The General Services Administration (GSA) said today it is refocusing the repayment model for awards distributed by the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) toward full repayment by Federal agencies from savings they generate from their IT improvement projects.
The TMF – which is administered by GSA and run by the TMF Board chaired by Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia – was created in 2017 under the Modernizing Government Technology Act to provide money to Federal civilian agencies to undertake tech modernization projects.
Since then, TMF has given more than $1 billion in awards to 34 Federal agencies to help jumpstart 69 IT improvement projects. The progress of funding disbursements and repayments for those projects are detailed on the TMF Board website.
The program as originally conceived required agencies to pay back their funding awards over time with savings generated by the project, but those rules were relaxed by GSA in 2021 to speed the pace of awards from a $1 billion injection into the fund by Congress. The fund’s original repayment provisions positioned TMF as a revolving fund that would be able to continue making new awards as agencies repaid amounts awarded to them.
Going forward, GSA said today it will “prioritize full repayment for new investments to maximize its capacity to continue accelerating high-impact modernization projects across the federal government.”
“Agencies seeking TMF funding will continue to receive flexible repayment schedules tailored to their specific project circumstances, with an emphasis on developing plans that prioritize full repayment whenever possible,” GSA said.
“President Trump’s GSA is committed to delivering secure, leading-edge technology solutions that benefit both government agencies and the American public,” said GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian in a statement today.
“By ensuring full repayment of our investments, the TMF sends a clear message to federal agencies: focus on high-impact, high-return modernization efforts,” he said. “These investments not only replace outdated systems but also streamline critical operations ultimately improving services for government employees and delivering greater value to taxpayers.”
“Our digital infrastructure is fundamental to everything the government does,” added Federal CIO Barbaccia. “This shift transforms a finite appropriation to an enduring fixture of our modernization strategy, creating lasting institutional capacity to address technology debt.”
“This strategic adjustment allows us to maintain the TMF’s crucial role in governmentwide modernization for years to come,” commented TMF Acting Executive Director Jessie Posilkin. “Strengthening our repayment structure means we can expand our impact across more agencies while remaining good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” she said.