President Trump Strengthens Agency CIO Authority with Executive Order

In December 2014, Congress gave government chief information officers (CIOs) new powers and authority to manage the IT enterprise at their departments and component agencies under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). Three and a half years later, CIOs don’t have the authority they need, administration officials said. President Trump signed an executive order giving presidential weight to mandates of FITARA, specifically the parts that give department CIOs authority over hiring, budgets and setting the IT agenda for the entire department enterprise. The administration has a three-pronged plan to modernize federal IT: institutional change, placing people in key positions and achieving early wins to gain momentum, said a senior White House official, speaking on background ahead of the signing. The executive order focuses on the first of those efforts.