White House Relaunches Performance.gov

To coincide with the White House's release on Feb. 12 of President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget request, the administration has quietly rolled out an updated version of Performance.gov. 

The web portal tracks cross-agency priorities in the President’s Management Agenda, the president's strategy for improving the management and performance of the federal government. “Presidents, beginning with George W. Bush in 2001, have set their management agenda sometime near the beginning of their time in office to run the extent of their presidency,” FedScoop notes. 

The fiscal 2019 budget plan and Performance.gov both emphasize the importance of IT: “Modern information technology will function as the backbone of how government serves the public in ways that meet their expectations and keep sensitive data and systems secure.” 

In March, the administration will formally release the President's Management Agenda “to set forth a long-term vision for an effective Government that works on behalf of the American people," according to the website. IT modernization sits at the top of that agenda, with the priority listed as "Modernizing Information Technology (IT) to Increase Productivity and Security.” 

Although the federal government spends roughly $90 billion annually on IT, the budget plan states, “these systems remain outdated and poorly protected. The Administration will increase the use of modern technologies, retire highly insecure and outdated systems, and direct modernization cost savings to mission-driven outcomes. The Administration will improve its ability to identify and combat cybersecurity risks to agencies’ data, systems, and networks.”