Technology Modernization Fund cliff and the scramble to reauthorize.

The Technology Modernization Fund problem isn’t theoretical. When a revolving modernization vehicle can’t approve new investments, it turns modernization planning into a stop-and-go exercise that burns time and increases delivery risk.

For CIOs and budget owners, the immediate value is clarity. You want a decision list for what pauses if the fund can’t make new investments, what can be bridged with agency dollars, and what should be re-scoped to avoid half-built systems and stranded contracts.

Sources:

https://oversight.house.gov/release/mace-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-modernize-federal-it-systems%EF%BF%BC/

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2985/text

National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act and a shared R and D cloud for government and academia.

A shared programmable cloud lab network sounds like a research story, but it’s really an operating model story. Shared testbeds can reduce duplicated spend, make experimentation reproducible, and push agencies toward common patterns that scale.

If this idea advances, the details to watch are governance and interoperability. Access controls, data handling rules, and how standards are set will decide whether this becomes a practical shared platform or another well-intended pilot with limited reuse.

Sources:

https://www.budd.senate.gov/2025/12/05/sens-budd-fetterman-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-strengthen-american-innovation/

https://www.congress.gov/

FAA air traffic control modernization: a new urgency signal from Congress and a multi-billion dollar upgrade path.

Air traffic control modernization is a reminder that public sector IT isn’t only applications and portals. It’s nationwide telecom, surveillance, real-time decision support, and field deployment at scale, all under high availability expectations.

For technology leaders, this should be treated like any other large infrastructure modernization program. You’ll want realistic schedules, vendor risk planning, and a governance approach that can survive multi-year execution without losing performance and safety outcomes.

Sources:

https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/12/testimony-hearing-to-modernize-the-nation-s-air-traffic-control-system

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/faa-spend-6-billion-upgrade-air-traffic-control-system-2025-12-17/

New Jersey and CoreWeave launch a 20 million dollar AI Hub Fund.

States are starting to treat AI as a competitiveness stack, not a single tool. Funding, compute access, and startup formation are getting packaged together so that talent and infrastructure reinforce each other.

For state CIOs, the takeaway is the model. Public-private partnerships can move faster than traditional procurement, but they need clear eligibility rules, transparent selection, and measurable outcomes so the program doesn’t become a headline without durable results.

Sources:

https://www.njeda.gov/new-jersey-economic-development-authority-announces-20-million-ai-hub-fund/

https://www.coreweave.com/

OpenAI for Countries and the national AI infrastructure playbook.

OpenAI for Countries frames AI as national infrastructure: data centers, workforce upskilling, and localized services delivered in partnership with governments. Even if your organization chooses a different vendor or strategy, the structure of the program is worth studying.

For leaders, the checklist is familiar but critical. Data sovereignty, auditability, procurement lock-in, and enforceable safety controls determine whether an AI partnership scales responsibly or becomes a long-term risk.

Sources:

https://openai.com/global-affairs/openai-for-countries/ https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-taps-former-uk-finance-minister-osborne-lead-global-stargate-expansion-2025-12-16/

North Carolina names a Senior Adviser for Digital Experience and signals a new state digital platform.

North Carolina is signaling that digital experience is moving closer to the governor’s office, with a clear mandate to improve the delivery of services by building a new digital platform with NCDIT. This is the kind of executive sponsorship that can cut through cross-agency inertia.

The practical implications are operational. Identity, accessibility, payments, and integration with legacy systems are where these programs win or lose, and that’s where portfolios and budgets need to be anchored from day one.

Sources: https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/12/17/new-hires-governor-stein-prioritizes-growing-economy-and-modernizing-government

NASCIO 2026 Top Ten priorities puts AI at the top.

NASCIO putting AI at the top of its priorities list is a budget and governance signal that state leaders can use immediately. It suggests the conversation is shifting from pilots to production, and from experimentation to operating model design.

For CIOs and CISOs, the actionable move is alignment. Inventory your AI use cases, formalize governance, and connect AI plans to identity, security, and data management so you aren’t improvising controls while scaling adoption.

Sources: https://www.nascio.org/resource-center/resources/2026-top-ten-policy-and-technology-priorities/

Topics We’re Tracking (But Didn’t Make the Cut) Dropped

Topic: GAO independent assessment on VA electronic health record modernization.

* Why It Didn’t Make the Cut: Dropped by editorial choice for today’s lineup to keep the show tighter and more forward-looking.

* Why It Caught Our Eye: It’s a grounded readout on oversight, remediation pace, and schedule realism for a massive federal modernization program.

Sources: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108812

This update was assembled using a mix of human editorial judgment, public records, and reputable national and sector-specific news sources, with help from artificial intelligence tools to summarize and organize information. All information is drawn from publicly available sources listed above. Every effort is made to keep details accurate as of publication time, but readers should always confirm time-sensitive items such as policy changes, budget figures, and timelines with official documents and briefings.

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