NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today urged Congressional leadership to provide additional digital resources and funding to state and local governments so they can process the unprecedented amount of unemployment claims, small business loans and grants and other emergency programs. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, state and local governments have been inundated with the amount of claims they have been trying to process but their technology systems cannot handle it, causing long wait times for and unprocessed claims.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unemployment numbers in New Jersey to soar past records set during the Great Recession and Superstorm Sandy. More than 718,000 New Jerseyans have filed for unemployment since March 15, causing the state’s Department of Labor to become overwhelmed.

“As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed state and local government benefits systems due to unprecedented numbers of applications,” the senators wrote in a letter to Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy. “More than 22 million Americans have filed unemployment claims in the past four weeks alone. News reports abound showing hours-long hold times for Americans seeking assistance with unemployment claims, small business loans and grants and other emergency programs. These federal programs, which are administered by the states, are of the utmost importance to American workers and businesses. They must be able to function and serve this skyrocketing need.”

Many states use decades-old legacy software systems to manage, process, and distribute claims and benefits. However, there’s only a relatively small number of technical experts who have the necessary skills to upgrade these systems to handle the flood of COVID-19 related applicants.

The senators pushed Congressional leadership to make federal digital resources – like the Unites States Digital Service (USDS) and the Technology Transformation Service (TTS) – more readily available to state and local governments so they can more quickly process the unprecedented number of claims that are being filed.

The lawmakers are pushing for the following to be included in the next COVID-19 stimulus package:

USDS:

  • Provide a $50 million emergency appropriation to the Office of Management and Budget Information Technology Oversight and Reform Fund for USDS to hire additional skilled technologists who could immediately begin to serve their country.
  • Ensure these funds are specifically targeted for USDS support of state and local governments use of technology required to administer federal programs or for federal systems that distribute or facilitate the distribution of direct citizen services.
  • Waive or significantly streamline any restrictions on USDS to work with state and local governments.
  • Encourage USDS to prioritize COVID-19 related projects, including those with state customers.

TTS:

  • Provide a $25 million emergency appropriation to the Federal Citizen’s Services Fund.
  • Ensure these funds are specifically appropriated for TTS for support of state and local governments, including use, configuration, and advice on the purchase of technology products and services. This should include cloud service authorizations to enable cloud adoption by state and local governments.
  • Waive or significantly streamline any restrictions on TTS to work with state and local governments, including restrictions on funding sources, signatory requirements and acquisition services support through the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and other related authorizations.
  • Waive restrictions on states and local governments from being able to purchase the products created by the federal government.

  • Encourage TTS (and General Services Administration as a whole) to prioritize COVID-19 related projects including those with state customers.

Joining Sens. Menendez and Booker on the letter were Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

A copy of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy:

We urge you to include targeted funding and regulatory changes to allow state and local governments to access federal digital resources, which can provide critical aid to overburdened state assistance programs, in any upcoming legislation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed state and local government benefits systems due to unprecedented numbers of applications. More than 22 million Americans have filed unemployment claims in the past four weeks alone. News reports abound showing hours-long hold times for Americans seeking assistance with unemployment claims, small business loans and grants and other emergency programs. These federal programs, which are administered by the states, are of the utmost importance to American workers and businesses. They must be able to function and serve this skyrocketing need.

Many states manage applications and distribute support using 40-year-old legacy software systems. Only a relatively small number of technical experts have the skills needed to quickly scale these systems to handle the flood of COVID-19 related applicants. For example, the governor of New Jersey recently put out an urgent call for COBOL programmers, a language that was first developed in 1959 and has been considered obsolete for decades. Volunteer and private business efforts around the country have responded quickly and admirably, but more help is required. These are complex systems that require not only deep technical knowledge but also extensive experience with government software.

Fortunately, a number of resources exist within the federal government that should be extended to help beleaguered states. The United States Digital Service (USDS) within the Executive Office of the President, for example, was created specifically to be an agile team of technologists to help other parts of the federal government. Along with making government services easier to use, USDS has a history of saving taxpayers money by reducing agency costs. The Technology Transformation Service (TTS) within the General Services Administration (GSA) offers digital services and products across the federal government with the mission to transform how the government uses technology. In particular, TTS’s in-house consulting office, 18F, often partners with federal agencies to help them build or buy digital services and products.

Unfortunately, both the USDS and the TTS are hindered by regulatory hurdles that significantly slow down or prevent them from supporting state and local governments. For TTS, the current rules require complex agreements that often take three to four months to negotiate. In addition, federal rules prevent states from using the best-in-class digital products developed by TTS without an extensive waiver process. During this national emergency, when speed is vital for millions of Americans, this red tape is preventing the federal government’s skilled technologists from helping the state and local agencies that need them most.

In order to allow states and local governments to benefit from the federal government’s technical expertise and resources, we request the inclusion of the following in the next COVID-19 legislation.

USDS:

  • Provide a $50 million emergency appropriation to the USDS to allow it to hire additional skilled technologists who immediately could begin to serve their country.
  • Ensure these funds are specifically targeted for USDS support of state and local governments use of technology.
  • Waive or significantly streamline any restrictions on USDS to work with state and local governments.

TTS:

  • Provide a $25 million emergency appropriation to the Federal Citizen’s Services Fund.
  • Ensure these funds are specifically targeted to the TTS for support of state and government use and purchase of technology.
  • Waive or significantly streamline any restrictions on TTS to work with state and local governments including restrictions on funding sources, signatory requirements and acquisitions support.
  • Waive restrictions on states and local governments from being able to purchase the products created by the federal government.
  • Encourage TTS (and GSA as a whole) to prioritize COVID-19 related projects including those with state customers.

States and local governments need help so they can distribute aid to Americans, and the federal government has the resources to provide this support. Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we stand ready and willing to assist as appropriate.

Sincerely,

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