Davis: Congress lacks big picture when it comes to IT

House Republican leader describes congressional micromanagement of IT procurement at the CES Government conference in Las Vegas.

Davis may cut off funds for Treasury's TCE deal

House Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) threatens to kill funding next year for the controversial Treasury Communications Enterprise departmentwide contract.

IAC forms new interest groups

The Industry Advisory Council has dropped e-government from the name of one of its shared interest groups and adjusted the name of its procurement group to reflect changes in the market.

OPM financial and procurement shop seeks software training

The Office of Personnel Management is seeking a contractor to train the agency's workforce on new software designed to help modernize its financial and procurement systems.

Auditors: FBI on thin ice in Sentinel buy

The FBI faces special risks in developing the Sentinel case management system because it plans to do so at the same time that it is rolling out its new enterprise architecture, according to a letter issued this week by Government Accountability Office auditors.

Congress earmarks funds for interoperable communications

Interoperable communications for first responders gets a boost in two pieces of legislation moving through Congress.

Congress passes '06 authorization bill

House and Senate conferees have approved the fiscal 2006 National Defense Authorization Act.

Panel recommends DOD acquisition reforms

A Defense Department acquisition panel has concluded that the department has no reliable method of determining what items need to be procured for its programs, what they will cost, when they will be delivered or how they will perform.

RFI sets stage for future HSPD-12 contract

The General Services Administration took an important step toward getting the blanket purchase agreement in place by May 2006 for agencies to buy approved products and services to meet Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12.

GSA moving forward with reorganization

The loss of key officers won't impede the restructuring of the General Services Administration's acquisition operations, according to G. Martin Wagner, associate administrator for GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy and soon-to-be acting Federal Acquisition Service commissioner.

VA seeks another e-travel services provider

The Veterans Affairs Department seeks a provider for nationwide online travel services as an alternative to the integrated electronic travel system used by VA under the General Services Administration eTravel initiative.

Symplicity wins another round in FedBizOpps redesign battle

The General Services Administration has decided that Symplicity Corp. of Arlington, Va., will revamp FedBizOpps.gov after all.

Infotech and the law: No rights to limit disclosure of prototypes to competitors

Just in case there's a question in anyone's mind that those convoluted, multipage intellectual property and data rights clauses in government contracts mean what they say, the U.S. Court of Federal Claim last month provided one contractor with a painful lesson that they do.

Buy Lines: Fill the leadership gaps now

Across government, highly talented individuals hold critical leadership positions and titles preceded by an unfortunate modifier: acting.

Feds pull back on technology spending

Like Jack's beanstalk, the federal technology budget has kept growing and growing, but that growth is showing signs of slowing down.

SEC considers new format

The Securities and Exchange Commission is testing an e-data format to improve how fast it uncovers corporate fraud and creative accounting.

'Flexing of muscles'

The Homeland Security Department earlier this year experienced a significant setback to its information-sharing mission in the breakup of its partnership with a major law enforcement intelligence network.

OFPP expands SmartBuy approach to IT hardware

After the incremental but growing success of the SmartBuy enterprise software licensing program, the Office of Management and Budget is expanding the concept to IT hardware.

Wagner to become FAS acting chief

Marty Wagner is on deck to replace Barbara Shelton and become acting commissioner of the General Services Administration's new Federal Acquisition Service.

Ciber to guide Idaho transportation through EA

The Idaho Transportation Department wants Ciber Inc. to help it build an enterprise architecture strong enough to support new technology systems and applications that are part of a departmentwide transformation initiative.