E-gov projects to get 24 percent less funding in 2004
The Office of Management and Budget carried through on its drive to consolidate IT investments among the 25 e-government projects.<br>
The Office of Management and Budget carried through on its drive to consolidate IT investments among the 25 e-government projects.Exhibit 53, OMB’s breakdown of the fiscal 2004 IT budget request that went to Capitol Hill earlier this week, gave significant increases to E-Training, E-Payroll, E-Rulemaking and E-Clearance. In the past 12 months, OMB has issued Clinger-Cohen letters for all of them to consolidate redundant IT investments.In all, 13 projects received more, nine projects less and two the same amount for fiscal 2004, compared with the 2003 request. Overall e-gov requests fell by nearly 24 percent, to $173.9 million. Those figures do not include IT investments by the Defense Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency. OMB said those reports will be issued next month. Nine projects came out on the short end of the funding stream, with Integrated Acquisition, E-Travel, Enterprise Human Resources Integration and E-Authentication seeing hefty decreases in the 2004 request.
The Office of Personnel Management’s E-Payroll project came in as the big winner with a boost of more than $22 million coming from three agencies, including $32.5 million from the Agriculture Department.
E-Training, also led by OPM, is earmarked for an increase of more than $9 million from 10 agencies, including nine that did not request funding for the initiative in 2003.
E-Rulemaking project leaders could see $2.9 million more in 2004 for a total of $3.6 million.
After requesting $4 million in 2003, OPM plans to allocate $4.3 million to its E-Clearance project next year.
OPM’s EHRI initiative would receive only $2 million next year, down from $24 million requested in 2003.
Three other projects, all managed by the General Services Administration, also might get less economic support. E-Travel and Integrated Acquisition could see double-digit decreases next year, with agencies offering $16.2 million for IAE, down from the $33.1 million request in 2003, and $6.8 million for E-Travel, a $14.5 million decline.
E-Authentication, which OMB officials consider the underpinning for all the other e-government projects, is scheduled to receive only $8.1 million, down from $12.4 million in the 2003 request.
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