Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, has introduced legislation that aims to create more transparency into work being done by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) organization, which is in charge of implementing modernized technologies across the Federal government.
Introduction of the GSA Technology Accountability Act springs from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s hearings on GSA’s Login.gov website.
In March 2023, GSA’s inspector general released a scathing report saying that agency officials misled Federal agencies for years by falsely claiming that Login.gov met government standards for identity-proofing. According to the IG report, 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.
“Almost a year ago, we began an investigation into Login.gov after the GSA Inspector General reported that Login.gov, which falls under Technology Transformation Services (TTS) within GSA, misrepresented the level of service it provided to its customers,” said Rep. Sessions, who chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce.
“Our work is ongoing, but one thing was clear: there is insufficient transparency into TTS operations,” said Rep. Sessions. “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 bill 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.”
“This legislation will allow the Oversight Committee to conduct appropriate oversight, rein in what for too long has been an unaccountable organization that seemingly thought it could play by its own rules, and protect both GSA agency customers and American taxpayers,” the congressman said.
The legislation has been referred to the House Oversight committee, which is scheduled to mark up the measure later this week.
