President Bush's fiscal 2007 budget proposal contained substantial increases and cuts in spending on information technology but a net gain for the federal IT budget.
Winners:
- The Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System, a satellite navigation system that is part of the FAA's modernization program, would get a 32.6 percent increase. The 2007 budget calls for $122 million, an increase of $30 million from last year's request of $92 million. The $4.2 billion system helps pilots navigate in poor weather.
- The National Archives and Records Administration's flagship Electronic Records Archives project would receive a $7.6 million increase. ERA is the first effort to save the government's records and make them available on future hardware and software. The proposed 2007 budget requests $45.5 million, a 20 percent increase from last year's $37.9 million final appropriation.
- The Interior Department's IT portfolio would gain $1.09 billion, a 17 percent increase from last year's request of $931.4 million. Congress' appropriation for fiscal 2006 was $1 billion.
Losers:
- NASA's troubled financial management system funding would be cut by 30.8 percent. The fiscal 2007 budget seeks $108.2 million for the Integrated Enterprise Management Program, down $48.1 million from last year's request of $156.3 million.
- The FAA's much-criticized project to replace the systems that let air traffic controllers communicate with pilots would be reduced by half. The FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure project was supposed to reduce operating costs by consolidating multiple telecom networks into one system operated by Harris. Last year, Bush requested $57 million. His fiscal 2007 request of $28 million represents a 50.9 percent cut.
- NARA's grants program for state and local electronic records research would end. Bush's fiscal 2007 budget request cuts all funding for the 72-year-old National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Congress appropriated $7.5 million for the commission for fiscal 2006.
