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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Sen. Udall Backs IT Reform Legislation

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Monday, December 23, 2013   

SANTA FE, N.M. - Avoiding future technology meltdowns like the one that hit the "healthcare.gov" website is the focus of a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico. Udall spokeswoman Jennifer Talhelm said the "Federal Information Technology Savings, Accountability and Transparency Act" would help modernize the government's aging computer and technology systems.

The laws governing 'I.T.' procurement and oversight are outdated, Talhelm charged.

"They date back to the time when we were using floppy discs and telephone modems. The laws just haven't kept pace with the needs," Talhelm explained.

The bill would cut waste and save billions of taxpayer dollars, she said, by preventing the kinds of management accountability problems that have plagued various federal technology initiatives. The latest and most-publicized I.T. woes have been about the "healthcare.gov" website, where Americans purchase health insurance available through the Affordable Care Act. The White House said that website is operating much better, after several hundred technology problems were fixed.

The proposed legislation would make it easier for government to build the best technology projects possible for the American people, Talhelm said.

"We want to streamline the process to kind of eliminate some of that bureaucratic red tape that holds things up. This is really about commonsense updates, modernizing the system," she said.

Udall expects the Senate to consider the legislation early in the new year, she added.

The bill is available at http://assets.fiercemarkets.net.



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