Fedwire

CIO Council issues strategic plan

The federal CIO Council will continue to be guided by the six priorities that council members outlined last year, according to the group's 1999 strategic plan, released late last month.

The council's core vision for government is for agencies to use information and technology in meeting their missions and goals. To help members meet this goal and the requirements of the 1996 Clinger-Cohen Act, which created the CIO position, the new plan calls for:

* Increasing interoperability.

* Supporting security practices that protect government services.

* Leading the federal Year 2000 conversion effort.

* Establishing sound capital planning and investment practices.

* Improving the IT skills of the federal work force.

* Building relationships and outreach programs with federal organizations, industry, Congress and the public.

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Clinton boosts DOD budget

President Clinton, in his Jan. 2 radio address, proposed a $12 billion increase in the Defense Department's fiscal 2000 budget, sighting military readiness and modernization shortfalls.

The announcement came after several rounds of congressional testimony by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other high-ranking military officers that depicted a U.S. military that is overstretched, overworked and relying on aging, outdated equipment.

The increase will fund the integration of cutting-edge computer technology into battlefield weapons and communications systems, Clinton said.

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DOD's budget "trickle-down"

Little of President Clinton's proposed five-year, $110 billion increase in the Defense Department's budget will flow immediately down to specific information technology programs, according to an analysis by the Government Electronics Industries and Information Technology Association.

The association - part of the Electronic Industries Alliance, which plans to release its forecast, "DOD Growth Markets," Jan. 14 - predicted some "program-specific trickle-down" from an anticipated $12 billion increase in the fiscal 2000 Pentagon budget.

For more on the association's analysis, go to www.fcw.com.

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FAA to delay WAAS

The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that it will delay commissioning by 14 months its Wide-Area Augmentation System.

The FAA has delayed from July 1999 to September 2000 installing the first phase of the satellite-based navigation program because engineers need more time to develop a critical software safety module that monitors, corrects and verifies the performance of the system.

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DOD plant not Y2K-ready

The Defense Department's inspector general has given the Army until the end of this month to devise a plan to fix Year 2000 problems in a chemical weapons disposal system that monitors the destruction of nerve gas and blister agents.

According to a report recently released by the IG, the Army's project manager for the Johnston Atoll Agent Disposal System did not begin checking for Year 2000 bugs in the system's critical computer systems until last summer and incorrectly reported to DOD the status of those systems. For more on the IG report, go to www.fcw.com.

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GSA eyes HR services

The General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service has begun considering the development of a multiple-award schedule for human resources outsourcing services.

FSS has requested capability statements from vendors with experience outsourcing in 11 HR services, including personnel records management, payroll interfacing and automated HR systems. The due date for all responses is Jan. 22. The full solicitation is available at eps.arnet.gov.

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FAA unveils voice traffic plan

The Federal Aviation Administration last week detailed its plan to replace many routine voice transmissions between controllers and pilots with digital data messages - a move designed to increase the number of aircraft that controllers can manage by reducing congestion in the airwaves.

The Controller Pilot Data Link Communications program will allow pilots and controllers to transmit data directly between computers on the ground to computers in the cockpit rather than reading out the information. For the complete story, go to www.fcw.com.