Digital Government

Adobe enriches Acrobat for workflow apps

A new version of Adobe Systems Inc.'s Acrobat software will allow users to electronically sign documents in Portable Document Format so they can be used in an automated workflow. Agencies use Acrobat to distribute documents in their original file formats. Users with Acrobat readers can read text do

Digital Government

Treasury HQ eyes Seat Management

The Treasury Department is considering using the General Services Administration's Seat Management program for its Washington, D.C., headquarters to test the concept and measure its use for future office automation buys. Even in the test phase, the project represents a big boost for the government'

Digital Government

NOAA finalizes nine BPAs

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finalized nine blanket purchase agreements last week to provide an easy and quick way for Commerce Department agencies to buy a variety of information technology services.

Digital Government

Sprint, Qwest contend for Treasury traffic

In the competition to provide a highspeed telecommunications backbone to the Treasury Department, observers say marketing and customer service rather than technology may determine which firm captures more business: newcomer Qwest Communications International Inc. or established Sprint. The compani

Digital Government

GAO criticizes Customs' modernization procedures

The General Accounting Office said last week that the Customs Service does not have the proper procedures in place to develop software successfully and that it needs to create the procedures before it can prudently manage'' its $1.4 billion modernization program.

Digital Government

Bill would double budget to fight Internet child pornography

A bill introduced in the House yesterday would double the Customs Service's budget for combating child pornography on the Internet.

Digital Government

Customs seeks quick $12M to fix slowdown

The Customs Service is looking for an additional $12 million this year to shore up its aging Automated Commercial System, which it uses to process $1 trillion in imports to the United States annually. Since June, ACS has suffered three slowdowns that delayed clearance of goods through U.S. ports fo

Digital Government

NIH angles for $6 million to fund biomedical computing projects

President Clinton's proposed fiscal 2000 budget includes $6 million for the National Institutes of Health to spend on biomedical computing project

Digital Government

Qwest nabs one of two Treasury telecom pacts

Qwest Communications International Inc. has won a subcontract it says is worth $1 billion to provide highspeed telecommunications services to the Treasury Department.

Digital Government

NARA seeks funds for digital archiving

The National Archives and Records Administration has proposed adding $400,000 to its budget to begin developing a system for digital records projects, including archiving federal agencies' e-mail.

Digital Government

DOE seeks increased funds for key research programs

The Energy Department has proposed spending more than $800 million on information technology programs in fiscal 2000, including $542.5 million?a 12 percent increase?for its Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative to simulate nuclear weapons tests.

Digital Government

Customs: User fees should fund modernization

For the second year in a row, President Clinton has proposed funding the U.S. Customs Service modernization program with user fees, and once again the plan faces an uphill battle in Congress.

Digital Government

White House proposes big hike in IT research funding for 2000

Six federal agencies would share a $366 million boost in funding for information technology research next year under the Clinton administration's proposed fiscal 2000 budget.

Digital Government

Storage dilemma looms

San Francisco this week slammed the door on a Marine Corps proposal to use neighboring national parklands as the site for an major military exercise designed to test cuttingedge information technologies in an urban environment.

Digital Government

Group disbands intergovernmental panel

The Intergovernmental Enterprise Panel, a group established three years ago to promote sharing of information technology solutions among federal, state and local agencies, was disbanded last week by its parent organization, the Government Information Technology Services Board. G. Martin Wagner, a G

Digital Government

NARA allows deletion of housekeeping files

The National Archives and Records Administration said last month that agencies can delete extra electronic copies of routine housekeeping records provided they have created an official recordkeeping copy.''

Digital Government

Forms vendor gives away user licenses

JetForm Corp. plans to announce this week that it will provide World Wide Webbased formfiller software free to the federal government. The software is from JetForm's FormFlow 99 package and will enable agencies to comply with a new law that requires they let citizens fill out and sign forms onlin

Digital Government

NLM revamps Medline for lay audience

Although the National Library of Medicine has always provided information to the public, its resources, including online databases, were designed for medical professionals. Now the agency has developed a World Wide Web site, Medline Plus, that aims to deliver the latest medical research and healt

Digital Government

Where's the check?

Despite its emphasis on making electronic commerce a central component of its business operations, the federal government is about to miss a major deadline to issue payments electronically. With less than two weeks before agencies are legally required to send federal payments via electronic funds t

Digital Government

Smart cards break through

After more than a decade of experimentation, smart card technology appears poised to break through the final barriers to broad deployment within the federal government. Technical advances in the past two years have helped push smart cards to wider acceptance. The industry has settled on standard op