Cutting Waste by Reforming IT (updated w/links to OMB memos)

One source of ineffective and inefficient government is the technology gap between the public and private sectors. While a productivity boom has transformed private sector performance over the past two decades, the federal government has almost entirely missed this transformation and now lags far behind on efficiency and service quality.

We are wasting billions of dollars a year, and more importantly are missing out on the huge productively improvements other sectors have benefited from. Quite simply, we can't significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government without fixing IT.

That's why today, in our ongoing effort to make sure that taxpayers' dollars are spent on projects that work, the White House Office of Management and Budget is taking three specific actions to advance IT reform.

1) All executive departments and agencies are to stop issuing new task orders or procurements for all financial system modernization projects - an area of persistent problems - pending review and approval by OMB of new, more streamlined project plans.

2) The Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra will undertake detailed reviews of the highest risk IT projects across the federal government.

3) OMB's Deputy Director for Management Jeff Zients will develop recommendations, within 120 days, for improving the federal government's overall IT procurement and management practices.

Information Technology Investment Baseline Management Policy (OMB M-10-27))
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/asset.aspx?AssetID=2786

Immediate Review of Financial Systems IT Projects (OMB M-10-26)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/asset.aspx?AssetID=2783

Reforming the Federal Government's Efforts to Manage Information Technology Projects (OMB M-10-25)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/asset.aspx?AssetID=2782

Performance Improvement Guidance: Management Responsibilities and Government Performance and Results Act Documents (OMB M-10-24)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/asset.aspx?AssetID=2778