Digital Government
DOJ proposes rules under information act
The Justice Department last week became the latest agency to propose regulations carrying out the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) Amendments a 1996 law that requires among other provisions that agencies publish online indexes of documents the public requests. The proposed regulation
Digital Government
Plan afoot to allow credit for GSA schedule purchases
The General Services Administration the Small Business Administration and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy are working together on a plan that would allow agencies to obtain credit toward their smallbusiness goals by purchasing from Federal Supply Service schedule contracts. Currently agen
Digital Government
SBA proposes 8(a) mentoring program
New rules proposed by the Small Business Administration for its 8(a) minority businessdevelopment program would encourage experienced companies to shepherd startups. The mentorprotege program would team successful 8(a) companies that have left or are about to leave the program with participants
Digital Government
EPA begins draft of IT plan
The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting a new information technology management plan that for the first time would set 'firm commitments and a detailed plan of action' for creating a 'seamless environmental information system' to regulate pollution. Described in a July 21 memo that was rece
Digital Government
Small firms find financial 'angels' on SBA network
Finding investors is one of the top problems that small companies face when they try to launch new products but some federal agencies and universities have banded together to seed a potential solution: an online marketplace where companies can pitch their ideas to possible partners. The Small Busin
Digital Government
Small-biz goals raised 3 percent
After an internal debate was leaked to Congress contractors and the media the Clinton administration has agreed that federal goals for contracting with small businesses should be increased. In a compromise reached last week among Small Business Administration head Aida Alvarez Office of Federal Pro
Digital Government
Jury still out on effects of closing GSBCA
A year after the ClingerCohen Act shuttered the General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals as a venue for information technology bid protests agencies vendors and attorneys cannot agree if the law has improved contract litigation. How people view the performance of the General Acc
Digital Government
Texas native wrangles info technology for Treasury
Stephen Bryant assistant director in the Treasury Department's Office of Information Resources Management has decorated his office with photographs of desert flowers from his native Texas. He caught 'Potomac fever' as a congressional intern in the '60s but he still calls Dallas where he went to hig
Digital Government
FMS' new purchase card expands electronic commerce
The Treasury Department's Financial Management Service plans to allow federal buyers to purchase electronically goods and services from other agencies a decision that extends electronic commerce (EC) to as much as $3 billion in interagency transactions. Procurement officials and other federal emplo
Digital Government
EPA buy to unite diverse databases
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to purchase new database technology that would allow users to obtain uptotheminute geographic information from disparate applications. Among other functions the software would give users access to multiple geospatial databases with a single query includi
Digital Government
Panel backs electronic filing of income taxes
A congressional commission last week proposed a sweeping overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service that includes a plan to expand electronic filing of tax returns by businesses and individuals. The recommendations of the National Commission to Restructure the IRS also include a controversial plan op
Digital Government
Customs unveils export-tracking app
Beginning this week federal agencies that keep track of goods that are exported to other countries will be able to collect more accurate trade statistics through a new software application developed by the Customs Service. Customs is rolling out nationwide its new Automated Export System which will
Digital Government
Treasury head questions necessity of IRS board
Treasury Department Secretary Robert Rubin said last week that a proposal to establish a new governing board for the Internal Revenue Service 'could create an uncertainty' that might 'make it more difficult to do what we need to do' to improve agency operations including computer modernization. Ear
Digital Government
SRA's vice president, program manager makes work fun
If there is a secret to succeeding as a vendor in the federal marketplace it might be singlemindedness. Jeffrey Westerhoff a vice president and program manager at SRA International Inc. illustrates how an intense focus on a project results in achievement. He spends 13 hours a day on the job runnin
Digital Government
Agencies grapple with Clinger-Cohen
As agencies began this month to prepare their budget submissions for fiscal 1999 they confronted for the first time the gap in knowledge about information technology and business management among IT professionals and nontechnical executives. Federal agencies are preparing their first IT budgets acc
Digital Government
IRS seeks $258M morefor Year 2000 solution
The Internal Revenue Service said last week that it will need an additional $258 million next year to make its systems centurydate compliant because it has uncovered new requirements since it requested $84 million for its Year 2000 upgrade in President Clinton's budget. 'The size of the need as we
Digital Government
Pilot to test government digital-check transactions
The Financial Management Service the Defense Department and a consortium of banks and technology companies are preparing to test the feasibility of using electronic checks to automate transactions between the government and vendors or individuals. The digitalcheck program would be the first major
Digital Government
OPM raises the bar for new COs
The Office of Personnel Management has established new qualifications for civilian agency contracting officers that are designed to create a more highlytrained work force. As of Jan. 1 1998 new hires for positions in the GS1102 job category such as contract administrators contract specialists a
Digital Government
Treasury taps Telos for TDPI
The Treasury Department last week chose Telos Corp. to supply Microsoft Corp. Windows NTbased workstations and servers to its bureaus under a oneyear blanket purchase agreement. The award is the second of nine BPAs the department intends to sign as part of its Treasury Distributed Processing Infr
Digital Government
Vendors to cash in on GSA deal
An upcoming solicitation for the procurement of future government credit cards could provide vendors of smart card technology with their biggest market opportunity to date. In a draft request for proposals issued late last month the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service said that
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