“The House of Representatives proposed a COVID-19 relief bill that appropriates more than $3 billion on economic rescue for individuals and small business, but also focuses on modernizing government technology, provides for expanded telework for the federal workforce and contractors and takes steps to modernize the way medical and public health acquisition and equipment stockpiling is managed.”
“The House is planning a vote on Friday.”
“Senate leadership is not looking to move the bill, dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, anytime soon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters May 12 that he doesn’t feel ‘urgency’ to take up the House legislation. At the same press conference, Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) called the bill a ‘laundry list’ and said ‘it’s not going anywhere.’”
Workforce
“The bill provides for federal workers and contractors to telework during the coronavirus pandemic. Eligibility to telework had been an source of confusion during the early days of the virus. The bill also pushes agencies to expand telework usage while disincentivizing any efforts to scale it back.”
“The proposal stipulates that agencies would be required to allow contractors to telework during the pandemic if the nature of their jobs allowed for it and to give periodic updates to Congress. Contractors who received adverse performance ratings as a result of contract disruptions due to COVID-19 would not be penalized…”
Acquisition
“The bill includes $1 billion for the Technology Modernization Fund administered by the General Services Administration. The revolving fund, authorized by the Modernizing Government Technology Act, gives reimbursable funds to agencies to break out of the trap of maintaining legacy systems and acquire and shift to manage services such as cloud. The HEROES Act specifies that the funds be used to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus…” Read the full article here.
Source: $3B COVID relief bill includes tech money and restructures health acquisition – By Lia Russell, Derek B. Johnson, and Adam Mazmanian, May 12, 2020. FCW.
