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Digital Government
GAO report hits DOD Y2K efforts
The General Accounting Office last week warned that the failure of at least some Defense Department missioncritical systems and the operations they support is 'almost certain' unless DOD takes corrective action in its Year 2000 program soon. In a report released late last week, GAO officials said
Digital Government
3 agencies doubt they can meet Y2K deadlines
A group of inspectors general from several federal agencies last month told Congress that their agencies are seriously behind in efforts to fix computer systems so that they can properly process dates after Dec. 31, 1999, which could threaten to disrupt large government programs. The officials told
Digital Government
System to speed victims' disaster aid
The Federal Emergency Management Agency this month plans to roll out a new system that will speed up the process of issuing grants and other types of assistance to victims during a disaster.
Digital Government
GAO gives Y2K council advice
The recently formed President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion is not receiving enough information to make informed decisions on how well federal agencies are managing the Year 2000 progress, according to a General Accounting Office report that was released last week.
Digital Government
Koskinen offers policy tools for Y2K fix
Describing the Year 2000 computer fix as 'a management challenge, not a technical fix,' John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, last week said he will press for a wide range of policy and legislative initiatives to help agencies meet the Year 2000 deadline. Koski
Digital Government
Senate panel eyes extra Y2K funding
The chairman of a newly formed Senate committee on Year 2000 last week disputed the Clinton administration's estimates of the cost of fixing the problem and said the committee will consider 'significant appropriations' for agencies struggling to fix computers by 1999, despite longstanding White Ho
Digital Government
Administration may rely on National Security Council telecom systems if Year 2000 shutdowns occur
John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, told industry today that the Defense Department will allow the administration to use DOD's telecommunications systems to coordinate disaster relief if massive system shutdowns occur when the Year 2000 arrives.
Digital Government
Y2K to cost Federal Reserve $100M, slow economic growth
Intelligent Decisions announced today it would begin reselling Netscape Communications Corp. products and consulting services to the federal government via the General Services Administration schedule.
Digital Government
GTSI fixes PC, server shipment for Y2K
Government Technology Services Inc. this month will provide the State Department with software patches to correct thousands of newly purchased PCs and more than a hundred servers that cannot properly process dates beyond 1999. The products division of BTG Inc., which was purchased this year by GTSI
Digital Government
Lack of Y2K progress threatens Labor benefits programs
The Labor Department's benefits programs are at risk because resource problems may hinder the department's efforts to fix computers for the Year 2000 problem, the inspector general said today.
Digital Government
Hill looks at agencies' audits
Just two weeks after a scathing, firstofitskind audit of the government's consolidated financial statement revealed billions of dollars in discrepancies, the House last week began a series of hearings to delve into agencies' information mismanagement. The House Government Management, Information
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Digital Government
GAO's Willemssen monitors Y2K pulse
Depending on how your agency's technology programs are faring, Joel Willemssen could be either the most or the least welcome visitor to your office. As the General Accounting Office's director of civil agencies' information systems, Willemssen leads investigations that determine whether an agency's
Digital Government
Panel rejects vendors' requests for guidance
A Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) committee overseeing technology has rejected a request by industry vendors to change the standard contract language defining Year 2000 compliance, despite complaints of unfair or inconsistent interpretations by agencies. The language, incorporated in the FAR l
Digital Government
State Department awards $68 million contractfor passport printers
In an effort to cut down on the number of fraudulent U.S. passports, the State Department last week awarded a $63 million contract to Thermo Digital Technologies to provide hightech printers to process passports.
Digital Government
IRS' tab for Year 2000 fix to total nearly $1 billion
On the last day of the tax filing season, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service said the agency will spend nearly a billion dollars to fix its computers for the millennium bug.
Digital Government
Senate moves to form Year 2000 committee
The Senate last week passed a resolution to form a special committee to oversee how the government and the private sector are dealing with the Year 2000 problem. The committee, which will be called the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, will study the impact of the Year 2000 pro
Digital Government
Senate establishes special Y2K committee
The Senate late last week established a special committee to address the Year 2000 problem.
Digital Government
HUD halts IT maintenance work to support Year 2000
Faced with less than a year to make its computer systems Year 2000compliant, the Department of Housing and Urban Development this month stopped routine maintenance on five of its largest systems so that programmers can devote their full attention to fixing the date codes in the systems. Under the
Digital Government
IRS wants flexibility in modernization effort
The Internal Revenue Service last month launched its muchanticipated contract worth more than half a billion dollars to modernize its outmoded information technology systems. Release of the request for proposals for the Prime systems integration project had been delayed for almost four months as I
Digital Government
New rules address Y2K worker shortage
Seeking additional manpower to fix the millennium bug that is affecting thousands of federal computers, the Office of Personnel Management last week said it would let agencies hike the salaries of programmers working on Year 2000 projects and waive rules that limit how much retired programmers coul
