The US government is about to switch off the scoreboard for its tech projects.
Right when it asks for $75.7 billion more to spend on them. Why would you turn off the scoreboard during the biggest game?
The ask: $75.7 billion.
That is what the White House wants for civilian government computers and software in 2027. Up from $67.9 billion this year.
Source: FedScoop, Apr 3, 2026 (OMB budget).
Most of it keeps old stuff alive.
Picture 100 coins of tech money. 78 pay to keep old systems running. Only 22 build something new.
Source: GAO-24-106693. $74B of $95B in FY2024.
In 2009, the government built a public scoreboard.
It is a website called the IT Dashboard. Each big project gets a color, like a traffic light. Anyone can look. Green is fine. Red is trouble.
Source: GAO-16-696T. Light graphic is an illustration.
In 2014, a law made it the rule.
Congress passed FITARA. It says agency tech chiefs must own their projects and rate their risk honestly. In public.
But who checks if the rating is honest?
Source: Nextgov; GAO.
The auditor looked at 53 big projects.
The Government Accountability Office is Congress's watchdog. It re-rated each one itself. Watch what happens.
Source: GAO-27-108416, Oct 7, 2026.
were riskier than the agency said. That is 45 out of every 100.
And the public scoreboard that shows these ratings is retiring.
Source: GAO-27-108416; itdashboard.gov notice.
The site now carries a notice: it is being retired.
Source: itdashboard.gov. Start date and replacement were not found.
Meanwhile, buying gets faster.
North Carolina asked AI companies to bid on a state-wide AI platform. Only makers of the biggest AI models may apply.
Source: NCDIT, Oct 28; GovTech.
records exposed on a government service platform.
CitySourced lets people report potholes and graffiti to their city. Researchers found its data open to anyone.
Source: ExpressVPN research; Security Magazine.
The cloud security rules were rewritten.
FedRAMP is the check a cloud company passes to sell to Washington. New rules for 2026 have a big deadline: Dec 7.
Source: FedRAMP notice 0014; Crowell.
A slow-buying rulebook meets fast buying.
A 2014 law says agencies must show the public how risky their big tech projects are. That only works if someone checks and the public can see. The auditor found 24 of 53 projects riskier than claimed. The budget ask goes up. The public scoreboard is closing. States now buy AI the fast way. The rule still exists. The looking is what fades.
What could prove this wrong.
Three things that answer the open question.
How sure are we?
Verified: GAO-27-108416 (24 of 53); FedScoop FY2027 budget; itdashboard.gov notice; GAO-24-106693 (78%); NCDIT RFP; CitySourced (two sources); FedRAMP notice. Contested: GSA's $1.1B OneGov "savings" is cost avoidance, so we left it out. Not used: unverified contract totals and startup-growth claims. Gaps: yearly spending splits, contract awards, retirement date. Photos: none, because image sources could not be reached in this session. Graphics are drawn.
Full log in the research file. vizmaya desk, Oct 30, 2026.