http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0208/020508j1.htm
By Jill R. Aitoro
Govexec.com
February 5, 2008
Roughly half of the Homeland Security Department's $5.4 billion
information technology budget will go to ongoing system development and
modernization programs for border control and protection.
Cybersecurity funds largely will come from alternative sources, said DHS
Secretary Michael Chertoff, who described the budget as a whole as
"strong and fiscally sound."
DHS divided spending in its IT budget into four parts: IT investments by
mission; IT infrastructure and office automation; enterprise
architecture and planning; and grants management. The bulk of IT funds
($3.7 billion) were allocated to investments by mission. Those
investments included :
* Financial management: fiscal 2009 budget request: $107.1 million,
down 8.7 percent from the $117.3 million enacted in fiscal 2008;
* Protection from dangerous people: fiscal 2009 budget request, $2.6
billion up from $2.5 billion enacted in fiscal 2008 budget;
* Protection from dangerous goods: fiscal 2009 budget request: $19.3
million, an increase of 33.1 percent from $14.5 million enacted in
fiscal 2008;
* Protection of critical infrastructure: fiscal 2009 budget request:
$322.3 million, up 24.2 percent from $259.4 million enacted in
fiscal 2008;
* Emergency response and preparedness: fiscal 2009 budget request:
$519.4 million, down 2.6 percent from $533.1 million enacted in
fiscal 2008; and
* Strengthening and unifying operations and management: fiscal 2009
budget request: $116.8 million, a 12.8 percent decrease from
$133.9 million enacted in fiscal 2008.
Chertoff said in a Feb. 4 briefing that the IT budget published by the
Office of Management and Budget does not account for all homeland
security IT spending. A significant percentage of IT funds comes from
different areas of DHS and other federal budgets. In particular, he said
cybersecurity, which accounted for only $294 million of the DHS budget,
receives funding from other parts of the federal budget. (The majority
of the DHS cybersecurity budget will pay for the continued deployment of
the Einstein system, an automated process for collecting and analyzing
computer security information across civilian agencies to protect
against cyberthreats and intrusions.)
"There [is] our internal IT budget, in terms of development of our [own]
IT processes," Chertoff said. "Then there is the budget for the Cyber
Security Initiative, which is a separate item [with] a very hefty
increase. Additionally, other agencies that will participate in
[cybersecurity initiatives] will have their own budget. So it will be a
well-funded effort." Chertoff would not specify the overall amount that
would go toward cybersecurity, although the Wall Street Journal reported
last month that the Bush administration plans to spend $6 billion on the
initiative.
Border security and immigration dominated the budget. Of the $775
million requested for the Secure Border Initiative, which includes
building a high-tech surveillance system of radars, cameras and ground
sensors along a 28-mile section in southern Arizona, $157 million will
go to the ongoing development of command, control, communications and
intelligent systems that improve the exchange of information at the
border.
An additional $4.2 million was requested for the U.S. Visitor and
Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, which electronically
tracks the entry and exit of non-U.S. citizens into and out of the
United States. Funds will be used to complete interoperability between
US VISIT's Automated Biometric Identification System and the FBI's
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification system. The budget also
allocated $140 million to the continued rollout of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires
all travelers to present approved documents for entry into the United
States.
"This is somewhat less than we received in '08 because we expected in
this fiscal year [that we would] be building the vast majority of the
infrastructure we need to have WHTI in place, up and running, by June
2009, when we can begin the process of implementation," Chertoff said.
DHS plans to support 39 of the highest volume land ports, which account
for 95 percent of all vehicle border traffic, with WHTI in fiscal 2009.
The department requested $100 million for E-Verify, which allows
employers to use an automated system to verify personal information,
including Social Security numbers and immigration information, against
federal databases to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires.
DHS allocated $57 million for the automation and modernization of IT
systems for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Although DHS' fiscal 2009 IT budget is flat compared with the fiscal
2008 IT budget, the potential IT contracts from the budget are
declining, said Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge
officer at the McLean, Va., market research firm Federal Sources, which
analyzed DHS' proposed total spending to identify all potential contract
opportunities.
"The addressable portion of the broader DHS budget is declining more
than 18 percent," Bjorklund said. "So why is the DHS budget evaporating?
The grants programs are being cut in half. Addressable investments in
capital assets ranging from computers to cutters are dropping by about
25 percent [and] addressable spending on supplies and services will drop
about 17 percent."
The House Homeland Security Committee said in a released statement that
the budget "fails to provide adequate funding to some of the most
significant homeland security issues."
In terms of IT, "the budget requests only $10 million to address
deficiencies at [Customs and Border Protection]-owned ports of entry,
which is almost insignificant compared to the need for additional
security, new inspection facilities and replacement of aging
infrastructure."
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