Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA)

See the following -

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 »

Lessons From The ACA Health Insurance Marketplace Failure

Rob Atkinson | The Innovation Files | November 13, 2013

One can’t pass a single day it seems without seeing in the news coverage of the problems with the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM). But what is perhaps most surprising is not that the web site had problems, but that people are surprised that it had problems. [...] Read More »

Many CIOs Support IT Reform Legislation

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | May 2, 2013

Many government chief information officers think a proposed congressional overhaul that would give them broader authority over how their agencies buy information technology is a “step in the right direction,” according to TechAmerica’s CIO Insights survey released Thursday. 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 »

New US Digital Service Looks to Avoid IT Catastrophes

Alex Howard | TechPresident | August 13, 2014

The second initiative went live on Monday, when the White House formally launched a United States Digital Service (USDS) and published an open source Digital Services Playbook and a “TechFAR,” a part of the guide that “highlights the flexibilities in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that can help agencies implement ‘plays’ from the Digital Services Playbook.” Read More »

Open Source Software Is Common At DHS

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | February 28, 2013

Open source is present across much of Homeland Security’s technology portfolio, [Department Chief Information Officer Richard] Spires said, and the agency expects to use more open source in the future. Much of the software is secure enough to be integrated into major systems, he said. Read More »

Oversight Committee Passes IT Reform Act, Giving CIOs Budget Authority

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | March 20, 2013

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee unanimously passed legislation on Wednesday that would mark the most significant reform in more than a decade to the way the government purchases information technology. Read More »

Proprietary Software Vendors Demand Changes To Issa’s IT Reform Bill

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | November 30, 2012

Friday’s letter also criticized Issa’s legislation for urging agencies to use open source software, which is often cheaper than proprietary software and sometimes easier to update and maintain. That suggestion “strays from the core principle that statutes should be technology neutral,” the organizations said. Read More »

Rep. Issa: Crafting 21St Century IT Reform

Darrell Issa | Nextgov | September 20, 2012

The draft legislation would give agency CIOs effective budget authority over IT programs and put the CIO Council in charge of developing shared services and shared platforms. It also would encourage a broader transition to cloud solutions, make it easier for agencies to embrace the use of open source software, open up federal websites and data for the development of complimentary apps, and support faster data center optimization. Read More »

The Top 5 Government Tech Stories of 2013

Joseph Marks | NextGov | December 30, 2013

...numerous agencies are moving to open source software systems, which means the software’s basic building blocks are in the public domain and not dependent on proprietary systems owned by specific vendors. Read More »

White House Could Face Bipartisan Scorn If It Bucks IT Reform

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | July 25, 2013

If White House officials don’t get behind a House-passed bill that overhauls how the government buys information technology, they’re likely to face wrath from congressional Republicans and Democrats alike, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said Thursday. Read More »