A bill sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas that would reduce wasteful government technology spending and increase cybersecurity was signed into law Tuesday.
The bill, the Modernizing Government Technology Act, is part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The bipartisan legislation was signed by President Trump.
The law will encourage federal agencies to cut wasteful IT spending and modernize government technology and security.
“The improved efficiencies from the MGT Act will empower agencies to modernize their legacy IT systems, better protect our data from cyber-attacks and ultimately save billions in taxpayer dollars by reducing long-term spending,” Moran said in a news release.
The release said that nearly 75 percent of the $80 billion spent annually on federal IT systems goes toward maintaining and operating legacy IT rather than making lasting improvements.
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Tom Shine is the director of news and public affairs. Follow him on Twitter @thomaspshine.
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