Digital Government
Proposed bill would fund financial systems
Rep. Dan Burton (RInd.) last week introduced a bill that would fund improvements in agencies' financial management computer systems with the recovery of billions of dollars in overpayments made to government contractors. The proposed legislation, called the Government Waste Corrections Act, would
Digital Government
Outsourcing pact back under fire
A Republican congressman has attached an amendment to a Defense Department spending bill that could derail the Pentagon's efforts to save billions of dollars by outsourcing operations of information technology support services to commercial contractors. Observers said the amendment, attached to the
Digital Government
Feds Bless New Mexico's Child Support System
New Mexico's automated child support enforcement system last week became the 16th state system to be fully certified by the federal government.
Digital Government
Intercepts
LOGISTICS CZAR? The House version of the 20002001 Defense authorization bill calls for the establishment of a director of defense logistics, empowered with broad Title 10 oversight. (That's the portion of the U.S. Code that defines the roles and missions of the Office of the Secretary of Defense a
Digital Government
Set-Asides
Admin: Bill would help prevent terrorism The Clinton administration last week told a House subcommittee that a bill limiting the disclosure of information about hazards at chemical plants would help prevent terrorism. The measure, proposed by the administration and sponsored by Rep. Thomas Bliley
Digital Government
HP's Digital Sender: An all-in-one fax, e-mail, scan and print machine
Consolidation seems to be the name of the game in today's hightech world, affecting everything from software to electronic devices. We've seen the convergence of the printer and the copy machine; isn't it about time to see a better and less expensive way of providing fax service to agency workers?
Digital Government
Keeping an eye on directory services
As federal agencies' networks have grown larger and more complex, the need for tools to manage them has become urgent. A key development in network management has been the rise of enterpriselevel directory services, which have garnered much interest following Microsoft Corp.'s development of its n
Digital Government
NTIS reconsiders fed search engine
In the wake of questions about whether it would improperly charge for government information, the Commerce Department last week decided to rethink the release of a new search engine that allows users to search through millions of federal documents online. Officials from the department and its Natio
Digital Government
New Mexico Sizes Up Its IT Workload
New Mexico's newly created Information Technology Commission held its first meeting Friday. The commission discussed a statewide strategic plan for IT, the lack of adequate network infrastructure across the state and agencies' Year 2000readiness status.
Digital Government
CIO program expanded
The General Services Administration, the CIO Council and other federal and industry groups have begun to expand a program serving the interests and needs of smallerlevel agency information technology leaders. GSA last year started the IT Leadership Roundtable as a forum for CIOs and other IT execu
Digital Government
San Francisco to Award Universal Transportation Ticket System
The ninecounty San Francisco Bay area is poised to become the nation's first metropolitan region to offer a universal transit ticket for use on all of its transit systems including buses, trains, ferries, taxis, parking lots and even public telephones.
Digital Government
NASA science center turns to 3-D
Aiming to make its scientific research more accessible to the general public, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center plans to develop 3D, interactive presentations for its World Wide Web site to explain complex topics. Marshall, which conducts research in such areas as astrophysics, microgravity scie
Digital Government
Tracking time
The question people most often ask Sen. Robert Bennett, chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on the Year 2000 Computer Problem, is a logical one. 'Are we going to be all right come Jan. 1?' He is asked that question all the time from other members of Congress, constituents, commentators
Digital Government
Needed: Clinger-Cohen champion
What once was hailed as a law that would revolutionize the way government buys and uses information technology, now, three years later, has not moved much off the dime. The ClingerCohen Act, which set up the framework for agencies to better manage how they buy and use IT, sits unfulfilled and is i
Digital Government
AT&T lands 3 local pacts for telecom
After being shut out of the government's major longdistance telecommunications program, AT?#038; Amp;T last week captured the General Services Administration's hotly contested contracts to provide local voice and data telecommunications services to federal agencies in three major metropolitan areas. The con
Digital Government
PalmPilot seeks greater role in fed tasks
Palm Computing Inc., maker of the PalmPilot family of personal digital assistants, has launched an initiative to convince federal buyers that the devices have the ability to go beyond keeping dates and organizing personal information. 3Com Corp., the parent company of Palm Computing, is touting rel
Digital Government
Fedwire Briefs
OMB warns of reinserting Y2K bugs The Office of Management and Budget last week asked agencies to develop a plan that protects their Year 2000compliant systems from any regulatory actions or information technology changes that could jeopardize fixes agencies already have made to computers. In a me
Digital Government
Data standard eases FDA drug approval
The Food and Drug Administration recently adopted a new technology that enables the agency to begin converting its paperintensive process for approving new drugs into an electronic process. The new technology, called SAS Transport File Format and developed by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., provid
Digital Government
White House kicks off Y2K campaign
The Clinton administration today launched a nationwide campaign to promote dialogue and to stimulate more action from state and local government officials about their Year 2000 readiness.
Digital Government