Input: DHS grabs greatest share of IT spending in fiscal 2007

The Homeland Security Department's IT department is capturing 44 percent of all new IT spending proposed by the White House for fiscal 2007, according to a new report from Input Inc.

The Homeland Security Department's IT department is capturing 44 percent of all new IT spending proposed by the White House for fiscal 2007, according to a new report from Input Inc.

DHS would get $772 million more for IT in fiscal 2007 under the White House plan, the Reston, Va., market research firm reports. This represents 44 percent of the $1.75 billion increase in IT spending governmentwide.

"The Department of Homeland Security's IT budget increase is the most significant, with an increase of 21 percent to over $4.4 billion," Input said in a press release. For all federal agencies, IT spending will increase only 3 percent.

"The message delivered by OMB [the Office of Management and Budget] is that performance and measurement will play critical roles in the review and approval of budgeted spending, especially the close review of agency-by-agency progress reports on meeting administration goals for managing IT projects and developing effective business cases," James Krouse, acting director of public sector market analysis for Input, said in a news release.

For example, the Housing and Urban Development Department, with a greater than 15 percent IT budget increase, had all of its business cases accepted and led agencies with the least project cost and schedule overruns.

Other departments gaining IT funding include the Labor Department, up 13 percent, and Interior, up 9 percent. Losing money will be the Office of Personnel Management's IT unit, losing nearly 5 percent, and the General Services Administration, losing nearly 2 percent.