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

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2005 00:45:31 -0500
To: <politech () politechbot com>
Subject: [Politech] Bush's budget: What it means for Fed technology spending


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


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    http://www.news.com/


 Bush budget boosts tech spending

 By Declan McCullagh
http://news.com.com/Bush+budget+boosts+tech+spending/2100-1028_3-5566643.htm
l 

 Story last modified Mon Feb 07 15:40:00 PST 2005



President Bush on Monday presented Congress with a $2.6 trillion budget for
the federal government that would modestly reduce some social programs while
boosting overall spending on information and surveillance technology.

The White House has proposed spending hundreds of millions of dollars on
computer security, technology upgrades and aerial surveillance devices as
part of a 7 percent increase in information technology spending by federal
agencies. Last year, Bush proposed $2.4 trillion in government spending.

 Also included in Bush's 2006 budget is a proposal to make the research and
development tax credit permanent, an idea that enjoys the strong support of
U.S. technology companies. It provides a tax credit for a portion of certain
research expenses and is scheduled to expire at the end of 2005.

 "The 2006 budget supports the development of technology and innovation
throughout our economy," Bush said in a statement accompanying the stack of
documents.

 Among the highlights:

 € The Department of Homeland Security would receive $174.8 million so
border police could buy "inspection and surveillance technology, unmanned
aerial vehicles and replacement aircraft."

 € DHS' Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection unit, which
counts "cybersecurity" as part of its mission, would see its funding jump
from $132 million to $204 million. That covers a Homeland Security
Operations Center for "domestic incident management" and a program to gather
"available cybersecurity information for dissemination in a timely,
understandable and responsible manner."

 € The FBI cashes in with an 11 percent proposed increase that translates
into about $555 million in more spending.

 € Other portions of the Justice Department benefit, with $181.5 million
earmarked for "information-sharing technology, $20.1 million for deploying
an improved fingerprint database, and about $3 million for "cyberfraud and
computer forensic assistance."

 € Grants handed out by the National Science Foundation will jump to around
$5.6 billion, an increase of $132 million. The National Institute of
Standards and Technology gets a 7.5 percent increase to $485 million.

 € The National Aeronautics and Space Administration would receive a budget
increase, but not enough to save the Hubble Space Telescope. Bush has cited
manned missions as a priority instead.
 

Bush's emphasis on security and defense comes at the expense of domestic
social spending, including some programs at the Department of Education and
the Department of Agriculture that would suffer modest reductions in
discretionary spending.

 That likely means tussles in Congress between now and the start of the
government's next fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2005. "The president's budget is
fiscally irresponsible, morally irresponsible, and a failure of leadership,"
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Monday. "Democrats
insist upon fiscal discipline with budgets that pay as you go, and over the
coming months, we will fight for a budget that reflects the values of
America's middle class."

 Even with its suggested reductions, the White House found millions of
dollars in handouts to politically favored recipients. Among them: $900,000
to Western Carolina University for a "computer engineering program";
$250,000 to Pro Co Technology of New York City for a "computer training
center"; $75,000 so Lewis-Clark State College can create an "e-commerce
certification program"; and $600,000 to the Mississippi Technology Alliance,
which is charged with strengthening the state's "technology culture."


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