Technology Modernization Fund announces targeted investments to protect consumers

September 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) today announced two new investments totaling over $9 million aimed at improving service and data protection of systems that provide critical services at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

“Through our Technology Modernization Fund investment in the FTC, the agency will now be able to retire a legacy system that is costly to maintain and difficult to defend and replace it with an application that will meet today’s security expectations,” said Clare Martorana, Federal CIO and TMF Board Chair. “In addition, now DOT will be able to work directly with air travelers to design, test, and implement solutions that will meet their needs. This is the unique power of the TMF – to propel government service delivery forward and demonstrate what’s possible.”  

“The Technology Modernization Fund has been investing in projects for six years that deliver greater security, efficiency, and accessibility to the American people,” said TMF Executive Director Raylene Yung. “Our newest investment in the FTC represents the kind of speed of delivery we aim to achieve, because the problem and solution are well understood and the FTC team is ready to make changes within the next 12 months. Additionally, our investment in DOT will help improve a system accessed by thousands of air travelers each year.”

Department of Transportation: Protecting aviation consumers and streamlining regulated entity interactions through human-centered design

The DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) project aims to enhance its consumer protection system and provide better support for air travelers who seek information and assistance.

An $8 million TMF investment aims to help modernize an outdated consumer complaint and case tracking application that assists thousands of consumers each year. The application collects, analyzes and stores information and data received from airlines, ticket agents, airports, and more. The new system aims to better serve consumers, increase efficiency, and help OACP track and ensure compliance with aviation consumer protection requirements.

“Protecting aviation consumers is at the heart of the OACP mission and at the heart of this TMF investment,” said Blane Workie, OACP Assistant General Counsel. “With the TMF funding, OACP will modernize its consumer complaint application system to make it easier for consumers to know their rights and file air travel service complaints should problems occur, while enhancing OACP’s ability to analyze these complaints and enforce aviation civil rights and consumer protection laws.”

Federal Trade Commission: Securing and modernizing the Registration Number System

The FTC project strives to better secure and modernize a critical public-facing database that impacts many consumers, by issuing registration numbers to U.S. based businesses to identify who manufactured, imported, distributed, or sold a covered textile, fur, or wool product. 

With $1.1 million in TMF funding and support, FTC plans to modernize the Registration Number System by developing a user-friendly cloud application, enabling FTC to decommission legacy technology and mitigate substantial security risks. 

“This investment will enable FTC to develop a more secure and modern system for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and other business participants in the textile industry to register company information, and better inform and protect American consumers of textile products,” said Mark Gray, FTC Chief Information Officer. “The project’s completion will also mark a critical milestone – all FTC applications accepting incoming traffic will have been migrated to the cloud, thus greatly enhancing FTC’s security posture and further advancing FTC towards Zero Trust Architecture goals.” 

The TMF manages more than $770 million for 47 investments across 27 federal agencies. This includes five investments the TMF made in July with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), aimed at improving digital service delivery, and with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), enhancing the cybersecurity protection of data and applications used in critical services.

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About the TMF: The Technology Modernization Fund is working to transform the way the government uses technology to deliver for the American public in an equitable, secure, and user-centric way. The TMF invests in technology projects across government, providing incremental funding, technical assistance, and oversight throughout execution to ensure the success of its investments. The TMF is overseen by the Technology Modernization Board, which is composed of government IT leaders representing proven expertise in technology, transformation, and operations. TMF investments have supported projects ranging from modernizing the payment system used by the government’s second largest revenue-collecting agency to helping to develop a new customer relationship management platform to maintain crucial international partnerships. To date, the TMF has received $225 million through the annual budget process and $1 billion through the American Rescue Plan to fund modernization projects. For more information, visit tmf.cio.gov.

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing about $87 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.