President Bush asked Congress to approve $74.7 billion in supplemental appropriations for fiscal 2003 to fund the war with Iraq, international assistance and Iraqi relief and reconstruction, homeland security and the legislative branch.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, was named chairman of the new House Homeland Security subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science and Research and Development. Rep Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., was named ranking minority member.
The Defense Department plans to spend up to $4 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles over the next seven years, according to a just-released Pentagon blueprint detailing the future of military UAVs.
After the Customs Service selected IBM Corp. in 2001 as the prime contractor for a $1.3 billion effort to modernize its trade system, the agency hired Robbins-Gioia LLC to provide independent program management overseeing IBM's work.
There is an opportunity to provide operations and maintenance of the naval radio and transmitter facilities located in Clam Lake, Wis., and Republic, Mich. The contractor will be responsible for all equipment and facilities 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Army's Aviation and Missile Command will release a request for proposals around the third week of April for independent integration analysis to support the Army's Lower Tier Project Office missile systems, including the Patriot, Patriot Advanced Capabilities and Medium Extended Air Defense System.
NASA has released a request for information to support planning for a systems engineering and integration contract for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna mission, a project with the European Space Agency. More information can be found at http://lisa.gsfc.nasa.gov/Business/Business.html . Responses are due April 10.
Administration officials sought to reassure information technology industry executives that the federal government has not lost its focus on cybersecurity.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has introduced legislation to mandate that the Army use American-based cell phone technology when building out a cellular phone infrastructure for Iraq.
Administration officials sought to reassure information technology industry executives that the federal government has not lost its focus on cybersecurity during a Capitol Hill forum today.
As the administration rolls out its final revisions to the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-76, the warfare over competitive sourcing is certain to intensify.
<FONT SIZE=2>Frank Pugliese Jr. was appointed managing director of DuPont Government Business Development, a new business based in DuPont's Washington office, as the Wilmington, Del., company increases its emphasis on the federal government.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Share-in-savings contracting can be effective in motivating contractors to generate savings and revenue for their clients, but it's hard to do in the federal government, according to a recent GAO report.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	Information technology training is "a strategic element in achieving corporate objectives," not just a support function, according to a recent General Accounting Office study of IT training practices in commercial companies, including IBM Corp., AT&T Corp., Raytheon Co.,Cisco Systems Inc. and Science Applications International Corp.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	Congress should give the president fast-track authority to reorganize government agencies to prevent the squabbling that hampered the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Transportation Security Administration and Pearson Government Solutions, which recruited thousands of airport passenger screeners for the agency, have come under fire following a report that Pearson recruiters indulged in posh -- and unnecessary -- accommodations at a resort in Colorado. TSA and Pearson officials vigorously disputed the charges.</FONT>
Reforms enacted in the mid-1990s promised faster, more efficient procurements. One documented side effect of those reforms, however, was a sharp decline in opportunities for small businesses to bid on government contracts.
