Digital Government
Roster
Jim Flyzik, chief information officer at the Treasury Department and chairman of the CIO Council, this month received the IT Executive of the Year Award from the Association for Federal Information Resources Management. The association also gave its Congressional IT Leadership Award to Rep. Constan
Digital Government
CIA reveals cyberterrorists targeting U.S.
Speaking publicly about information warfare threats for the first time, the director of the CIA said last week that several foreign governments are developing information warfare programs and that terrorist groups are watching how the United States responds to hacker attacks on government systems a
Digital Government
New preference policy may change little
Changes announced to federal affirmativeaction policies last week may not spark more business for minorityowned firms, according to agencies and industry. The Clinton administration's new policy extends governmentwide a program authorized for the Defense Department, NASA and the Coast Guard that
Digital Government
NARA floats plan for storing records about IT systems
A draft proposal from the National Archives and Records Administration would establish set lengths of time for maintaining records about the development, operation and maintenance of federal information systems throughout the government. The plan, which is modeled after an information technology re
Digital Government
Network Computers: Still a hard sell
A year or two ago, some people thought the Network Computer (NC) would revolutionize the computer industry, offering an alternative to the PC that could be fielded at a substantially lower cost. While no one today claims that NCs can replace PCs, there does seem to be a market for the systems to a
Digital Government
FEDWIRE
Final EBT rule on deck Federal employees, retirees, veterans and vendors who are not already receiving salaries, benefits and payments electronically soon will be required to sign up for electronic deposit, but the Financial Management Service said last week that it will offer options to people wit
Digital Government
Intercepts
The Interceptor has folded his antennas for the next month to take some muchneeded R&R overseas. In the interim, the FCW staff has erected new dishes to intercept the latest talk on the street at the Defense Department and civilian agencies. Y2K TAR BABY. If you haven't heard all the Republican ja
Digital Government
Civilian links the fleet's users
Civil engineers as a rule do not glamorize the tools of their trade. Bulldozers, for example, hold a fascination for small boys but are simply very large machines that are capable of moving large amounts of earth more efficiently than a shovel. Similarly, Monica Shepherd, who worked as a Navy civil
Digital Government
Council plans to offer high-level IT training to CIOs
The federal Chief Information Officers Council plans to issue a solicitation late this year to colleges and universities to establish a curriculum geared to the education requirements of highlevel information technology executives and managers in the federal government. The new program, dubbed the
Digital Government
HHS plans to use PCs for tobacco survey
Looking for a way to improve privacy in a survey that has become part of the raging debate over tobacco, the Department of Health and Human Services is considering using computer technology to conduct a study of tobacco use among young people. For months, HHS has been preparing a survey of 20,000 i
Digital Government
DOD simulation project meets first milestone
The Defense Department's system for conducting modeling and simulation to train troops for realworld missions recently completed its first major milestone, validating DOD's initiative to have the services work together on simulation programs. Modeling and simulation technologies are becoming incre
Digital Government
FAA awards satellite navigational pact to AMTI
The Federal Aviation Administration this month awarded a contract to Advanced Management Technology Inc. to improve satellitebased navigational technology for civilian pilots. The Satellite Navigation Technical Assistance Contract (SNTAC), which is worth $62 million over seven years, will provide
Digital Government
NARA circulates draft records management plan
The National Archives and Records Administration has begun to circulate a plan for managing the government's digital documents, but the plan lacks a clear policy that information technology managers and records management experts deem critical to solving their recordkeeping problems. A draft policy
Digital Government
Letters
Unfair comparison After looking at your most recent editorial cartoon [FCW, June 22] I do not think that John Klossner has a complete understanding of the constitutional right being violated by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The pictures of a park, expressway and cable
Digital Government
GSA plan to keep sked partners 'evergreen'
The General Services Administration this month completed work on a plan to let multipleaward schedule vendors remain in the program indefinitely through new 'evergreen' contracts that run five years and are followed by continuous fiveyear option periods. Bill Gormley, assistant commissioner for a
Digital Government
INS picks three for mega IT deal
The Immigration and Naturalization Service last week awarded to three vendors the largest segment of its $1.2 billion program to continue development of the agency's full range of information systems from the computers by which agents verify the identities of border crossers to the systems INS wo
Digital Government
High-tech warriors, high-tech wars
After years of developing advanced information technology for the battlefield, the military services are poised to reduce the number of people sent into battle, largely by using IT to improve the way forces are supplied. Of course, the Defense Department has steadily reduced the size of the armed f
Digital Government
HP guns for SGI in DOD market
HewlettPackard Co. this month launched an aggressive campaign aimed at unseating Silicon Graphics Inc. for leadership in the Unixbased graphics workstations market, specifically for military battlefield simulation. The campaign comes as HP prepares to introduce this August its 64bit operating sy
Digital Government