Route Fifty

Delays in IT upgrades were OK, Customs says

The Customs Service's systems infrastructure modernization is five years behind schedule because of planning and programming delays, Customs officials said. Customs began migrating from its Automated Commercial System to the newer Automated Commercial Environment in 1994. The service also started designing new systems to simplify import-export procedures that same year.

By Peyman Pejman
May 4, 1998

IRS' plan for ETA pilots displeases contractors

After the IRS decided to make its Electronic Tax Administration procurement a series of pilots, four would-be contractors said this month they are not bidding on the ETA contract. Officials of the companies--Andersen Consulting of Chicago, Electronic Data Systems Corp., H&R Block Financial Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., and TRW Inc.--said an October draft solicitation had implied the IRS would seek integration services for a vast electronic filing program.

By Peyman Pejman
April 20, 1998

SEC looks ahead and sees more outsourcing

The Securities and Exchange Commission is revamping its Office of Information Technology because it has found that SEC could make much better use of its technology. SEC began the reorganization in December and will complete changes by summer 1999. As part of the process, the commission expects to outsource much of its IT work, SEC chief information officer Michael Bartell said.

By Peyman Pejman
April 6, 1998

To stem departures, IRS will give 1,000 programmers 10% bonus

Over the next two years, IRS wants to spend $61 million on raises that agency officials hope will keep systems employees from defecting to industry. IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government that he negotiated the salary increases with the National Treasury Employees Union.

By Peyman Pejman
March 23, 1998

Flyzik to Horn: Report cards get an F

James J. Flyzik has begun a grassroots campaign to get Rep. Steve Horn (R-Calif.) to expand the criteria his subcommittee uses to come up with its year 2000 report cards. The Treasury Department's chief information officer said recently that the California Republican's report cards have outlived their usefulness. Agencies are focused on fixing date code in mission-critical systems, he said, and more bad grades will not heighten the focus.

By Peyman Pejman
March 23, 1998

FBI's crime net to get a face-lift

The FBI plans to spend $430 million over the next five years to modernize its global information gathering and analysis systems. The buy is one of the FBI's largest procurements in recent years, bureau officials said. And the bureau plans to move fast on it. The FBI this month released a draft request for proposals for the Information Sharing Initiative and plans to release the final RFP in May. Plans call for the bureau to

By Peyman Pejman
March 16, 1998

IRS' Gross to leave April 1, says he's reached his goals

Gross said he will leave his post April 1 to work with a nonprofit organization outside Washington. The announcement came only days after new IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti testified on Capitol Hill about a reorganization of the agency and discussed his ideas about the tax systems modernization effort. Gross in the fall had unveiled a new modernization strategy and more recently a draft solicitation for a lead contractor to oversee the effort.

By Peyman Pejman
February 9, 1998

New IRS chief suggests changes to systems plan

But the monikers--given to IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti, chief information officer Arthur Gross and Bob Barr, assistant commissioner for electronic tax administration--may not entirely reflect reality. A few short months after a speaker praised the three during a meeting on electronic filing, there are signs that philosophical and strategic differences may be arising, especially between Rossotti and Gross, over the multibillion dollar modernization project.

By Peyman Pejman
January 26, 1998

House date code watchers shine light on selves

Some members, House computer specialists and the Inspector General's Office are complaining that the work has been slow so far. They cautioned that if House leaders do not commit adequate financial and political capital to the project, the work may not be finished on time. The House's slow progress with the year 2000 problem is attributable to many factors, said House staff members familiar with the issue.

By Peyman Pejman
January 12, 1998

USPS will spend $14 billion to keep IT edge

USPS needs to spend more money on IT to ensure private-sector competitors such as DHL, Federal Express and United Parcel Service will not siphon off USPS' business, Postmaster General Marvin Runyon recently told the service's Board of Governors at a September meeting in Boston. "There are those who do not want a strong Postal Service," Runyon said. "It is clear: 1995, 1996 and 1997 will go down as the best three years so far in

By Peyman Pejman
November 24, 1997

Congress threatens a strategic plan redo

Originally, the GPRA called for submission of the plans every three years. But House leaders said the plans are inadequate and need fixes sooner. "Most agencies do not seem to know where they are, where they are going or how to tell if their programs are improving the nation in tangible ways," House Majority leader Richard Armey (R-Texas) said.

By Peyman Pejman
November 24, 1997

Senate likely to keep notebooks off its floor

During a terse committee discussion last month, the committee's chairman, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), and its ranking minority member, Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), told Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) that they both would vote against his request. Enzi said he wants to use his notebook on the floor to take notes and prepare for speeches.

By Peyman Pejman
November 10, 1997

HUD's CIO leaves 'a first-rate IT shop'

After two years as the Housing and Urban Development Department's chief information officer, Steven M. Yohai has resigned and will leave office by the end of the month. "I have achieved some personal objectives here and feel like I am ready for new challenges," Yohai said. "I am really not leaving because of anything that has happened here."

By Peyman Pejman
October 13, 1997

OMB cracks 2000 whip, might suspend IT funds

Although the Office of Management and Budget this month issued get-tough year 2000 warnings and threatened to bar systems modernization spending at four agencies, it is unlikely that any agency will lose much--if any--funding, administration officials said. In the wake of its latest quarterly report to Congress, OMB told the Agriculture, Education and Transportation departments and the Agency for International Development that unless OMB sees immediate improvements, the agencies risk severe information technology budget limits

By Peyman Pejman
September 29, 1997

Incomplete GPRA reports irk Congress -

In a House leadership review of Government Performance and Results Act reports, no agency received more than 62 of a possible 100 points. In a letter this month to Office of Management and Budget director Franklin Raines, House Majority leader Richard Armey (R-Texas) called it inexcusable that many agencies had failed to include all the elements required by the 1993 law.

By Peyman Pejman
September 15, 1997

IRS seeks proposals to expand electronic filing -

The agency wants vendors to offer proposals to expand electronic filing and make it the preferred filing method. IRS will issue a final RFP late this year and award the contract early next year, said Terry Lutes, acting assistant commissioner of IRS for electronic tax administration. He said IRS might choose more than one contractor.

By Peyman Pejman
September 15, 1997

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OCC tries hand at fix-it shop