Thursday, January 23, 2003
The embattled U.S. computer industry got some good news from an unexpected source when the Bush administration announced it would boost information technology spending by 12.3 percent in fiscal 2004.
The Office of Management and Budget said it would increase government spending for computers, network equipment and other information technology by $6.5 billion during the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2003. The budget must be approved by Congress.
The Bush administration is also proposing $4.7 billion for cybersecurity technology in 2004, a 10 percent increase over the current fiscal year.
Industry lobbyists praised the proposed budget increases. "This IT investment is a smart move by a tech-savvy president," said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America (Arlington, Va.). "The additional cybersecurity investment is particularly good news."
The creation of a Department of Homeland Security was expected to kick-start government spending on computer and network equipment. Those projections have been relatively slow to materialize, observers said. Budget shortfalls due to declining tax revenues have forced many federal agencies to cut spending.
Even industry leaders like Microsoft have begun to target the federal government market as consumer demand continues to decline. Analysts said Microsoft's recent decision to release source code for its Windows operating system was driven in part by plans to target the government market. Several government agencies have said they would consider using Linux-based software.
By: DocMemory
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