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Tech groups seek IT modernization funding
Six technology trade groups have come together to urge congressional lead- ers to include adequate funds for IT modernization in any additional eco- nomic stimulus packages related to the COVID-19 response.
“Outdated government IT systems and processes already hinder some federal and state agencies’ ability to deliver aid to new applicants for small- business loans and unemployment insurance,” according to an April 15 letter from the Information Technology Industry Council, Alliance for Digital Innovation, the Computing Technol- ogy Industry Association, the Center for Procurement Advocacy, the Inter- net Association and the Cybersecurity Coalition.
Although the letter did not specify a dollar amount, the organizations said future stimulus legislation should include IT modernization funding for efforts that are spread across multiple years.
A stimulus and relief bill introduced in the House in March proposed a $3 billion boost to the governmentwide Technology Modernization Fund, but that bill never made it to a vote.
The organizations are also encourag- ing lawmakers to focus on strengthen- ing cybersecurity, workforce training and process transformation, and they have recommended creating a mech- anism for providing federal financial support for state and local agencies’ IT modernization efforts.
Other areas of concern include sup- port for telework and telemedicine; dramatic upgrades for citizen-facing services such as loan programs, state unemployment application sites and call centers; and ways to ensure that federal, state and local governments can scale up those systems in a crisis.
$75M in digital services support for state governments is being proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Lawmakers push for answers on SBA data leak
— Mark Rockwell
Congressional leaders are seeking more information about the leak of personally identifiable information on thousands of applicants for Small Business Admin- istration loans.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) wrote to SBA Administra- tor Jovita Carranza in April seeking a complete accounting of an incident in which the personal data of at least 8,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applicants was accessible to other appli- cants. That data included income and Social Security numbers.
A Twitter user posted a copy of an SBA letter on April 17 that said the “inadvertent disclosure” of person- ally identifiable information was dis- covered on March 25. SBA confirmed press reports that some applicants may have had their data exposed. A Trump administration official told CNBC that “we immediately disabled the impacted portion of the website, addressed the issue and relaunched the application portal.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, SBA officials have had to quickly build applications to handle the anticipated crush of applicants for a number of financial relief programs, including
EIDL and the website that helps small businesses apply for Paycheck Protec- tion Program (PPP) funding — forgiv- able loans that incentivize companies to retain employees during the current crisis.
SBA CIO Maria Roat said the IT team anticipated some of the additional duties the agency would need to perform to support the federal economic package, but many details were not immediately clear. For larger banks, the agency was able to use its existing portal for disaster loans and the PPP, she added, saying, “The regular portal for 1,800 lenders we work with was already up and running.”
However, to support the PPP for a new cadre of small and medium-size businesses, “we had to build things quickly, including the lender gateway in eight days,” she said.
On the security side, Roat said, SBA worked on geofencing portals to limit access to the United States and its ter- ritories in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The agency has also beefed up internal support capabilities, with new staff to handle incoming calls and requests for online support, she added.
— Mark Rockwell and Derek B. Johnson
TW2 Communications
@W2Comm
In our first remote interview on @MediaMindsShow, check in with @DerekDoesTech, Senior Staff Writer for @FCWNow, on how COVID-19 and the resulting quarantine has affected reporters, publications and the media landscape:
2:31 PM · May 8, 2020
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