Editorial: Low tech

Many taxpayers may believe that federal workers enjoy the most advanced, state-of- the-art technology available. While that’s true in a handful of areas, a new report reveals that computers systems in the departments of Defense, Transportation and others lag woefully behind.

The Associated Press reported last week that congressional investigators found that the government is running on museum-ready technology in many critical sectors. This raises a host of issues — not the least of which is financial. The report noted that roughly 75 percent of the government’s $80 billion information technology budget is diverted to keep aging technology running.

Not only is that a colossal inefficiency and waste of taxpayer money, it delays modernization. In fact, the government will spend an estimated $7 billion less on modernization in 2017 than it did in 2010.

Here’s a sampling from the AP of the dinosaurs our tax dollars are paying to keep alive:

— The systems the Social Security Administration uses to determine eligibility and estimate benefits are more than 30 years old, with some using COBOL, a programming language dating to at least to the early 1960s. Training new employees to use the systems is time consuming, so the government has had to rehire retirees.

— The Treasury Department’s master files of business and taxpayer information are roughly 56 years old and use obsolete computer language that is difficult to maintain.

— The Transportation Department’s hazardous materials information system is more than four decades old. Vendors no longer support some of its software, which can lead to security risks.

— The Defense Department system to send and receive emergency action messages to U.S. nuclear forces is running on a now-obsolete, 1970s IBM computing platform that relies on hard-to-find replacement parts and floppy disks. Yep, floppy disks.

According to the Government Accountability Office, there are varying timetables for replacing the technologies, from a couple of years to never. While the White House has been urging agencies to identify obsolete systems, the GAO says clearer, more specific goals and timetables are needed.

In Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said those on both sides of the aisle “need to come together” to support modernizing these aging systems.

He’s correct. Upgrading these outdated systems should lead to cost savings and productivity increases.

But given how many Washington agencies are already wasting their technology budgets to sustain computer systems that are on life support, Rep. Chaffetz and friends should insist that federal officials offer a detailed plan for implementing improvements and ensuring increased efficiencies before showering them with more cash.