Weekly Wrap-Up
Week of May 31, 2021
ADI QUOTED ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FY2022 BUDGET
BIDEN FY2022 BUDGET TOPS $6 TRILLION; IT, CYBER GET BOOSTS
(MeriTalk) President Biden’s FY2022 budget proposal published today envisions an eye-popping $6.01 trillion of Federal spending – up 36 percent from last year’s approved FY2021 budget – with a budget deficit of about $1.8 trillion.

In addition to the usual year-over-year spending in annual budget requests, the Biden proposal is swelled by proposed spending in the administration’s American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan released earlier this year.
Biden's First Budget Ups Cyber and Tech Spending; Gives Feds a 2.7% Pay Raise
(FCW) The Biden administration released its $6 trillion fiscal year 2022 budget proposal on Friday, including $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending across federal agencies.

The discretionary request seeks $769 billion on non-defense spending and $753 billion in defense programs. Of that, $715 billion is tabbed for the Department of Defense – essentially flat from 2021.
White House Allocates $9.8B to Cybersecurity in 2022 Budget Request
(FedScoop) Just over two months after receiving roughly $2 billion in emergency funding for tech and cybersecurity modernization, the Biden administration wants more money from Congress to build on those investments.

The White House has asked for $500 million to be added to the federal government’s Technology Modernization Fund and $9.8 billion to go specifically toward civilian cybersecurity programs across the government — up from about $8.7 billion for fiscal 2021 — according to its fiscal 2022 budget request released Friday.
NEWS & INFORMATION
Legacy Tech Hindered Delivery of Unemployment Benefits During the Pandemic, IG Finds
(FCW) The implementation of key unemployment insurance programs created at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was hampered by antiquated IT, staffing shortages and unclear guidance to states from the Department of Labor, which "struggled" along with states to stand up and oversee these programs, according to an audit from the agency's Office of the Inspector General released Wednesday.
Accenture's Federal Arm to Acquire Novetta
(Washington Technology) Accenture’s subsidiary focused on the U.S. government market has agreed to acquire Novetta in an effort to add more work with federal agencies in areas such as machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud engineering.

Terms of the transaction announced Tuesday were undisclosed, but Accenture Federal Services said its workforce will grow to approximately 12,000 employees with the addition of 1,300 staffers of Novetta.
Pentagon Wants to Use Its Biggest IT Program to Test 'Colorless' Software Appropriation
(Federal News Network) The Defense Department is still in the early stages of an experiment to change how it funds software development, but it’s already planning to put that test on rocket fuel, owing mostly to the addition of a huge Navy program.

As part of its 2022 budget proposal, the Pentagon is asking Congress to dramatically expand the number of dollars it’s allowed to expend through a pilot effort to test a new “color of money” for software, including by using it for the single biggest IT program in the federal government.
For IT, Cyber Policy Goals, Dig Beneath the Numbers of Biden's 2022 Request
(Federal News Network) The Biden administration’s first complete budget request was light on technology and cyber policy and process changes. But it was definitely full of hope.

The hope that Congress will fund the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) at another $500 million for fiscal 2022 after putting $1 billion into it as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
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