<FONT SIZE=2>Further easing of competitive</FONT><FONT SIZE=2> procurement requirements were contained in the Homeland Security Act passed in November 2002. Those provisions were implemented by changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation issued as an immediately effective interim rule Jan. 27. </FONT>
The Commerce Department's 2004 budget request includes funding to strengthen the nation's measurement and standards infrastructure, modernize the Patent and Trademark Office, homeland security standards, and continue development of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's environmental satellites.
Agencies are making progress on key administration management goals such as e-government, financial management and competitive sourcing, but plenty of work still needs to be done, according to a new scorecard.
Installing financial management systems could be a hot market area for systems integrators as at least four major agencies are expecting to spend more than $500 million over the next four years to overhaul their systems.
<FONT SIZE=2>The IRS launched Free File at IRS.gov, making it possible for 60 percent of taxpayers -- an estimated 78 million Americans -- to file their returns online at no extra cost. </FONT>
The Bush administration's request for federal IT funding for fiscal 2004 could increase by more than 15 percent over the 2003 request, OMB's director says.
IBM Corp. is adding new programs and expanding the colleges and universities available through its eArmyU contract to provide e-learning services to the Army.<rb>
The General Services Administration is combining some operations of the Federal Technology Service with the Federal Supply Service, including moving IT contracts from FTS to FSS.<br>
The Office of Management and Budget did not collect complete business case information before selecting its 24 e-government initiatives, a new report concludes.<br>
E-Government Act of 2002, which many believe is the most sweeping legislation since Congress passed the Clinger-Cohen Act six years ago, was signed into law today.<br>
Customer satisfaction with federal government Internet sites is slightly ahead of rankings given to private-sector sites, according to a new survey.<br>
