Committee approves LaHood bill to enhance, focus federal government IT initiatives

Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) to modernize the Networking and Information Technology, Research and Development (NITRD) program received committee approval on Wednesday.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee approved LaHood’s NITRD Modernization Act, H.R. 5312, to improve the government’s primary research portfolio on transformative high-end computing, high-speed networking, high capacity systems software, cybersecurity and additional advancements in information technology.

“As technology rapidly advances, the need for research and development continues to evolve,” LaHood said. “NITRD works to prevent duplicative and overlapping R&D efforts, thereby enabling more efficient use of government resources and taxpayer dollars, while also supporting new and innovative research and development efforts at our nation’s universities and through public-private partnerships.”

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a hearing in October on the current state of the NITRD program that explored ways to improve the $4.5 billion annual initiative.

“The NITRD Modernization Act of 2016 updates and clarifies legislation from last Congress to reflect these recommendations,” LaHood said.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chairman of the committee, said that LaHood’s bill would encourage agencies to focus research on efforts to better detect, prevent and recover from actions that threaten or compromise computer based systems.

“In this digital age, it is critically important to protect our nation’s computer networking systems,” Smith said. “This bill provides the coordinated R&D efforts necessary to improve cyber and data security nationwide. Better network security promotes U.S. competitiveness, enhances national security and creates high-tech jobs.”

The bill would also improve interagency coordination and rebalance research portfolios to focus on large-scale, long-term projects, Smith added.