Posted by
Cost Estimating NewsBrief: February 6, 2026
Bills to fund TMF, overhaul IT procurement move forward in House
(FedScoop) The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced several tech-related bills Wednesday, including legislation to strengthen the Technology Modernization Fund, reform federal IT procurement and pare down educational requirements for agency cybersecurity roles. The TMF, which was created by law in 2017 to fund tech modernization projects across agencies, has been the subject of much hand-wringing in govtech circles after Congress let the funding vehicle expire late last year. The Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act (H.R. 2985), however, would get the TMF back on track, reauthorizing the TMF and its governing board through 2032 Read More
DOD Financial Management: Air Force Needs to Properly Account for All General Equipment That Contractors Hold
(U.S Government Accountability Office) “The Department of Defense has been unable to accurately account for government property in its contractors’ possession. Some of the $118.4 billion in general equipment the Air Force reported in FY 2024 was held by contractors. We traced a sample of these items held across 5 contractor facilities and in 3 systems of record. One of the systems didn’t accurately account for this equipment. About a third of the sample items—such as an oscilloscope and a heater—recorded in the system couldn’t be located in the facilities.
We recommended ways to improve the accuracy of the problematic system.” Read More
Lack of centralized authority, service coordination sank DoD’s travel modernization effort
(Federal News Network) The Pentagon scrapped the $374 million program it worked on for years to replace its antiquated Defense Travel System (DTS) after discovering the new platform could not reliably produce the financial data needed to support a clean audit, a failure a government watchdog says stemmed from poor coordination with the military services and lack of centralized authority. The Defense Department began developing the system, known as MyTravel, in 2018. In 2022, it ordered the military services to begin using the platform as it moved toward finally retiring DTS. But less than a year later, officials abruptly reversed course, abandoning MyTravel and returning to the legacy DTS. Read More
Redefining procurement performance in the era of agentic AI
(McKinsey & Company) Procurement is entering a new age—one defined not just by cost containment, but by its ability to shape broader enterprise outcomes: resilience, sustainability, speed to market, and innovation. Yet today’s procurement teams are struggling to keep pace. Rapid shifts in the geopolitical environment, market dynamics, supply shocks, inflationary pressure, and an overwhelming volume of data are all converging to expose the limits of traditional operating models. Procurement leaders tell us that they must become more agile than ever, Read More
ICEAA’s NewsBrief is a collection of articles relevant to the cost estimating and analysis community that is delivered weekly to current ICEAA members. To advertise in NewsBrief, contact iceaa@iceaaonline.org.