Last year's attempt failed, but increased concern over the state of the BIS might make the second time the charm

The US government agency in charge of keeping advanced technology out of the hands of America's enemies desperately needs an IT modernization to accomplish its mission. So a group of elected officials is trying (again) to get the funds it needs to do so. 

On Friday, Colorado Democratic Congressman Jason Crow, New Jersey Republican Tom Kean, and two other Democrats introduced the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) IT Modernization Act in the House of Representatives. The bill would give the BIS $25 million for each of the fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to get its IT house in order by scaling up the use of data, analytics, decision-making software, supply chain illumination tools, AI adoption, and the addition of new data sharing interfaces. 

The bill would also call for BIS, alongside other agencies, to map the commercial ties linking the industrial bases of China, Russia, North Korea, Iran ...