Digital Government

Treasury moves to AT&T at a crawl

The Treasury Department's move from Sprint to AT&T's FTS 2000 network will not be completed until early next year more than twice as long as originally planned and what some observers said is a harbinger of PostFTS 2000 problems to come. The transition which the General Services Administration t

Digital Government

GSA opposes employee's compensation bid

For the last five months the General Services Administration has been embroiled in a losing battle with a disgruntled employee who wants to be paid for devising a negotiating technique that he claims saved the government millions of dollars. The employee contract specialist Salvatore Ales contends

Digital Government

GSA to test competition in large metropolitan areas

The General Services Administration last month unveiled plans to award by the end of next year the first in a series of contracts designed to spur competition for telecommunications services in large metropolitan areas that have a high concentration of federal users. GSA's Federal Telecommunication

Digital Government

OMB-led effort would offer single format for companies

The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee recently passed legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget to appoint a committee of industry and government representatives to establish standards for data reported to multiple agencies by private companies. Rep. Steven Ho

Digital Government

Post-FTS 2000 to be delayed

The $20 billion PostFTS 2000 telecommunications services solicitation will not be released next week as planned, and program officials are scrambling to quiet the fears of Congress that the procurement will not take advantage of the changing telecom marketplace. Members of committees on both sides

Digital Government

Cabletron offers feds trade-in special

Taking advantage of the new flexibility of the General Services Administration's multipleaward schedule (MAS) program, Cabletron Systems Inc. has begun allowing schedule customers to trade in old Cabletron gear for credit against purchases of new equipment. Marsha Holland, director of business dev

Digital Government

House panel backs on-line access

The House Rules Committee is supporting a resolution sponsored by Rep. Rick White (RWash.) that would require House committees to provide timely online access to hearing transcripts, bills, amendments, votes, rules and other information via the Internet. At a committee hearing last week, White sa

Digital Government

Science agencies rally behind GPRA

Representatives from civilian science agencies that have begun implementing the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) said they believe the act will strengthen their research efforts, although they face hurdles integrating the act into the budget process. The civilian officials appeared ear

Digital Government

CIOs lacking; OMB oversight questioned

With only three weeks to go before the Information Technology Management Reform Act (ITMRA) goes into effect, agencies have appointed too few qualified chief information officers and the Office of Management Budget appears illprepared to oversee implementation of the law, according to the General

Digital Government

House proceeds with TSM overhaul

The House last week approved an appropriations bill that reduces funding for the Internal Revenue Service's Tax Systems Modernization by $776 million and fences off all funding pending a move by the agency to "restructure" the contract. The bill would reduce the Clinton administration's funding r

Digital Government

Senators seek six-month delay

Just as the General Services Administration was close to an agreement with key members of its oversight committee in the House about how to conduct the PostFTS 2000 telecommunications procurement, two members of the Senate Appropriations Committee have weighed in with their own criticisms and reco

Digital Government

GSA's FTS stalls DISA's NIPRNET

In what appears to be a turf war within the General Services Administration, the agency's Federal Telecommunications Service (FTS) has delayed plans by the Defense Information Systems Agency to move a portion of its nonclassified data network to Sprint via a contract awarded by GSA's Federal System

Digital Government

VA kicks off $1.5B COTS procurement

The Department of Veterans Affairs last week issued a request for proposals for two or more contracts worth up to $1.5 billion to provide department users with a range of hardware and software, from office automation to medical applications. Allan Gohrband, associate deputy assistant secretary for

Digital Government

PBS upgrades Unisys mainframe

The General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service slowly is moving into the '90s with a transition from its 20yearold SperryUnisys Corp. mainframe architecture to a newer Unisys A Series mainframe used for other GSA applications. A spokesman for Unisys Federal Systems, which will as

Digital Government

Agriculture takes ideas for grants

The Agriculture Department began accepting applications late last month from educational institutions and health care providers for grants to help them set up distance learning and telemedicine projects. In accordance with Vice President Al Gore's commitment to offer those who live in rural areas a

Digital Government

Rapid-fire criticism hits upcoming FAST launch

As the General Services Administration last week announced a new acquisition program expected to produce $1 billion a year in sales, a group of small businesses and their congressional supporters attacked the agency for its decision to terminate the regional program that served as the model for the

Digital Government

MCI wins $35M VA phone deal

MCI has once again proven adept at obtaining federal telecommunications business that falls between the cracks of the FTS 2000 contract, winning a $35 million contract for operatorassisted longdistance services to patients and visitors to Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals. The award, annou

Digital Government

GSA governmentwide to feature 'master contracts'

The General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service will brief industry officials this week on its plans for a governmentwide credit card solicitation it hopes will serve as the platform for future smart card applications at other agencies. The Defense Department expressed interest in the

Digital Government

Flexibility is prescription for GSA

In an era in which both Congress and the executive branch hold fast to the mantra that government should act more like a business, David Barram may be just what the doctor ordered for the General Services Administration. The ailing agency long has suffered the slings and arrows of outraged federal

Digital Government

GSA, Army award $1 billion in hardware, services pacts

The General Services Administration and the Army have quietly awarded more than $1 billion in governmentwide contracts for IT hardware and services to 8(a) vendors, a signal of how agencies will purchase products in the postBrooks Act era. Mary Whitley, director of GSA's Federal Systems Integratio