Bush Budget Calls For IT Spending Boost

The Bush administration is seeking $52 billion in federal IT spending for fiscal year 2003, with much of the 15.6% increase allocated for homeland-security and computer security initiatives, according to administration officials.

The IT spending proposal is the result of a top-to-bottom review of the federal government's computer systems and "is tied to major management priorities - what I would consider a better use of IT to drive performance," Mark Forman, associate director for IT and E-government at the White House's Office of Management and Budget, said Friday in a conference call previewing the budget, which will be released Monday. In all, about 900 "major" projects account for $18 billion of the IT budget, and 2,000 "significant" projects make up another $11.5 billion , Forman said.

And, for the first time, the administration will issue E-government scorecards for all federal agencies, grading them on how well they're using IT systems and whether they're on budget and delivering intended results.

"This IT budget represents an unprecedented review of the information systems of the federal government," Forman said. "This is the first time that the OMB has taken a cross-agency look at IT spending for major categories and major initiatives as it relates to the different departments and agencies," and the effort will include the elimination of redundant and non-productive IT investments, he said. Another top priority will be ensuring security of government computer systems and data. As part of that goal, the Bush administration will require federal agencies to allocate funds to computer security in their annual budgets.