Statistics bureau will post no data before its time
The Bureau of Labor Statistics this month decided to suspend the posting of some economic data on its Web site until it can create new posting rules. Although security was the driving force behind the decision, it is not hackers BLS is concerned about. The problem is mistakes by the bureau's own employees.
EPA overhaul calls for a new systems office
The Environmental Protection Agency will reorganize its information management organization, according to an internal Oct. 14 memorandum from EPA Administrator Carol Browner. A task force of senior managers that Browner created in August has recommended that the agency establish a single program manager for information management and policy, and Browner has agreed. The head of the new organization will not necessarily be the chief information officer, Browner said.
SSA tests system for employers to file wage data electronically
The Social Security Administration is testing ways to electronically gather wage information from employers. SSA is running a limited pilot with about 5 percent of employers, each of which file their data electronically using dedicated circuits, deputy associate commissioner Kim Mitchel said. The nation's 5.2 million employers must annually submit wage information for each of their employees, whether they employ one person or thousands.
SEC begins three-phase upgrade of its financial data filing system
The Securities and Exchange Commission has moved its electronic filing database and filing capabilities in-house, the first phase in a two-year modernization project. The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system manages and stores financial data that publicly traded corporations must file with SEC. EDGAR data is stored on a server at Lexis-Nexis Corp. in Arlington, Va.
Web site supplies tailor-made law data for business
The Labor Department practice of posting in-depth, customized information on its Web site is a model for other agencies to follow, Labor officials said. The public can examine issues in labor law at the Labor's Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses (ELAWS) site at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/ and get answers tailored to their situations by a series of questions.
INS gets reprieve on gathering entry and exit data
INS plans to build on existing systems to gather entry and exit data. The Immigration and Naturalization Service missed its Oct. 1 deadline to develop a system to track foreign visitors as they enter and leave the United States, forcing Congress to give the agency more time. Congress, under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, originally gave INS until the first of this month to implement an automated entry-exit control
Border Patrol: Web spoof ad
"Think we won't hire you? Think again!" said an advertisement for Border Patrol agents posted on the Web. "We have recently hired known criminals, drug smugglers, gangbangers, people out of drug rehab, pizza delivery guys … people who write on a fifth-grade level, and, yes, even illegal aliens." Although the ad appeared on the Web site of a Border Patrol agents' union, it was not an official want ad for the agency. It was a spoof,
IRS advisory group will promote electronic filing
The IRS has brought together tax preparers, software company executives and educators to help it sell electronic filing to the public. Congress required the IRS to set up the 17-member Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee under the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act it passed last year. The committee will meet quarterly. Two meetings will be open to the public; two will be closed for working sessions, IRS officials said.
USPS tests online service for stamp of approval
The Postal Service, as early as January, wants to accept documents online, print them, stuff them in envelopes and deliver them—all for the price of a stamp. USPS is running a small test of the service, called PostOffice Online, in Hartford, Conn., and Tampa, Fla. The test will be expanded to Boston, New York and Philadelphia next month, said Cathy Rogerson, USPS' group manager for new businesses. If all goes well, PostOffice Online will become available
IRS CIO says systems reorganization is a must
Consolidating data processing will save money and manpower, the IRS' Paul Cosgrave says. The IRS must re-engineer its systems and plan new systems that are in sync with the agency's reorganization of its business units, IRS chief information officer Paul J. Cosgrave said. Cosgrave outlined his plans to reorganize the service's systems at an Association for Federal for IRM luncheon this month in Washington.
Postal Service expands tests of software for its electronic postage sales program
The Postal Service has approved market tests for a second company to provide electronic stamps under the service's PC postage project. The Postal Service last month said it will start testing StampMaster Internet Postage, a Web postage product from StampMaster Inc. of Westlake, Calif. E-Stamp Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif., in April was the first vendor to receive Postal Service approval to test its online E-Stamp software. The company is beta-testing its product in the Washington area.
AF expeditionary forces will reach back to U.S. via wireless networks
Air Force networks will be weapons systems, Skoch said. The Air Force will someday depend on wireless networks to help it strike anywhere in the world within 24 hours, a top Air Force communications officials said. Because the United States does not know where the next military threat will come from, the service must be prepared to respond quickly anywhere around the world, said Col. Bernie Skoch, director of systems at the Air
House offices face own hurdles to fix date code
Members of the House of Representatives are responsible for fixing the date code in their own office systems, but most have not even begun the work, a House technology staff member said. Most members have not even thought about fixing their systems, said Harrison Fox, a staff member with the House Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.
SEC sets up new team to battle net fraud schemes
The Securities and Exchange Commission has created a new office to help chase down a growing number of financial fraud complaints tied to the Internet. The Office of Internet Enforcement will also train law enforcement officials in other agencies to search for and recognize online fraud, said John Reed Stark, director of the office and special counsel for Internet projects in the Enforcement Division.
EPA has a four-pronged strategy to manage systems enterprisewide
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking for a vendor to help it answer the question: "What does the agency need?" The winning vendor of the $35 million, five-year Information Infrastructure and Architectural Support Contract (IIASC) will analyze EPA's overall systems architecture and create a strategy for designing and buying new systems.
EPA will move old database to new platform
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to move a database containing information about injection wells from its National Computer Center in North Carolina to a new database management system in Atlanta. In a request for quotes last month, EPA called for a vendor to furnish the personnel, services and equipment to migrate the files to an unnamed server and develop a DBMS that can handle geographic information system applications. The vendor would also help integrate the database
Treasury creates site on the Web for selling bonds
The Treasury Department will begin selling Treasury bills, notes and bonds over the Internet next week under a new service called Buy Direct. To buy bonds online, users must already have an account with the department, said Peter Hollenbach, spokesman for Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt. The Treasury site will ask for proprietary information to identify buyers.
Postal Service sets a new systems course with first CIO at the helm
With its first chief information officer at the helm, the Postal Service is embarking on a program to blend the systems and automated equipment it uses to process mail. "We have applications; what we need is overarching information," said Norman E. Lorentz, the service's vice president for quality, who last week became the CIO and head of the modernization effort. "An integration capability will have to be created."
USPS will use a PKI to manage electronic postage
USPS loses about $100 million a year from meter tampering, officials said. The Postal Service moved a step closer to selling postage online after it established a public-key infrastructure last month. The service will use a PKI as part of the Information-Based Indicia Program, a program for selling postage over the Internet by letting users print bar codes on envelopes or labels from printers at their home offices or in small businesses.
Emergency funding for 2000 remains uncertain
Replacing the money in the House bills during a Senate and House conference is out, Morra said. The House Appropriations Committee hasn't moved to create a separate year 2000 funding bill after House conservatives stripped emergency year 2000 money—needed for date code repair—from three appropriations bills.
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