Agriculture Close To Avoiding Furloughs
Sequester Hits Disaster Relief
Feds Respond to Oklahoma Tornadoes
Making Government 'Simpler'
OK Senator Wants Aid Offset by Budget Cuts
Boldly Go Where No Fed's Gone Before
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Bob Brewin
Editor at Large
Bob Brewin joined Government Executive in April 2007, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience as a journalist focusing on defense issues and technology. Bob covers the world of defense and information technology for Nextgov, and is the author of the “What’s Brewin” blog.
Military services launch projects to beef up data sharing and security
February 22, 2008 The Navy will kick off a procurement this year for a worldwide network, the new Air Force Cyber Command will take over operation of Air Force networks, and the Army is seeking to find the right cost model for its stateside data processing centers. Top officials detailed these plans on ...
Veterans Affairs aims to update and centralize IT systems
February 21, 2008 The Veterans Affairs Department is centralizing information technology systems, management and processes with one primary goal in mind, according to VA's top enterprise infrastructure engineering official: to ensure that veterans anywhere in the country get the same level of care. Charlie De Sanno, executive director of VA's Office of Enterprise ...
Security clearance process still a paperwork exercise
February 15, 2008 The process to issue federal security clearances has been partially automated, but it still remains "one large paper shuffle," requiring as much as a year and a half to obtain a clearance, according to a top information technology official. The paper shuffle begins with the Joint Personnel Adjudication System operated ...
Defense and VA announce joint plan to build health benefits Web site
February 14, 2008 The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments plan to establish a joint Web portal to support the needs of wounded, ill or injured service members, officials told lawmakers at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday. The eBenefits Web Portal will be based on VA's successful MyHealtheVet Web site, which provides ...
Vets' groups urge IT budget boost for benefits processing
February 13, 2008 Veterans' services organizations have urged Congress to provide a sharp increase in the information technology budget of the agency that handles their compensation and pension claims. The fiscal 2009 IT budget request for the Veterans Benefits Administration is about 18 percent less than the fiscal 2008 proposal. The overall IT ...
Homeland Security plans to modernize Coast Guard navigation system
February 12, 2008 The Homeland Security Department plans to modernize and upgrade the Coast Guard's terrestrial Long Range Navigation (LORAN) system to serve as backup to the satellite-based Global Positioning System, which is used for navigation to determine location and precise timing information. The decision ended a cliffhanger policy-making process that started in ...
Defense agency submits blast-proof budget request for White House communications
February 12, 2008 The 2009 budget of the White House Communications Agency offers rare insights into communications systems used by the president and other top federal officials, including development of a nationwide network capable of operating after exposure to a potentially crippling high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) from a nuclear blast. WHCA, managed by ...
Defense Information Systems Agency seeks big budget boost
February 5, 2008 The need for more telecommunications and computer networks to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have caused the Defense Information Systems Agency to request a sharp increase in its fiscal 2009 operations and maintenance budget. DISA's fiscal 2009 operations and maintenance budget request tops $1.2 billion, a 30 percent ...
VA slated for big technology budget boost
February 4, 2008 The Veterans Affairs Department would see a nearly 18 percent jump in its information technology budget if Congress approves President Bush's fiscal 2009 budget request. In contrast, the proposed tech budget for the Pentagon is just 2 percent higher than last year's figure -- despite the department's overall $515 billion ...
FDA seeks budget increase for food, medical product inspections
February 4, 2008 The Food and Drug Administration has asked in its fiscal 2009 budget request for a multimillion-dollar increase to improve its food inspection and medical product approval process. FDA asked for a $42.2 million increase in its 2009 food supply protection budget, which will allow it to hire an 94 more ...
