Chairman Towns, Ranking Member Issa Introduce Legislation to Expedite Federal Agencies’ Telecommunications Transition to “Networx”
H.R. 6267 will ensure taxpayer savings, protect federal government against cyberattacks

WASHINGTON — Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) today announced the introduction of H.R. 6267, the “Complete the Networx Telecommunications Transition Act.”  Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) joined Chairman Towns in introducing the legislation that will ensure a more expedient transition of government telecommunications services to the General Services Administration’s (GSA) “Networx” program. . Networx is a government-wide program, managed by GSA, to provide all major telecommunications, network and information services to Federal agencies at significantly lower costs than what is currently available under the GSA’s Federal Technology Service 2001 (FTS2001) contracts.   

Chairman Towns has expressed frustration by the significant delays among Federal agencies in their transition to Networx, and last month he announced plans to introduce legislation to ensure taxpayers would receive the cost-savings benefit of the program.  H.R. 6237 requires Federal agencies to begin acquiring all telecommunications services under the Networx program contracts of GSA by May 31, 2011.

‪“I am concerned that these ongoing delays are preventing Networx from meeting its critical cost-savings goals for taxpayers,” said Chairman Towns. “As the deadline to complete the transition quickly approaches, this legislation will help prevent further foot-dragging by federal agencies.  I appreciate Congressman Issa joining me in this effort.”

With bridge and crossover contracts scheduled to expire in 2011, it will be critical to complete a the full Networx transition before their expiration.  Moreover, a full transition to Networx will modernize and help protect the federal government’s telecommunications system against cyber attacks.

Chairman Towns held a hearing on May 20, 2010 to examine the transition to Networx entitled, “Running Out of Time: Telecommunications Transition Delays Wasting Millions of Federal Dollars.”  The hearing examined many of the issues causing delays in the transition to Networx and possible solutions to address the delays.

H.R. 6267 was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

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