Washington, D.C. – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) spoke on the House floor today in favor of H.R. 39, the TALENT Act, which he sponsored to improve the way government uses technology. Full remarks are below:

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his work.

“Mr. Speaker, the government is many things. It is large. It is complicated. And it is ineffective. I don’t think anyone would call it ‘modern.’ While the world is rushing forward with things like voiced-based interfaces, autonomous vehicles, online retail, or data analytics, government is stubbornly years or even decades behind.

“We do not have to accept that. One of the purposes of the Innovation Initiative, our effort here in the House, is to bring government into the modern age.

“Right now, it can still take hours for citizens to get the IRS on the phone to ask the most basic questions. Parents and students still deal with clunky user interfaces when applying for tuition assistance. And the VA still uses a scheduling system that is a quarter-century old. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“We have a program right now—the Presidential Innovation Fellow program—that brings in highly talented professionals from across the country to help upgrade our government’s use of technology. Now, these are engineers, designers, innovators, and thinkers. They challenge the old ways of thinking and introduce new approaches to make our government work the way the American people deserve it to work.

“I sponsored the TALENT Act to make sure this innovation program continues into the future. By drawing on the great talent of the American people, we can make government effective, efficient, and accountable.

“I yield back.”