Modernizing government technology is starting to pay off — let’s keep going

Opinion>Opinions - Technology The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Modernizing government technology is starting to pay off — let’s keep going Comments: by Rep. James R. Walkinshaw (D-Va.), opinion contributor - 08/10/26 1:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Rep. James R. Walkinshaw (D-Va.), opinion contributor - 08/10/26 1:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is photographed Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A veteran should not have to stare at a frozen screen, hitting refresh again and again, because an aging benefits portal struggles to keep up. A federal employee applying for retirement should not have to piece together records across a maze of disconnected legacy systems just to complete the final steps of their career in public service. And cybersecurity teams should not have to spend their days patching antiquated infrastructure.

But that is the price of letting federal technology fall behind: Americans wait longer to receive essential services, cybersecurity risks grow, and taxpayers pay to keep obsolete platforms on life support.

Congress created the Technology Modernization Fund to break that cycle, helping agencies replace legacy systems with secure, modern technology. A new Government Accountability Office report shows that work is beginning to pay off.

As of June 2025, the Technology Modernization Fund had invested roughly $1.03 billion in 68 modernization projects. The Government Accountability Office found that 11 projects have already saved $13.5 million, while 24 are expected to generate $1.06 billion in lifecycle savings, more than the fund has invested across all projects to date.

Those returns will take time. Most are expected in fiscal 2027 or later, reflecting the scale and complexity of the work underway. The largest projected savings are concentrated in three major efforts: modernizing the Department of Agriculture’s network, improving veteran identity systems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and updating federal retirement systems at the Office of Personnel Management.

But direct savings tell only part of the story. The Government Accountability Office found that 37 Technology Modernization Fund projects are intended to strengthen cybersecurity, improve operations, or deliver better services without generating direct savings. In comments on the report, General Services Administration Administrator Ed Forst noted that direct-savings calculations do not capture the full value of costs avoided through more secure and reliable systems.

Congress now has three jobs: reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund, keep it funded while its largest projects mature, and hold agencies accountable for results.

The Technology Modernization Fund is designed as a revolving fund, but agencies are still years away from realizing many of the anticipated savings, and not every worthwhile investment will produce a direct financial return. Congress must provide the funding needed to keep modernization efforts moving.

Congress must also make the fund workable for agencies taking on difficult, high-impact projects. That is why, during the House Oversight Committee’s markup of legislation to reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund, I offered an amendment extending the standard repayment period from five to seven years. I also offered an amendment, adopted by the committee, requiring the Government Accountability Office to assess whether Technology Modernization Fund investments are reaching the government’s highest-priority legacy systems.

Most importantly, Congress must reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund before it expires this September. Letting the fund lapse would leave agencies with fewer tools to replace systems that waste taxpayer dollars, expose Americans’ data, and hold back services people depend on.

The House Oversight Committee has already advanced bipartisan reauthorization legislation. Now the House and Senate must finish the job before the deadline. Congress cannot continue spending taxpayer dollars to keep obsolete systems on life support while pulling the plug on the fund designed to replace them.

James R. Walkinshaw represents Virginia’s 11th District in Congress and is a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

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