How the American Rescue Plan helped digital services move at the speed of need

How the American Rescue Plan helped digital services move at the speed of need

When President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law on March 11, 2021, he was responding to an immediate need to assist American families and provide critical resources to upgrade government technology and cybersecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three and a half years later, GSA looks back at how the ARP's impact helped the government's digital infrastructure move at the speed of need.

Since the funds were first given out, GSA has used ARP funds and agency expertise to support agencies recovering, rebuilding and reimagining the delivery of digital products and services to meet the needs of the public and other stakeholders.

GSA has invested in projects that have:

• Improved government services
• Modernized technology
• Streamlined acquisitions
• Bolstered cybersecurity
• Advanced equitable outcomes
• Improved public-facing citizen services

GSA's investments have been extensive, improving the operation of federal agencies and the interactions between the government and the American public.

Technology Modernization Fund

When the ARP was signed into law, GSA received $1.15 billion in appropriations. Of those funds, $1 billion was designated for the Technology Modernization Fund, which is administered by GSA in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget.

The TMF enables agencies to reimagine and transform the way they use technology to deliver their services to the American public. TMF ARP funding was intended to give agencies a unique opportunity to make strategic investments to strengthen the federal government's cybersecurity posture and help agencies develop state-of-the-art tools and infrastructure for a changing world.

"The American Rescue Plan's support of the TMF has been instrumental in our mission to modernize technology and deliver seamless digital experiences for both citizens and federal employees," said TMF Executive Director Larry Bafundo. "The infusion of funds from the American Rescue Plan has allowed us, and the agencies we partner with, to tackle long-standing technological challenges head-on."

Federal Citizen Services Fund

Another $150 million was allocated to the Federal Citizen Services Fund, which is part of the Federal Acquisition Service and executed by GSA's Technology Transformation Services. It combines public-facing services and agency-facing programs that drive governmentwide digital transformation.

"With rapid advances in technology, it's critical to provide the public with government services that are easy to find, understand and use," said TTS Director Ann Lewis. "The funding received through the American Rescue Plan has been instrumental in TTS' efforts to help agencies deliver better government experiences to the public, scaling up to meet pandemic needs and laying the groundwork to build a better future for government technology."

Making a difference through targeted investments

TMF

TMF's innovative financing model helped many IT modernization projects get funded and sustained. This model relies on incremental funding that is tied to delivery of milestones, which allows for more agile and dynamic project implementation while promoting efficient, effective use of taxpayer dollars.

TMF projects have included:

• GSA's Login.gov - used by federal and state agencies alike, Login.gov is a shared technology service that provides authentication and identity verification capabilities to agencies. As the public's "one account for government," Login.gov allows the public to use a single account to securely access services across participating government websites. Login.gov's development and adoption was partially funded by TMF ARP funds.
• USAID's Customer Relationship Management tool - The U.S. Agency for International Development used TMF ARP funding to launch its first enterprise-wide customer relationship management platform, streamlining how they manage relationships with critical external partners across the agency's 90 posts and missions worldwide. The database empowers USAID team members worldwide, and helps the agency get things into the hands of those that need them faster - including everything from lifesaving HIV drugs, food, and education resources to sustainable agricultural tools and much more.
• DOL's Lost and Found registry - TMF ARP funding helped the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration establish a hub for workers and their beneficiaries to search for their unclaimed, lost or forgotten retirement savings and benefits, and find out how to obtain them. EBSA's missing participant program has helped people find retirement plans that still owed them benefits and has already made a huge difference in the lives of retirees and other plan beneficiaries who were struggling to make ends meet.

Federal Citizen Services Fund

FCSF initiatives make government services more accessible, efficient and effective with modern applications, personnel and software solutions. The TTS portfolio includes over 40 projects focused on immediate needs related to recovery and rebuilding from the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthening how the government designs and delivers digital services.

Redelivering value to streamline processes

• The Federal Audit Clearinghouse is an important oversight tool for $1.4T in federal grants distributed to states, local and tribal governments, and nonprofits. Using ARP funds, the 15-year-old FAC was moved from its legacy home in Census to GSA to create a modern, API driven tool. This work was informed by a 2017 project funded by GSA's 10x team, called Federal Grantee Reporting, which identified key improvements to the single audit user experience.

Making individual impacts on the public experience

• GSA's Equity Study on Remote Identity Proofing launched last fall to ensure verifying your identity online remotely works for everyone. By the end of April, the Equity Study team recruited 4,000 participants from demographically diverse communities. Next, a team of academic experts will review the data and publish a peer-reviewed report that will encourage conversation about how to measure equity in technology.

Enhancing the user experience and simplifying access

• Vote.gov is partnering with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to improve the accessibility of the National Mail Voter Registration Form. Vote.gov built a digital form filler tool (launching soon) to help people more easily fill out the registration form in a mobile and screen reader-friendly format. The Vote.gov team also partnered with Search.gov to improve its search experience in several languages. This July, Vote.gov released a newly designed website with expanded content and new accessibility features (screen magnifier, high-contrast design and more) based on direct voter feedback.
• Search.gov is improving its service, including redesigning the search results page to comply with 21st Century IDEA, supporting more filtering and website options and helping agencies use analytics to improve the public experience. Search.gov's search filters allowed for powerful site search in NASA's CX-focused redesign, allowing users to access tailored content.
• Cloud.gov is enhancing its overall security posture to ensure government websites and applications remain secure and operational amid increasing cyber threats. As of June 2024, Cloud.gov meets the security standards defined by FedRAMP and NIST to secure federal information systems and data stored in the cloud. Cloud.gov also continues to make progress by implementing security changes from the Zero Trust Executive Order and modernizing system management and UX software.

Looking ahead to FY25

Moving into the new fiscal year, TTS programs such as Cloud.gov, FAC and Notify.gov will continue to drive a meaningful impact for agency and public users:

• Cloud.gov will progress on adopting a Zero-Trust architecture in alignment with the Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity.
• FAC will focus on improving data quality, lessening the burden of data collection on auditees, and improving the experience of the public and agencies.
• The Public Benefits Studio will prepare Notify.gov for potential growth beyond the pilot into more programs across government.

With the expiration of ARP funding in FY25, the TMF will evolve again to meet agencies' need to modernize legacy IT, upgrade cybersecurity and improve customer experience. With its unique approach that pairs investment coaching from experts, agile processes and clear milestones, the TMF is well-positioned to continue addressing the constantly evolving needs, threats and advancements agencies face.

"It's the government's job to deliver great service and great value for the American people. That means the technology we use needs to keep up with the fast pace of change and ensure we're offering secure, accessible and easy-to-use technology for the people and agencies we serve," said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. "Modernizing the government's technology infrastructure is an ongoing need and we look forward to working with Congress to continue making the type of progress the American people expect and deserve."

You can learn more about the impact of ARP funding in the Federal Citizen Services Fund ARP FY22 [PDF - 1 MB], and FY23 end-of-year reports, and the TMF FY22 [PDF] and FY23 [PDF] Impact Reports.