White House Memo Centralizes IT Contract Oversight Under CIOs

The White House released a memo Tuesday directing agencies to centralize control of IT contracts under CIOs and, ultimately, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Memo M-26-10, titled “Reinforcing Transparency, Accountability, and Oversight of Federal Technology” and signed by OMB chief Russ Vought, targets what the administration calls as a fractured and wasteful procurement system.

“The policy requires all future solicitations and contracts to disclose utilization and pricing information to the government without limiting the extent to which that information can be shared across agencies” Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia said in a video posted to LinkedIn Tuesday. “No more one-off buys, no more charging agencies different prices for the same tools, banking on the fact that they won’t or can’t find out.”

The policy is a cornerstone of a broader efficiency agenda designed to ensure the government leverages its massive buying power to stop being “overcharged” for identical tools. The memo frames the crackdown as a direct fulfillment of the Trump administration’s push toward efficiency.

“Through his executive orders, president Trump has demanded timely, coordinated action to eliminate unnecessary and wasteful government spending,” the memo reads. “This policy furthers that objective by reinforcing foundational practices to maximize transparency and increase accountability for agency chief information officers.

In the video posted Tuesday, Barbaccia said that the memo addresses an IT procurement system, that is “surprisingly complicated” and prone to inefficiency. He said that the agencies are “overspending on products that aren’t used” and that different agencies buy software “multiple times at different prices” in wasteful or inefficient ways.

According to Barbaccia, the new policy establishes a three-pronged approach to reform that will benefit taxpayers:

• CIO Review and Approval: Before an agency spends money on an IT contract, CIOs must review and approve the purchase to ensure it is the correct technical decision. This reinforcing of authority is intended to eliminate “shadow IT.”
• Centralized Notification: Agency CIOs are required to notify the office of the federal CIO regarding all approved IT contracts for their entire agency. This “bird’s eye view” is designed to identify shared use cases, prevent duplication of software and streamline purchases.
• Procurement Consolidation and Disclosure: Technology and acquisition teams are being brought closer together to support efforts to consolidate procurement. Future contracts must disclose utilization and pricing information to the government, allowing that data to be shared across agencies to prevent different prices being charged for the same tools.

The memo says that better IT procurement is critical to better governance and taxpayer stewardship.

“IT plays a crucial role in every service the federal government provides to the public, and the effective use of that technology is paramount to achieving the administration’s vision for a more efficient government,” the memo notes.

Barbaccia added that these changes are about fairness for the public and ending wasteful spending.

“At the end of the day, this is about using taxpayers’ dollars responsibly, buying smarter and making sure the government is actually getting value from the technology it depends on,” he said.

The new reporting requirements begin in May 2026. Agencies must submit monthly logs of their IT spending to the federal CIO, providing a view intended to identify shared use cases and prevent duplication across the entire executive branch, the memo says.