was 220-211.
The signature elements of the bill include money for direct individual payments to Americans, expanded tax credits for children, an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits as well as public health measures to speed the acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
But for the federal IT community, the bill will also be remembered for its dramatic expansion of the Technology Modernization Fund. The bill adds $1 billion to the $175 million capitalization of the revolving fund that agencies can use to upgrade their information technology. So far, the fund has been used in relatively small projects to acquire cloud email or digitize citizen services, but the addition of $1 billion through fiscal year 2025 means that the fund can support more substantial projects and address more applicants for funds.