Gerry Connolly

See the following -

As Todd Park Becomes Top Tech Recruiter, What's Next For CTO Role?

Rebecca Carroll | Nextgov.com | August 29, 2014

When Todd Park was asked in 2009 to become the Department of Health and Human Services' first chief technology officer, he wasn’t looking for a government job...The Obama administration announced Thursday that in his new role working for the White House from Silicon Valley, Park will continue his recruiting efforts and keep policy officials in touch with tech world developments and trends....

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Budget Authority And Executive Titles Come In For Scrutiny In IT Reform Debate

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | January 22, 2013

Government chief information officers without authority over their agencies’ technology spending are like “toothless tigers,” former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., testified Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee he once chaired. Read More »

Federal CIO Outlines Second-Term IT Priorities

Patience Wait | InformationWeek | January 24, 2013

Amid continued cost cutting, the White House will seek to drive innovation, ROI and cybersecurity. Read More »

Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act opens the door for 'Open Source'

Matthew Weigelt | FCW | December 4, 2012

Two members of Congress, reaching across the partisan divide, are pushing the government to think broadly -- governmentwide -- about open-source software, provoking warnings from industry groups...  Read More »

Government Has Dropped The Ball On IT Reform, Lawmaker Says

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | July 10, 2013

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., lashed out at government technology leaders on Wednesday for being slow to adopt cost-saving reforms laid out early in the Obama administration and for failing to adequately report their progress. Read More »

House Backs IT Buying Overhaul

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | June 14, 2013

The House on Friday passed a bipartisan plan to overhaul the way the government purchases and manages information technology, as part of a major defense policy bill. House members agreed to add a version of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act on a voice vote early Friday and passed the full bill shortly after 1 p.m. Read More »

House Oversight Chairman Calls IT Budget Request Misleading

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | April 11, 2013

The chairman of the House committee that oversees most government information technology spending on Thursday criticized the $82 billion IT request included in President Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal, saying the figure is likely misleading. Read More »

House Oversight Leaders Find Rare Bipartisan Agreement On Open Source IT Reform

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | December 3, 2012

Issa has proposed legislation to reform federal information technology acquisitions that, among other things, would urge agencies to use open source software when possible. Read More »

House Republicans and Democrats Find Rare Bipartisan Agreement on Open Source IT Procurement

In these politically polarized times, Americans expect Republicans and Democrats to disagree on every detail right down to what day of the week it is...So it’s remarkable and unexpected when any legislation exits a House committee with unanimous bipartisan support. It’s even more surprising when the legislation potentially threatens the status quo for established corporate interests—in this case information technology companies. The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITAR) —sponsored by California Republican Darrell Issa along with Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly, and supported by every member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee—threatens to put open-source software on par with proprietary by labeling it a “commercial item” in federal procurement policies. Read More »

Issa Proposes Legislation To Reboot Federal IT

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | September 20, 2012

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is floating proposed legislation that would drastically reform the way federal technology is purchased, including by granting agency chief information officers authority over their information technology budgets. Read More »

IT Acquisition Reform Bill Passes House with Open Source Provisions

Staff Writer | FedWeek | March 6, 2014

The House has passed the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act not long after the botched launch of the HealthCare.gov website, and attempting to better control how some $80 billion is spent on IT procurement each year. Read More »

IT Reform Act Could Hitch A Ride On Major Defense Bill

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | June 11, 2013

The bipartisan team sponsoring a complete reboot of how the government buys information technology introduced a version of its bill as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday. Read More »

Lawmakers Grill Federal CIO On Data Center Figures

Wyatt Kash | InformationWeek Government | July 26, 2013

Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel, speaking before a House subcommittee Thursday, defended the Office of Management and Budget's sudden acknowledgement that the number of federal data centers now totaled more than 7,000, more than twice the number that had been reported as recently as May. Read More »

Medsphere Voices Support for Sweeping Changes to Government IT Purchasing

Press Release | Medsphere Systems Corporation | April 3, 2013

Medsphere Systems Corporation...today issued a public statement of support for the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Act (FITAR) . The House legislation (H.R. 1232), jointly sponsored by California Republican Darrell Issa and Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly, recently moved with unanimous bipartisan support from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to the floor for a full vote. Read More »

Open Source Software Now Permitted in the U.S. House of Representatives

Press Release | OpenGov Foundation, Sunlight Foundation, Congressional Data Coalition | June 25, 2015

The OpenGov Foundation, the Sunlight Foundation and the Congressional Data Coalition (CDC) today announced that Members, Committees, and staff within the U.S. House of Representatives are now able to use official resources to procure open source software, to fully participate in open source software communities, and to contribute software code developed with taxpayer dollars back to the public under an open source license. Read More »