OMB Halts Some IT Spending

The 22 agencies expected to fall within the proposed Department of Homeland Security have been told to halt all IT infrastructure system development and planned modernization efforts budgeted at $500,000 or more.

The spending freeze, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget, is designed to let existing IT investments be assessed for appropriate use before any new investments in IT are made. Redundant systems are to be considered for consolidation or integration, the memo states.

The OMB estimates that the effort to standardize and consolidate systems could save up to $200 million within the next two years.

The projects that will be affected by the review range from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's national warning system to the Secret Service's PC infrastructure. Homeland Security agencies are budgeted to spend $364.7 million on IT in fiscal 2002; that's expected to rise to $782.7 million for fiscal 2003.