The Air Force has issued a broad agency announcement for information on advanced computing architectures for command and control systems. There are several submission deadlines, and a funding schedule of about $25 million. For details, see fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. Reference-Number-BAA-04-03-IFKA.
	The 99th Contracting Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada is considering a firm-fixed-price contract for engineering, operations and technical support for evaluating at least one class of unmanned aerial vehicles. This will include support in areas such as financial management, configuration management and conference support, among others. Top-secret clearance with SCI eligibility may be required. Responses are due Feb. 23. Information is at fedbiz<BR>
	The Patent and Trademark Office is seeking companies that can offer systems development and integration to support its chief information officer in a follow-on deal to the Systems Development & Maintenance contracts. Contractors will provide staff, tools and processes to develop, enhance and maintain systems and software within the agency's enterprise architecture. Contractors also will offer technical and managerial resources to design, develop, integrate, maintain, re-engineer and provide specialized services for more than 120 application information systems. Responses are due March 1. Details are at fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. DOCSSPAPT0410002
	The Broadcasting Board of Governors is looking for technologies and tools to reach countries that have censorship limits and restrictions on Internet access. It wants tools that can give access to Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda and other news sources. Written comments are due Feb. 23. Details of the request for information are on fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. Reference-Number-04-001.
The General Accounting Office has expanded its investigation examining the use of bogus degrees by federal employees amid concerns that the problem is more widespread than federal officials thought.
	Delays in creating a unified terrorist watch list stem from "a lack of leadership" by the Bush administration, not a lack of technology, said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas.
	The House Government Reform Committee this year will focus on implementation of the E-Government Act of 2002 and agency compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act, according to committee chairman Tom Davis.
	The Federal Technology Service's client support centers in three regions breached federal procurement laws over the last two years, according to the General Services Administration's inspector general.
The chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has asked the Education Department to compile a master list of accredited colleges and universities, and make it available on the Web for prospective students and employers.
Shortly after Ken Dahlberg was named chief executive officer of Science Applications International Corp. in November, he received calls from the Secretary of the Navy, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other federal agencies with which the company has done business.
	The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport is conducting market research to determine industry interest and capability to develop an anti-submarine and undersea warfare test information management system. The system will provide information management, data processing and instrumentation resources. Details can be found on fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. N0025304Q0057. Responses are due by Feb. 2.
NASA Langley Research Center seeks vendors to support its technology transfer systems. Responsibilities include operating and maintaining systems configurations, defining and implementing revised configurations to comply with NASA and federal enterprise architectures, and initiating improvements. The procurement is estimated at about $2 million a year and may be a small business set-aside contract. For more information, see fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. SS-NTTS-L30. Responses are due by Feb. 6.
	The 48th Fighter Wing in the United Kingdom wants to create an intranet portal for military personnel, with a separate portal for family members. The intent of the project is to improve operations, increase and meet information assurance requirements and enhance the quality of life for wing members, dependents and civilians by giving them more access to information. Details are at fedbizopps.gov, solicitation no. FA5587-04-R-0006.
	The Drug Enforcement Administration wants a vendor for Web architecture engineering, design and support services, infrastructure product assessments and integration and documentation of the agency's Firebird platform. The contract is for one year with four one-year options. The solicitation will be issued about Jan. 26, and can be found at www.dea.gov. Click on "Acquisitions & Contracts," then "Open Solicitations." Other details can be found on fedbiz<BR>
<b>Fiscal 2004 budget :</b> The last budget bill for 2004, affecting 11 civilian agencies and foreign operations, will likely pass Congress in February or March, upping spending levels on existing IT projects and jump-starting new ones.
Last year was full of drama: war in Iraq and struggles for many major government contractors. Although 2004 will be unique on its own, many events of this new year have been foretold by the events of 2003.
