Lawmakers in Congress last week approved an appropriations bill for the 2024 fiscal year that would rescind $80 million in funding for the United States Digital Service, if it passes into law in its current form.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations on Thursday waved through language in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act that would claw back the sum, which was awarded to USDS as part of a funding package included in the American Rescue Plan.
The move to recoup funds from the executive branch-housed technology unit comes amid concerns from senior leaders within the federal IT community over its transparency and use of funding.
Advocates for the White House digital services unit say it offers a mechanism for bringing senior Silicon Valley talent into government service for a defined period, and cite projects such as the COVID.gov website as an illustration of where it can be most successful. However, in recent months, government IT leaders and lawmakers have raised concerns about a lack of operational transparency from the unit.
Speaking with FedScoop, one currently serving government technology leader described USDS’s strategic plan as opaque and said it was often difficult to obtain operational details from the unit. “What the hell are they working on? What are they doing that is pushing forward the enterprise and the administration’s priorities?” they said, speaking with FedScoop on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share their concerns.
In a statement to FedScoop, former Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Senior Adviser Matt Cornelius said: “During my time in Congress, I was deeply critical of USDS’s leadership and financial management, especially their steadfast refusal to provide simple accounting data on how they were using the $200m they received under the ARP.”
Source : Fedscoop