The Customs and Border Protection agency is tapping into the Technology Modernization Fund to update its system for tracking and processing all imported goods, built 30 years ago using a 60-year-old coding language.
The TMF—established in 2018 as part of the Modernizing Government Technology Act—acts as a central fund for much-needed technology upgrades. Agencies and programs can apply to the TMF Board for funds, which are then repaid over three to five years. Board representatives have said they focus on high-impact projects with the potential to scale or inform other agencies’ modernization efforts.
On Tuesday, the board and TMF program office—housed within the General Services Administration—announced CBP was awarded $15 million for its Automated Commercial Environment Collections Modernization project.
“This project will help CBP improve customs enforcement, revenue collections, and trade protections, which will result in long-term benefits to the agency, partner government agencies, the trade community, and the American public,” according to a statement Tuesday announcing the award. “The significance of this project is paramount in enabling lawful international trade, especially during this dynamic trade environment.”
The current iteration of the ACS tool is 30 years old and “housed on the agency’s last remaining mainframe solution,” according to the project description. As with many legacy systems in government, ACS runs on COBOL, an aged programming language.
“By the end of this project, CBP will have a cloud-based core collection system that will modernize both the underlying technology and the code base,” according to the description.
CBP officials expect the cost savings from lower software, development and maintenance expenses will help repay the TMF loan.
The latest award is the 10 ..
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