Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 577.
Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act - Title I: Management of Information Technology within Federal Government - (Sec. 101) Requires the heads of the following agencies to ensure that their respective chief information officers (CIOs) have a significant role in information technology (IT) decisions, including annual and multi-year planning, programming, budgeting, execution, reporting, management, governance, and oversight functions:
Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Department of Commerce,
Department of Defense (DOD),
Department of Education,
Department of Energy (DOE),
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
Department of the Interior,
Department of Justice (DOJ),
Department of Labor,
Department of State,
Department of Transportation (DOT),
Department of the Treasury,
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
General Services Administration (GSA),
National Science Foundation (NSF),
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
Office of Personnel Management (OPM),
Small Business Administration (SBA),
Social Security Administration, and
military departments (Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force).
Requires the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) annual information technology capital planning guidance to require such CIOs (excluding the military departments) to: (1) approve their agency's IT budget requests, (2) certify that IT investments adequately implement incremental development, and (3) ensure that all requested IT positions meet ongoing requirements.
Prohibits such agencies (including the military departments) from contracting for IT and requesting the reprogramming of IT funds without their CIO's review and approval. Allows agencies to approve contracts through an agency governance process if the CIO is included as a full participant.
Permits CIOs to delegate contract approval duties for OMB-defined non-major IT investments to an individual who reports directly to the CIO.
Requires CIOs (excluding the military departments) to approve the appointment of any other employee who functions in the capacity of a CIO for any component organization within the agency.
(Sec. 102) Sets forth requirements concerning OMB's risk management program for major IT investments.
The summary continues for 16 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 18, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 18, 2014: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 577.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DARRELL ISSA (R-CA) introduced it on March 18, 2013, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 18, 2013, 4924 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4375 days ago, on September 18, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers