States need to standardize e-record preservation

State governments should take an enterprisewide approach with an established IT governance structure to preserve e-records, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.

United States, Britain ink traveler agreement

The initiative will allow prescreened passengers to receive expedited processing when arriving at airports in the other country.

CACI calls Abu Ghraib lawsuits baseless

The lawsuits allege that the company was involved in the torture of four former Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

Skinner: TSA cut corners on sole-source awards

The agency did not fully justify the lack of competition for 15 single-source contracts totaling $469 million that it awarded in fiscal 2006, according to a new report.

Council to standardize background check process

The goal of the new Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council is to standardize procedures for checking the backgrounds of government employees and contractors governmentwide.

GAO: SBI so far nets Boeing more than $1B

<font color="CC0000">(UPDATED) </font color>Boeing has received more than $1 billion ? an amount higher than what was previously disclosed ? for work on the Secure Border Initiative system, according to a new GAO report.

Unisys dropped from Phase 2 TSA infrastructure contract

The Homeland Security Department has decided not to consider Unisys Corp. for the next installment of the IT Managed Services contract, which the company has held since 2002.

New measures would provide more cybersecurity funds

The House and Senate Appropriations committees have approved different measures to fund DHS in fiscal 2009, and each would provide more money for cybersecurity than the Bush administration requested.

News briefs

The House Appropriations Committee's HomelandSecurity Subcommittee has approved a 6 percentincrease for the Homeland Security Department infiscal 2009 ? $2.3 billion more than the Bushadministration requested, said the committee'schairman, Rep. David Price (D-N.C.).

News briefs

The House Appropriations Committee's HomelandSecurity Subcommittee has approved a 6 percentincrease for the Homeland Security Department infiscal 2009 ? $2.3 billion more than the Bushadministration requested, said the committee'schairman, Rep. David Price (D-N.C.).

Task force calls for acquisition improvements at DHS

DHS is falling short in managing its technology acquisitions and needs to strengthen its efforts in that area, according to a new report.

GSA multiple-award schedules available to state, local government

The Local Preparedness Acquisition Act authorizes state and local governments to use GSA's Multiple Award Schedules to buy law enforcement and security-related items.

GAO: More acquisition support needed for Deepwater

The Coast Guard has improved the way it oversees its $24 billion Deepwater asset acquisition program but is still struggling to hire enough expertise for the job, according to a new report.

The experiment over, TSA now under FAR

The six-year procurement experiment that exempted TSA from Federal Acquisition Regulation rules has finally come to an end. After June 23, all of its procurements became subject to the FAR rather than to the Acquisition Management System rules used by the FAA.

Recertification: One year later

SBA implemented a rule that became effective June 30, 2007, and requires companies that have been acquired to recertify their small-company status within 30 days of the deal closing. This rule has significantly altered transaction structures and valuations in the government services mergers and acquisitions market.

Input: Quest for efficiency drives state, local spending

A tight fiscal environment in state and local governments means contractors looking for work in those sectors need to focus on projects that will produce savings customers can redirect, according to a new study.

Foreign offer for Digimarc stirs controversy

The pending sale of government ID card maker Digimarc is becoming controversial after the chairman of prospective buyer L-1 Identity Solutions, suggested that a competing offer by a French bidder raises national security concerns.

Thompson proposes bill to limit contractor award fees

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wants DHS officials to make sure contractors do their job before the government pays them bonuses.

Koontz to Congress: Revise privacy laws

Congress should consider revising privacy laws to ensure that the sensitive data the government collects and uses is appropriately protected, said Linda Koontz, director of information management issues at GAO.

Bill would block use of competition system

A House appropriations bill in its early stages seeks to block use of the public/private competition system for a year and let the next president deal with the issue.