The bill to create the proposed Homeland Security Department includes a request for about $12 million for IT pilot projects in areas such as law enforcement and public health and about $8 million to fully develop a homeland security enterprise architecture that will guide future investment.
The administration is "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will act on the bill before the end of the year, Cooper said, but until that money comes through, the office can only gather information.
The office also is waiting for appropriations bills that have stalled in Congress, Cooper said. So far, only the Defense Department has received its fiscal 2003 funding.
The money coming from the agencies will go into ongoing e-government projects that are critical to the homeland security effort, particularly for wireless interoperability and geospatial standards and information systems, he said.
"Geospatial is an area that we're targeting for big investment," he said.
Quelle: FCW