House to investigate wasteful technology spending

The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday to investigate wasteful spending by the federal government on technology systems and services, Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced Thursday.

Steven VanRoekel, the White House chief information officer; Chris Niehaus, Microsoft's director of civic innovation; and Tom Davis, the former chairman of the Oversight Committee, are scheduled to testify.

According to a committee release, the U.S. government spends about $80 billion every year on information technology, and as much as 70 percent of new federal information technology acquisitions fail or fall behind schedule.

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