Digital Government
Plan puts all employees on the Net by summer
The General Services Administration plans to make the Internet available to every one of its 15,000 employees by this summer, claiming it is the first federal agency to put every worker, regardless of grade, into cyberspace. In one of his first messages to GSA employees this month, acting administr
Digital Government
Earthquake system faces budget woes
The U.S. Geological Survey, together with the California Institute of Technology and the state of California, have begun building a firstofitskind computer system that will warn Southern Californians of impending earthquakes while at the same time broaden seismologists' understanding of the phen
Digital Government
Bill pushes private sector for gear donations
Rep. Anna Eshoo (DCalif.) introduced legislation last week that is aimed at increasing the number of computers the private sector donates to public school systems and local and state government agencies. Eshoo's bill follows, though is not related to, an executive order that President Clinton sign
Digital Government
DOD nixes noncompliant-gear buys
The Defense Department plans to cancel the purchase of new computer equipment and software that is not Year 2000compliant, according to a recent directive. Saying the Year 2000 problem "requires immediate attention," Emmett Paige Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communic
Digital Government
TRW tool targets fed research community
TRW Inc. last week unveiled a new software package that allows researchbased organizations to quickly search and collate huge amounts of information stored in databases throughout the world. TRW's InfoWeb Architecture, which is based on similar technology TRW developed for an intelligence agency i
Digital Government
Atlanta to test people, traffic systems
Athletes from around the world will not be the only ones gathering in Atlanta this summer to test their prowess in the centennial Olympics. Numerous federal agencies are using the Olympic Games as an opportunity to test new computer systems designed to ease the strain that an estimated 2 million vi
Digital Government
GIS helps link Grand Canyon's ecosystems
In a project conducted this spring to replenish the Grand Canyon's river beaches and habitat for endangered fish, the Bureau of Reclamation used geographic information systems (GIS) to begin measuring for the first time how the many different components of an ecosystem are linked. In March and Apri
Digital Government
Bill seeks Year 2000 compliance
Rep. John Tanner (DTenn.) is considering introducing legislation that would require businesses and individuals exchanging electronic information with the federal government to be Year 2000compliant. The legislation would have the effect of setting a standard for how companies and individuals repr
Digital Government
Lack of funds endangers IWS/LAN
The $1.1 billion Intelligent Workstation/LocalArea Network program, the core of the Social Security Administration's modernization effort, is in danger of serious delay if Congress does not provide the requested $300 million funding for fiscal 1997, agency officials warned last week. After testify
Digital Government
HCFA unveils Medicare RFP
The Health Care Financing Administration late last month released a request for proposals for a $127 million computer system intended to give the agency closer control over the huge Medicare health program for the elderly. The Medicare Transaction System (MTS), which will consolidate nine processin
Digital Government
NIH preps $100M IT smorgasbord
The National Institutes of Health last week launched a $100 million information technology services and systems program that will be open to all federal agencies. In doing so, NIH is the latest organization to pitch its contracting office into competition with other agencies, a trend that observers
Digital Government
Subcommittee to monitor agency plans
The House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology will monitor how federal agencies manage the process to make their computers year 2000compliant. The subcommittee, which held a hearing this month on how the two digits "00" in 2000 will cause government computers to fai
Digital Government
SSA offers satellite classes nationwide
The Social Security Administration plans to begin offering training classes this month via satellite to 220 offices nationwide. The Interactive Video Training Network (IVTN) will link SSA field offices and processing offices so that new hires and existing employees who need advanced training can re
Digital Government
Small vendors thrive on ECS
The National Institutes of Health's Electronic Computer Store (ECS) spread millions of dollars worth of firstquarter computer sales among its 17 vendors, defying at least for now earlier predictions that larger companies would dominate sales. Between Jan. 3 and April 5, ECS rang up total sal
Digital Government
Second protest hits $100M MAP buy
The Social Security Administration was hit this month with a second protest claiming its multimilliondollar mainframe buy unfairly favors IBM Corp. to the exclusion of other bidders. CCL Inc., a systems integrator headquartered in Bethesda, Md., filed a prebid protest with the General Services Ad
Digital Government
IWS/LAN delayed again
The Social Security Administration has once again delayed the award of its $1.1 billion Intelligent Workstation/LocalArea Network contract. Citing advancements in computer technology, SSA last week said it will now award the contract in June. The agency had hoped to award IWS/LAN this month. SSA r
Digital Government
Code analysis tools and services abound for feds
Federal agencies have limited time to fix the year2000 problem, but they have no shortage of specialized software tools and service providers from which to choose. The number of vendors specializing in finding and fixing daterelated computer code has ballooned to more than 100, according to some
Digital Government
NLM launches effort to link hospitals, clinics
In what could be one of the largest civilian telemedicine efforts to date, the National Library of Medicine this week will launch a program to determine how highspeed telecommunications networks can support the electronic exchange of health care data. NLM will issue a request for proposals for its
Digital Government
Year 2000 causes double trouble for feds
No one knows how much it is really going to cost to fix the year 2000 in millions of lines of government software. Pentagon estimates exceed $1 billion. Mitre Corp.'s report to the Defense Department on the problem said DOD may have to spend up to $8.52 per line of code checked. DOD may also have t
Digital Government
SSA to modify mainframe buy
The Social Security Administration agreed last month to amend its multimilliondollar mainframe buy to settle a vendor's protest that the buy unfairly favors IBM Corp. over other bidders. SSA agreed to remove from its Mainframe Acquisition Project (MAP) a requirement that bidders include a recently
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