U.S. government spending on information technology would decline 1.2 percent next fiscal year under a budget proposal from President Barack Obama seeking to balance investments with deficit reduction. The technology budget released today calls for $78.9 billion in spending next year, led by Defense Department reductions, as the administration promotes savings and efficiencies in federal-data programs. It’s part of a $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan sent to Congress.
“By doing more with less, the administration is driving savings across government and using those savings to reinvest in information technology and services that benefit the American people,” Obama said in a message accompanying the proposed budget for fiscal 2013, the year starting Oct. 1.
| Pentagon takes $1.6 billion from Lockheed F-35 in biggest cut |
| The Pentagon’s proposed budget would reduce spending on Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the military’s costliest weapons program, by $1.6 billion in the next fiscal year. |
| The elimination of 13 F-35 aircraft yields the biggest savings among $18 billion in weapons cuts proposed in the defense budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress today for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. It provides $9.17 billion for 29 of the aircraft, two fewer than this year. The Pentagon also proposed delaying the purchase of 179 F-35s beyond 2017 for a total of $15.1 billion in savings. — Bloomberg |
The Obama administration has been trying to hold federal IT spending steady while increasing government efficiency through the use of cloud computing and mobile devices. Information- technology expenditures rose 7.1 percent a year on average from 2001 to 2009 and “has effectively been halted” with no growth from 2009 to 2013, according to the budget.
Information-technology spending includes purchasing computers, protecting government data, updating websites and hiring employees who provide technical support. The reduced expenditures in 2013 will be driven by cutting the Pentagon’s information technology investments 3.6 percent to $37.2 billion next fiscal year, according to the budget.
Spending on information technology by major civilian agencies will increase 1.1 percent to $41.7 billion, the budget shows.
The budget plan demonstrates a commitment to initiatives in progress, which is good news for companies specializing in information technology products and services, said Alan Balutis, director of the Internet Business Solutions Group for Cisco Systems Inc., based in San Jose, California.
“The hot areas will be cloud computing, data-center consolidation, cybersecurity and mobile technology,”
