Bush Earmarks $60B for IT

The Bush administration's proposed $60 billion IT spending plan for 2005 looks to deliver a "service-centered" government, said Karen Evans, chief administrator for the Office of E-Government and Information Technology. "We're trying to make sure investment is not being driven by the technology or the bureaucracy," Evans said Tuesday in a keynote address to the IT Service Management Forum sponsored by Jupitermedia Corp. (Quote, Chart), the parent company of this Web site. "We want the technology to provide the service to produce the desired outcome for citizens." Evans, the White House's top IT administrator, said since several agencies engage in redundant services, her job was to "streamline our service delivery and to move in partnership with industry to learn lessons industry has already learned." The proposed $60 billion IT budget represents a "modest increase" over 2004's $59 billion spent on computers, software and technology-related services. Included in Bush's $60 billion IT budget is $529.8 million for the Commerce Dept.'s Technology Administration, much of which is earmarked for nanotechnology and cyber-security. The Technology Administration includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Office of Technology Policy (OTP), and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).