White House Plans to Grow US Digital Services, 18F in 2016

Despite talk of potential funding cuts at the federal level in 2016, White House Senior Adviser and former US Chief Technology Officer Todd Park confirmed that plans are on track to staff the federal government’s US Digital Services (USDS) and 18F with 500 employees by the end of 2016. Park said hiring remains on schedule and that both groups are expected to be long-term fixtures available to assist federal agencies.

During summer 2014, tech advocates feared for the two organizations after appropriators in the House of Representatives approved only one-third of the Obama Administration’s requested $105 million in IT expenditures. The funds were intended to launch individual USDS teams in 25 agencies. Such worries continued to circulate in July when a Senate appropriations committee cut roughly three-fourths of the administration’s requested $20.2 million to fund 2016 White House IT work conducted by USDS. Park said the 2016 congressional funding issues -- still to be finalized in Congress -- have not impacted the White House’s goal to install the new tech recruits in agencies.