Modernize Information Technology across government agencies. Hearinge subcommittee is from the Personnel Management , the one Budget Office and the education department. This is about 2. 5 hours. 2, one. [gavel] welcome, everybody to the Sub Committee on government operations. And our hearing. Pursuant togin, house rules, most members today webex, remotely. Some members are appearing in person, or at least this member is, let me remind you that all individuals attending the hearing in person must wear a face mask. I am dropping mine only to speak. Maskrs not wearing a face will not be recognized. Let me also make some reminders for those appearing in person. You will only see witnesses appearing remotely on the monitor in front of you. In activeare speaking speaker view. A timer is visible in front of you. Remotely,attending let me remind everybody about points. First, you will be able to see each person speaking during the hearing whether they are in person or remote as long as you have your webex set to active speaker view. If you have any questions, Contact Committee staff and they will try to be helpful. Second, we have a timer that should be visible on your screen when you are in the active speaker with thumbnail view. Members who wish to pin the timer to their screens should Contact Committee staff for assistance. Third, house rules require that we see you, so please have your cameras turned on if you are on remotely on webex during this hearing. Fourth, members appearing remotely who are not record should remain muted. Fifth, i will recognize members verbally but members can seek recognition verbally in regular order. Members will be recognized otherwise in seniority order for questions. Lastly, if you want to be recognized outside of regular order, you can identify in several ways, use the chat function, send an emailed to majority staff, or unmute yourself to seek recognition verbally, although that is the least preferable way to do it. Obviously we dont want people talking over each other. Ok. S see i will begin with my opening statement. Remotely. You are on mr. Heise yes, sir. I am here. Rep. Connolly i am glad that you are there, i know you are in glad we havend im a remote option so you can participate fully in a help thing i hope everything will be ok. Today marks the 10th hearing the tara. Agencies in process andncy procurement. Im happy to announce this study oversight has produced the first scorecard in which all agencies receive a passing grade. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of federal agenciess chief Information Officers and also i think to this committee and subcommittees study bipartisan wersight for tara since enacted it 2014. This is most this is not just about passing grades, it is about taxpayer dollars saved, and serving the nation more effectively and efficiently. During the pandemic, we i. T. Stand how vital strong is to the government and the people we serve. You have certainly seen limitations because a lack of i. T. Investment, whether it be with the Small Business administration or the struggles of the irs to provide personal checks to allonal citizens and dependents in america. Weve also seen limitations in unemployment systems in the 50 spect of states. It underscores 50 respective states. It underscores the problems. Firstember 2015 when we released the scorecard, i said i hoped it would be the first in gaugegs where we would the transformative nature of transforms. Five years later, i think the benefits of the oversight are clear, and one would be hardpressed to find sustained a partisan Congressional Initiative on its 10th installation. Agencies have made real improvements on the scorecard and i think we are putting it up over there on that screen. Over a period of time. Averageber 2015, the grade was a d across all participating agencies. This year for the first time, no agency received a d and no agency of course received an f. These improvements represent dollars saved and improvements. Is theatest impact portfolio review process. This process enables agencies to reduce spending and demonstrate how i. T. Investments align with the Agencies Mission and business function. Savent from helping agency 3 billion in fiscal 2015 to 20 billion this fiscal year. When the licensing metric was first added to the scorecard in june of 2017, 21 out of 24 agencies received an f for that metric. Now, 23 out of 24 agencies have as and an inventory of Software Licenses and use that inventory to make costeffective decisions and avoid duplications. Federal agencies are also closing and consolidating more data centers, resulting in significant cost savings. The 24 graded agencies have a total of 47 billion dollars in cost savings for fiscal years 2012 through 2019. Those agencies have also reported plans to save more than 264 million this fiscal year alone. First hearing, witnesses stated that i. T. Is no longer just the business of the cio. Rather, it is everyones business. Never has this been clearer than in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, where i. T. Has saved thousands of lives by enabling people to telework, and keeping the government and economy running while preserving health and safety. We have seen firsthand how the agencies that continued to use outdated i. T. During the pandemic prevented the delivery of Government Services when the public needed them most. Cautioned that the scorecard was not to be considered a Scarlet Letter but a point in time, a snapshot to measure progress and incentivize it. Scorecardsand 10 later, we are at a point where all agencies have received passing grades. The first time ever. 10. 0 reflects five years of progress. Initially it consisted of four metrics, including data consolidation, portfolio review savings, incremental audit delivery, and Risk Assessment transparency. Since then, the scorecards success has led the subcommittee to incorporate other aspects of i. T. Into the grades. Our framework is not rigid like the best of i. T. , it evolves. We augmented and changed the scorecard to examine other components such as cybersecurity, and constructive feedback. Today, it incorporates grades adapted from three additional pieces of legislation, including themegabyte act, modernizing Government Technology act and federal information and security act. Scorecard line, the continues to hold agencies accountable and show the American People that they deserve the best i. T. Has to offer. Agencies still have work to do. Today, two thirds of graded agencies report directly to the header deputy of the agency. Upon true that more cios, getting a seat at the table with c suite positions. But we will hear today that none of the 24 graded agencies have established policies that fully address the role of cio as required. We must continue to work to have theat all cios authority and policies in place to properly do their jobs. Discuss whichill existing metrics have achieved their goals and which might need to be considered for retirement. We will also start a careful discussion about what metrics might be incorporated in future scorecards it to continue to improve i. T. Across the government. In other words, we will continue the scorecard. From ourhope to hear witnesses about what it takes to continuously improve and use efficient i. T. Acquisition and Management Practices to do that. What powers and authorities might cios and governments need to improve i. T. , and in turn, what oversight will be provided to congress and the public to ensure the new powers are used effectively and efficiently . To modernizenue legacy systems, migrate to the cloud and maintain a strong cyber posture. Surging,coronavirus the stakes for effectively implementing tara are perhaps higher than ever. When executed well, modernization can ensure efficient delivery of Government Services and save lives. When executed poorly, it can unfortunately lead to outright failures in serving the American People when they need government the most. Put, the state of the Worlds Largest economy, it is no exaggeration to say, lies in the ability of government i. T. Systems to deliver in an emergency. The importance of federal agenciess effective use of i. T. Is to important to ignore in this subcommittee will continue oversight of acquisition and management as we move forward. With that, i call upon the Ranking Member. Connelly. Ou, chairman and thank you for holding this hearing today on the scorecard. As you know, this has literally been a bright spot of bipartisan work for this committee and i look forward to personally see thedevelopment see the villain of the scorecard usefulness as relates to reform. I would also like to take a moment and give a shout out to of thanks to the outgoing chief information officer, who has been extremely dedicated in our service and it is deeply appreciated. As you know, enhanced cio authority is one of the pillars, literally, of the fitara, the whole system. Ms. Kent has done an outstanding job with her leadership and enthusiasm to really help drive some of the i. T. Modernization effort that have been outlined in the president s management agenda. We are grateful for her leadership in service and hope to continue to build upon the initiatives she has championed. We areshared, chairman, here today to discuss the 10th fitara scorecard. Agencies have made tremendous progress, as you mentioned, over the past five years. I want to congratulate them on their dedication to improve the i. T. Procurement and management processes. A job well done. Some of the things we have seen, accomplished over the last several years, include, as you mentioned, savings of literally billions of dollars, we have increased transparency for risky coursevestments, and of the elevation of the cio position and authority within the agency. For all of these successes, we are very grateful for what has been done, but obviously it is more that needs to be accomplished. I would suggest that some of those things, we need to continue to update the metrics so they better and more effectively match the implementation practices being used today. I also think it is imperative that we as a committee put in place the right kind of incentives to bring about i. T. Modernization at scale. Pandemic, is to the think this has highlighted to us the heavy reliance we have on some legacy systems and longstanding technology problems. To get to find ways agencies to move the needle on crucial issues. Somenk lastly, we need forwardlooking, if you will, metrics to help modernize government as a whole. Some of those things would moving forward as it relates to citizenss experience. I think you referred to that, mr. Chairman, and i think its important we move in that direction. Enhancing the skills of the federal i. T. Workforce. Toward aall, moving more agile and secure Cloud Computing environment. All of these things i think are extremely important as we continue moving toward, and i look forward to hearing from witnesses today, and in advance, i want to say thank you to our witnesses for being here. We appreciate your time and expertise you will bring to the table. With that, i yield back, thank you, sir. Rep. Connolly thank you, and i want to thank you personally, we have talked about this. This subcommittee has always had a strong bipartisan thrust, especially on this subject. With darrell issa and aning fitara, expanding on it, and the scorecard, and with mr. Meadows, now the chief of staff to the president. You pledged to do the same and i very much appreciate that and look forward to continuing to work with you and i hope you are ok and healthy in georgia. Thank you for your remarks. Ms. Harris, if you would unmute yourself in order to be sworn in, and about three witnesses here would rise and raise your right hands. Do you swear and affirm that the testimony youre about to give us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god . Let the record show all answered in their performance the affirmative. Harris,ll on carol director of i. T. Management issues of the Government Accountability office to give us her summary testimony. Welcome, ms. Harris. You chairman,ank Ranking Member and members of the Sub Committee. I would like to thank you and your excellent staff or your continued oversight for i. T. Management and cybersecurity with this set of grades. It has been nearly five and half years since fitaras enactment, and it is a good barometer. During this time, agencies have made significant progress. In the latest scorecard, there bs, and 14 cs. This is the first time all 24 agencies have received a passing grade. In addition, the agency with the greatest of transformations has been the department of education, moving from f to bplus. I will go over where things stand now and where we need to go. First, progress made. I will start with incremental development. The number of major i. T. Projects using criminal develop and has increased from 58 to 76 . In addition, the level of transparency on the dashboard has improved with 61 of Major Projects red or yellow as opposed to 24 on the first. The first scorecard. Tohave also gone from 2 as 23. Agencies have also closed more than 6300 data ofters and saved just shy 2300 in this initiative. The progress would not have happened without the scorecard and oversight. While these are, schmitz are noteworthy, significant actions remain to build on the progress in this brings me to the next point on where we are at. One third of the agency cios are still not reporting to agency heads. Have told us this is critical to carry out responsibilities. It gives cios seat at the table and will likely attract more qualified individuals to these positions over time. Also, about half of the agencies have not established capital fund to transfer from legacy systems. Roughly 80 of the over 90 billion spent annually on federal i. T. Is operations and maintenance, including on legacy systems. The savings from Software Licenses, data optimization and portfolios that can be reinvested in agency i. T. Modernization priorities. If each of these agencies did this, the grades would improve. Are achievablens by the next scorecard. Turning to data centers. We remain concerned about the current guidance that revives the classification of data centers and Data Center Optimization metrics. For example, the new data Center Definition excludes more than 2000 facilities that agencies previously reported on. Many of these excluded facilities represent what omb itself has identified as possible security risks. The changes will likely slow down or even halt important progress agencies should be making to consolidate, optimize and secure data centers. Finally, regarding where we need to go on the scorecard, the preview of the telecommunications transition an areaw attention to historically neglected by the agency. For example, had a prior telecom transition occurred on time, agencies could have saved 330 million. As i testified earlier this year, the agencies are behind schedule and could again be missing out on hundreds of millions in savings. Anr scorecard will be effective means for Holding Agencies accountable and ensuring a timely transition. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my comments and i look forward to your questions. Rep. Connolly thank you, ms. Harris, i look forward to those questions as well. Claire montarona . Do i have that right . For recognized for five minutes. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the status of Information Technology at the office of Technology Management and provide thoughts on the future of fitara. I joined opm as the seventh cio in seven years and entered an agency with several key challenges, critical vacancies, antiquated and fragile tohnology and the need to ther the dtsa department of defense, which we hope to complete this fall. Coming from the private sector, this is admittedly a complex operating varmint. Meeting and allen singh executive, meeting and balancing various demand while working in an inflexible budget cycle is challenging. But i would like to focus on what is possible. One of the first authorities i learned about was fitara. With anit provides me operating framework and a mandate to make enterprise i. T. Decisions and to teach investments that make best use of taxpayer dollars. I have received a steady stream leadershipfrom opm have i am sorry i received a steady stream of support from opm leadership to meet fitara by establishing an enterprise i. T. Strategy. We are enabling organizations as we move forward in this direction. We are extremely proud of aising opms fitara score to c plus. With only one net new hire and only a small increase in funding we have made significant progress and show people within opm what is possible, like rolling out new laptops across the organization and moving to cloud email. This has enabled us to continue meeting our mission while dcsa employees during the pandemic. A few weeks ago, the dedicated cio Team Successfully migrated our mainframe platform from the Teddy Roosevelt elting here in d. C. To a commercial data center. Our systems are now fully operational in a new, modern environment with continuity of operations in place. Dailye transition the i. T. Operations of this Important NationalSecurity Mission to our colleagues at the department of defense this fall, opm will be able to focus on opms mission and begin our modernization journey. I would like to touch on some enhancements to fitara that could drive additional modernization at opm and across government. The first is flaunting funding flexibility. Our legacy funding model with seven streams for cio creates incredible complexity and inflexibility to address i. T. Challenges. By standing up a working capital fund with transfer auth