Homeland Security CIO could see funding cut for technologies

The Homeland Security Department's chief information officer is likely to receive less money next year than President Bush requested for department-wide technology such as wireless and geospatial devices.

The House-passed spending bill for the department in fiscal 2005 includes $211 million for the CIO -- $15 million lower than Bush's request and $27 million more than last year's level. House lawmakers passed the measure, H.R. 4567, on a 400-5 vote June 18.

The Senate's competing bill, S. 2537, which the Appropriations Committee approved unanimously on June 17, also would reduce funding for the office. However, the panel included the $11 million Bush requested in funding for the wireless public-safety program known as SAFECOM. House lawmakers voted to transfer the SAFECOM funding to the science and technology directorate, which oversees the initiative.

Both bills would meet Bush's $89 million request for other wireless activities, including the department's information technology network. Homeland Security officials are creating a network system for the department to phase out the traditional IT systems belonging to the 22 agencies that were transferred to the department last year.

The House measure would allocate $88 million for the department's E-merge program, which is designed to guide department-wide IT investments and to integrate financial and human resources systems. The president requested an additional $4 million.

The Senate bill would provide $91 million for the E-merge program. That amount includes money for a geospatial information program as well. The House bill included a separate budget item of $5 million for a geographic information system.

The department also must submit a report to the House Appropriations panel by December on its needs for geospatial information and include current geospatial technologies, as well as a plan for procurement and integrating devices across department agencies to "talk" to each other.

The House and Senate bills include $31 million for security activities -- the level Bush requested. The department would use the funding to enhance connectivity to terrorist watch lists among federal, state and local officials, and the private sector.

Lawmakers have criticized the department for failing to enable law enforcement to access and share information from one consolidated watch list in "real time." The department plans to complete the integration this summer.

While the CIO may have less funds next year, House lawmakers did vote to elevate the CIO position to report directly to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, instead of the undersecretary for management. "Without an additional layer of review, the committee expects information technology decisions to be made more expeditiously," the House Appropriations Committee said in its report on the bill. The Senate report does not include similar language.

Legislators on the House Homeland Security Committee plan to include such language next month in a bill to authorize the department's programs. The panel also would like to elevate the cyber-security division and chief financial and procurement officers. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the programs have not received adequate attention under the management office.