Agencies Ordered to Build "Technological Systems"

CPSC and other agencies must have two "technological system[s]" under a February 26 executive order. The order (bit.ly/4bmajrj) dictates that agencies "build" the systems, but the process presumably would involve first assessing whether and how much money must be spent to bring current systems into line with the mandates.

The directive for the first is to:

"[B]uild a centralized technological system within the agency to seamlessly record every payment issued by the agency pursuant to each of the agency's covered contracts and grants, along with a brief, written justification for each payment submitted by the agency employee who approved the payment. This system shall include a mechanism for the Agency Head to pause and rapidly review any payment for which the approving employee has not submitted a brief, written justification within the technological system."

Covered contracts and grants refers to those that do not meet various exclusions, one of which is public safety.

The directive for the second is to:

"[B]uild a technological system within each agency that centrally records approval for federally funded travel for conferences and other non-essential purposes. Once an agency's system is in place, the Agency Head shall prohibit agency employees from engaging in federally funded travel for conferences or other non-essential purposes unless the travel-approving official has submitted a brief, written justification for the federally funded travel within such system…Such justifications shall be posted publicly unless prohibited by law or unless the Agency Head grants an exemption from this requirement."

For both, agencies must report monthly to "the Administrator," referring to the head of the US Digital Service, which now is called "US DOGE Service" by the White House although the former name remains on usds.gov.

The order includes the usual boilerplate language: "This order shall be implemented…subject to the availability of appropriations."

Other dictates in the order include:

• Creating guidance on entering or modifying contracts.
• Freezing credit cards for 30 days with exceptions that include "critical services" decided by agency heads.
• Addressing real property controls, leasing, and sales.