Since effective government use of modern technology is one of our goals, we were pleased to see the bipartisan Modernizing Government Technology Act (MGT) included in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that is now headed to the president. This legislation will help move our outdated federal IT systems into the 21st century, promote cost efficiencies, and tackle dangerous cyber vulnerabilities.

To achieve these goals, an ongoing, significant investment is needed. Unfortunately the allocated funding may not be enough. MGT would authorize the appropriation of $250 million in each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to the IT modernization fund. It sounds like a lot of money, but it’s not enough to address our antiquated federal systems.

Although MGT is a step in the right direction, much more is needed. Business leaders know that sometimes you have to spend more now to save money later. The ongoing failure to address outmoded federal government technology is penny wise and pound foolish.

An Investment to Modernize Government was originally published in Business for America Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.