Information technology firms could rake in $3 billion helping state governments comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, according to the market research firm Input Inc.
Information sharing and data mining will be integral IT components of the White House's newly released national strategy for homeland security, said Steve Cooper, CIO of the Homeland Security Office.
The NRC is responsible for protecting the public and the environment from the effects of radiation from nuclear reactors, materials and waste facilities through regulations, security, licensing and monitoring.
As the president and Congress work toward a consolidated approach to homeland security ? including a massive new federal agency to supervise and coordinate protection of American citizens and strategic national assets ? it has become abundantly clear that the government's success depends on the active participation of U.S. industry.
Information technology vendors are fuming over a Bush administration proposal to restrict the types of contracts available on the General Services Administration schedules.
The Business Software Alliance and the Information Technology Association of America are pushing for the creation of a cybersecurity agency as part of the proposed Department of Homeland Security.
Long known for its aerospace capabilities, the Boeing Co. has quietly emerged as a leading systems integrator in the Army's effort to transform its soldiers into 21st century warfighters.
Lawmakers are moving to streamline the approval process for federal IT grants to allow states more flexibility to spend money on IT infrastructure that would support programs across multiple agencies.
The Army's job has evolved considerably over its 227 years, changing as the nation's needs and defenses change. The Army defends the nation and supports U.S. foreign policy through its role in missions throughout the world, most notably now Operation Enduring Freedom, the war against terrorism. It also answers to the country's domestic needs, taking roles in disaster relief, anti-terrorism and drug interdiction, among others.
Two White House working groups are slated to make recommendations this fall for helping small businesses compete more effectively for federal contracts. Among their tasks, the interagency groups will try to identify large, governmentwide contracts that can be "unbundled" or divided into smaller contracts that small businesses would have a better chance of winning, according to administration officials.
The House Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 4546, contains a provision for the creation of a technology transfer center that would pass military technology on to emergency first responders. The House passed the bill in May with a 359-58 vote. First responders include fire and rescue personnel. The technologies could include global positioning system transponders and sensors to monitor heart rates and bodily systems.
A surprising number of recent acquisitions involving government contractors have included earnout provisions. These are not for the faint of heart. In fact, some well-known companies and private equity firms view earnouts as the devil incarnate and will not use them.
Information technology industry executives are watching closely the process of creating a federal Department of Homeland Security, but say they're not actively trying to influence how the department is created or what government entities are included in it.
The Bureau of the Public Debt is seeking information about commercial enterprise customer relationship management software to establish a process by which contacts, accounts and sales opportunities of Treasury securities can be managed.
An interagency task force has almost completed its work on a draft of a new version of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76. The circular dictates rules for public-private competitions for government work. "I have a draft version on my desk right now," said Angela Styles, administrator of OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
The Transportation Security Administration is being asked to go from zero to 50,000 ? people, that is ? in one year. Signed into existence by President Bush Nov. 19, 2001, as one of the first homeland security initiatives, the TSA was created in part to provide the infrastructure for protecting the nation's airports and travelers.
President Bush's proposed Homeland Security Department will rely heavily on data sharing and analysis to combat terrorist threats, and will require a systems infrastructure to support that mission -- a complex integration challenge that already has information technology companies scrambling for a piece of the action.
<b>Address:</b> 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 20416<br><b>Telephone:</b> (800) U-ASK-SBA<br><b>Web site:</b> www.sba.gov<br><b>Founded:</b> 1953<br><b>Administrator:</b> Hector Barreto <br><b>Employees:</b> 3,026 permanent employees, 1,221 temporary employees for disasters<br><b>What it does:</b> SBA provides financial, technical and management assistance to help start, run and grow small businesses. It is the largest single financial backer of such businesses, and provides loans, loan guarantees and disaster loans worth more than $45 billion. It also has a venture capital portfolio of $13 billion. <br><b>Major subagencies:</b> 93 field offices nationwide
In addition to procurement contracts and research grants available to all agencies, Congress in 1989 allowed the Defense Department to use "other transactions" to develop information systems and other technologies for military and intelligence services.
