Tom Ridge championed a wide range of IT initiatives as governor of Pennsylvania, including systems that let public-safety agencies collaborate over the Internet. When President Bush named Ridge director of homeland security in September, it was assumed that IT would play a vital role in domestic defense collaboration. Now it's in writing. Bush presents his 2003 budget plan to Congress this week, and in it he calls for $37.7 billion to be spent on homeland security efforts. That includes funding for an IT-intensive collaborative project to help the Immigration and Naturalization Service track foreign visitors and for standardizing emergency communications among local public-safety per- sonnel now using incompatible wireless networks. Homeland defense spending across all fronts will propel overall IT spending by the federal government to $52 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Overall, the Bush administration is seeking funds for nearly 3,000 IT projects. One reason for the more than 10% increase over current spending levels is the Office of Management and Budget's requirement for agencies to better secure their IT systems.
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