The House of Representatives passed a bill by unanimous consent on Monday that aims to create more oversight of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) organization.
The GSA Technology Accountability Act was introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in March, a year after it was discovered that TTS officials misled Federal agencies by falsely claiming that Login.gov – a single-sign-on platform – met government standards for identity-proofing.
According to GSA’s scathing inspector general report from 2023, GSA knowingly billed customer agencies over $10 million for Login.gov services that purported to meet National Institute of Standards and Technology digital identity guidelines, but in reality, did not.
“[O]ne thing was clear: there is insufficient transparency into TTS operations,” Rep. Sessions said when he introduced the GSA Technology Accountability Act in March. “This legislation is aimed at providing answers to basic questions: what projects is TTS working on, how much do they cost, how much revenue do they bring in, and are agencies getting what they paid for when working with TTS?”
The legislation would require the GSA administrator to submit annual reports to Congress regarding each project funded by the Citizen Services Fund and some projects funded by the Acquisition Services Fund. According to Rep. Sessions’ office, currently “there is no transparency into how these funds, which are the primary source of funding for TTS projects and initiatives, are allocated.”
Rep. Sessions chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who sits on the subcommittee with Rep. Sessions and serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, IT, and Government Innovation, signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill in April.
“With the passage of the GSA Technology Accountability Act, we are looking to ensure accountability and effective use of taxpayer dollars,” Rep. Sessions said on May 6. “This legislation will safeguard against the misuse of government resources and improve the operational transparency of GSA projects. I am grateful for the support from both sides of the aisle for recognizing the need for this important legislation.”
