Newsbriefs

President Bush signed a fiscal2008 appropriations bill approvinga $460.3 billion DefenseDepartment budget and extendingcontinuing resolutions at fiscal2007 budget levels for most otheragencies until Dec. 14.He also vetoed the Labor,Health and Human Services,Education and Related Agenciesspending bill, saying it "exceedsthe reasonable and responsiblelevels for discretionary spendingthat I proposed to balance thebudget by 2012."The DefenseAppropriations bill thatCongress passed Nov. 8did not include a provisionthat proposedspending $3 billionfor 700 miles of bordersecurity fencing,unmanned aerialvehicles and groundsensors.The Senate passed theamendment Oct. 3, butduring final negotiations onthe bill, House and Senate leaderscut the provision and the funding."The amendment that Ioffered...passed 95-1," said Sen.Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at a Nov.7 press conference. "Only inWashington would that be a mixedsignal."Suss Consulting Inc. leaderssweet-talked a pair of EDS Corp.veterans into joining the company'sgovernment informationtechnology consulting practice.Don Scott, most recently asenior vice president at EDSGovernment Solutions, joinedSuss as an executive consultant.Scott is a former senior managerof the General ServicesAdministration's FTS 2000contract.George Sibley traded in hisaccount executive title at EDS fora lead consultant slot at Suss.Sibley is a former Navy submarineofficer, and he spent much of histenure at EDS overseeing Navyprojects.As long as the national terroristwatch list relies onnames rather than biometricsto identify suspected terrorists,it remains vulnerable to incorrectidentification, saidLeonard Boyle, director of theTerrorist Screening Center,during a recent congressionalhearing.The center is working withpartner agencies to developways to use biometric technology"to better capture the trueidentity of the person," he said.But the government mustfirst address significant legaland technological challengesand privacy concerns, hesaid.Satellite talk gaining fansMore than 200 governmentsites nationwide have signedup for Mobile SatelliteVentures LP's Satellite MutualAid Radio Talkgroups, whichthe company is promoting toexpand interoperablecommunications.Talk groups let mobilesatellite service subscribershold private discussions withother users individually orcommunicate with the entiregroup. The company hasestablished a mutual-aid talkgroup serving Alabama,Florida, Louisiana, Mississippiand Texas.First-responder networkThe National Public SafetyTelecommunications Councilpublished its recommendationsfor the FederalCommunications Commission's700 MHz broadband networkfor first responders.The council's 53-pagestatement of requirementsfor a network that operatesaround-the-clock includesmission-critical availability,robustness, accessibility andhardened infrastructures.As TV broadcasters move todigital TV, the 700 MHz spectrumwill be auctioned, withsome of the band made availableto first responders.The Civilian Agency Acquisition Counciland the Defense Acquisition RegulationsCouncil jointly proposed a new ruleamending the Federal AcquisitionRegulation to require an ethical code forcontractors.The rule, which the Justice Departmentrequested, would also establish internalcontrols for detecting and preventingimproper conduct in contracting.The Bush administration will fund a newNational Strategy for Information Sharingto make state and local fusion centers thefocal point for sharing terrorism-relatedintelligence with nonfederal authorities.Congressional leaders welcomed the newstrategy, which encourages the sharing ofinformation about all hazards and allcrimes that have national security implications.But some privacy and civil-libertiesgroups raised concerns about the sharingand storing of information with no clearstatutory definition of terrorism.The Federal CommunicationsCommission will back the CommonAlerting Protocol for the country's nextgenerationemergency alert system.But it will do so only if the HomelandSecurity Department endorses the standardfor exchanging messages across multipleplatforms. Several agencies, includingthe U.S. Geological Survey and NationalWeather Service, have adopted CAP, andthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency is testing it.Canon USA Inc. and EMC Corp.dropped their General ServicesAdministration schedules, joining SunMicrosystems Inc. as major companies thatcouldn't reach an agreement with theagency.An EMC spokesman said the companywill continue to serve its government customersthrough business partners andother contract vehicles, as it has done inthe past.But a Canon spokesman was more outspoken,citing three price proposals thecompany presented and GSA rejected. Theagency "demanded unreasonable prices,"the spokesman said.Nineteen senators are calling for anexpansion of the Optional PracticalTraining program, which offers temporarywork authorizations to foreign students.Similar to the H-1B visa program, OPToffers foreigners who have attended U.S.universities a way to gain practical experienceby working at U.S. technology firms.The expansion is a high-priority issue forcompanies concerned about a severe shortageof skilled technology workers.Many tech employees say foreign workersdepress wages and take jobs away fromU.S. workers.