[Politech] Bush's budget: What it means for Fed technology spending

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Tue Feb 08 2005 - 21:45:31 PST


Here's another take:
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5566643.html


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: NEWS: FSI Initial Analysis of President's FY06 Budget
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2005 15:56:50 -0500
From: Amy Foschetti
To: declan@private

Hi Declan,

Below is the news release that was just issued today from FSI as they
have completed their initial analysis of the Bush Administration's 2006
budget to Congress. Please let me know if you'd like to speak with FSI's
Chief Knowledge Officer, Ray Bjorklund. Thanks!

President Bushs Proposed FY06 Budget Represents Growth in IT Spending
for Federal Government

FSI Completes Initial Analysis of Bush Administrations 2006 Budget to
Congress

McLean, VA  February 8, 2005  President Bushs proposed FY06
Information Technology (IT) Budget of $65.2 billion, announced
yesterday, appears to represent a more than 7% growth rate. A four year
view shows the IT budget represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
of 5.5% over four years (FY03 through FY06).

This is not unexpected, and represents healthy growth for IT,
considering that the top line budgets of many agencies are dropping or
funded below requested, said Karen Wilson, vice president, consulting
for FSI. The IT portions of this budget are growing, which is good news
for the industry.

The 2004 actual IT spending, per the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), was less than what was enacted in the budget; $59.1 billion,
compared to just $58.6 billion actually spent.

This was highly unusual. Many public IT companies have been reporting
sluggish government spending to their investor community. We believe
this sluggishness could be in part due to OMB exercising its authority
in oversight of IT programs, said Ray Bjorklund, FSIs senior vice
president and chief knowledge officer. OMB may be slowing down the
apportionments on major IT programs to ensure that there is proper
emphasis on program management, due to some major mis-steps in
government IT projects over the last few years.

That being said, the projected spending for government fiscal year (GFY)
05 and 06 appears to be catching up for any sluggishness in GFY04.

Some examples of major new projects include:

- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Health eVet  funded at $311
million for FY06. The project replaces the existing VistA-Legacy system.
VistA is the technical infrastructure that supports the VHA provision of
health care to veterans.

- Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Border & Transportation
Securitys (BTS) Consolidated Enforcement Environment is funded at $31.6
million for 2006. This is a DHS system designed to support the
intelligence, interdiction, law enforcement and investigative efforts of
the Department.

- DHS: Homeland Security operations center  which is a consolidated
emphasis on developing the capability for HSOC, and is budgeted for $38
million of new funding.

- DHS will receive $11.6 million for tools for infrastructure protection
to manage cyber-security

- Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) Freight Assessment
Program is funded at $10 million in 2006. This provides a supporting
system to governments databases on shippers and air carriers, with the
intent to analyze data for effective intelligence and protection of
citizens and freight.

There are also several programs that are not new, but appear to have
sizeable increases from FY05 to 06. Overall, the ten largest program
increases from GFY05 to 06 represent an increase of $1.9 billion. Some
examples include the following:
- TSA will receive $382.5 million for electronic baggage screening
technology
- TSA will also receive $215.7 million for the combined credentialing
investment.
- Department of Justice (DoJ) will receive long-needed funds for
consolidated enterprise infrastructure totaling some $154 million.

There is much emphasis in the government on information sharing
stemming in part from the Intelligence Reform Bill passed in late 2004.
While the budget does contain several examples of information-sharing
projects (such as the consolidated law enforcement project in DHS noted
above), the bulk of the funding at this point appears to be interwoven
among many projects such as existing data sets to be consolidated and
shared, infrastructure and communications network improvements, and
other similar projects.

Homeland security initiatives government-wide, in the DHS and other
agencies with homeland missions, will increase 42% from 2004-2006, with
an increase of $748 million to $1.13 billion from 2005 to 2006.

Another area of emphasis is healthcare. This general area will grow
13.4% increase from 2004 to 2006. However, from 2005 to 2006, there is
not much increase, which may signal re-alignment of existing funds.

There is noticeable growth in new projects of healthcare-related IT. As
opposed to information sharing, healthcare IT is called out in several
areas in the budget  most notably in the VA and the Department of
Health and Human Services. Some examples include Health eVet program
noted above. Also, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will
provide $457 million in development/modernization / enhancement grant
funds to the states for the federal share of State Medicaid Management
Information System systems costs.

One area noticeably missing from the budget are funds for the Social
Security Administration (SSA), given the Presidents focus on social
security reform. The SSA budget takes a big hit in IT. This could
indicate that the Administration does not know what shape the IT
investments will take in any reform, or that the enabling legislation
defining IT investment will not be passed in time for GFY06.

We feel confident that this proposed spending will be positive for
professional services firms and those systems integrators that provide
professional services in helping government agencies define and manage
their IT initiatives, concluded Bjorklund. The budget's emphasis on
security and sensor technologies also bodes well for equipment
manufacturers that have robust capabilities for distributed control and
networking.

About The FSI Consulting Practice
As the nation's preeminent supplier of government IT market intelligence
since 1984, FSI has been helping clients make better business decisions
and operate more effectively with fact-based, actionable intelligence
for succeeding in the government IT market.

FSI provides a combination of online services, consulting and events to
provide a "one-stop" source of business-to-business market intelligence
for the government IT marketplace. FSIs respected and experienced
consulting professionals are dedicated to strengthening the business
development, marketing, and sales functions of companies selling into
the government market.

FSI is a methods-driven, fact-based, analytical consultancy, providing
actionable intelligence based on data, primary and secondary research,
and experienced analysis.

FSIs Consulting Practice professionals have a wealth of experience
ranging from research, market intelligence, budget analysis and survey
methods, as well as management and technology consulting to the federal
government. FSIs expert consultants hail from industry leaders such as
Booz Allen Hamilton, Unisys, EDS, Veritas, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte,
ICF Consulting, Arthur D. Little, Ernst and Young / Cap Gemini, and
government entities including GSA, DISA, Army, Air Force, Navy and the
White House.

About FSI
FSI (Federal Sources, Inc.), a Washington Management Group Company,
delivers fact-based, government-IT market intelligence to both the
largest existing government contractors and new market entrants via
online subscription services, tailored consulting, GSA Schedule services
and industry-leading events. These programs, underscored by a hands-on
approach to client support, enable IT vendors and government
organizations to make informed business decisions and experience rapid
return on investment. FSI was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in
McLean, Virginia. For more insight from FSI on the 2006 IT budget you
can register for the Federal Outlook Conference on April 12 at
www.fedsources.com.
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