Washington — TechNet, the national, bipartisan
network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today announced its
support for bipartisan legislation that would allow the federal government to improve
its outdated technology systems.

The Modernizing Government Technology Act (MGT
Act) — which was reintroduced today in the U.S. House by Representative Will
Hurd (R-TX), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), and
in the U.S. Senate by Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Tom Udall (D-NM) — would
authorize funding to improve, retire, or replace current federal government technology
systems, accelerate the transition to cloud computing, and procure IT products
and services to strengthen the federal government’s cybersecurity defenses. Federal entities currently spend nearly 80
percent of their total IT budgets on maintaining aging, insecure, and expensive
legacy systems.

“We need to modernize the federal government’s
technology systems because many of them are obsolete, expensive to maintain,
and contain significant cybersecurity risks,” said Linda Moore, president and
CEO of TechNet. “Federal technology officials
need flexible procurement programs so they can move beyond the IT status quo
that often impedes our federal government’s ability to effectively serve
taxpayers, our veterans, and many others.
TechNet applauds Representative Hurd, Majority Leader McCarthy, Minority Whip Hoyer, Representative
Kelly, and Senators Moran and Udall for their efforts to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies and save taxpayer
dollars. We urge the House and Senate to
pass this critical legislation without delay.”

The MGT Act was
approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last year but was not considered
by the U.S. Senate.

About TechNet
TechNet is the national, bipartisan
network of technology CEOs and senior executives that promotes the growth of the
innovation economy by advocating a targeted policy agenda at the federal and 50-state
level. TechNet’s diverse membership includes
dynamic startups to the most iconic companies on the planet and represents more
than 2.5 million employees in the fields of information technology, e-commerce,
advanced energy, biotechnology, venture capital, and finance. TechNet has offices in Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley, San Francisco,
Sacramento, Austin, Boston, Seattle, Albany, and Tallahassee.