The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted today to approve the Multi-Cloud Innovation and Advancement Act, which aims to modernize and streamline the adoption of cloud computing technologies by Federal government agencies.
The committee approved the bill on a vote of 12-1, with Ranking Member Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., casting the lone vote against it.
The Multi-Cloud Innovation and Advancement Act was introduced in September 2023 by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.,
The bill would task several Federal entities – the General Services Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and U.S. Digital Service – to collaborate and issue guidance on how agencies can implement multi-cloud computing to increase efficiency and interoperability within Federal networks.
That guidance, the bill says, would show how the government can deploy “multi-cloud software technology to allow for applications, data, and programs to be portable and interoperable between public, private and edge cloud environments,” and lay out an implementation roadmap to ensure multi-cloud usage by all executive agencies no later than January 2025.
The legislation also would direct the Government Accountability Office to submit two reports to Congress: one to assess and offer recommendations on the Federal workforce’s digital skills and expertise gap in technology areas like cloud computing; and a second report to examine agencies’ implementation progress of the joint guidance.
“My bill is an important step to streamlining and modernizing Federal government use of cloud technology,” Sen. Rosen said at today’s HSGAC markup session.
“This bipartisan legislation would empower agencies to make informed decisions about innovative cloud technologies to reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and improve cybersecurity,” the senator said. “I look forward to seeing this bipartisan legislation advanced so we can ensure that federal agencies are equipped with the tools they need to deploy the best technology for their missions and save taxpayer funds.”
An identical bill was introduced in the House in August 2023 by Reps. William Timmons, R-S.C., Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., and David Trone, D-Md. That bill still awaits consideration in the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
