Size of Homeland Security tech budget depends on who's measuring

Determining the dollars allotted to the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2004 for technology depends on the definition of "information technology," according to two research firms who analyze government data.

Researchers at Federal Sources Inc. have concluded that there is about $4 billion worth of information technology appropriations in the fiscal 2004 Homeland Security budget. That's about $250 million more than the president requested, and represents approximately 13 percent of the department's total budget. Federal Sources reviewed data reported by the Office of Management and Budget, as well as the final conference report on the Homeland Security appropriations act.

However, an analysis of the same documents by research firm INPUT contends that Congress actually slashed the president's technology request by nearly one-third. INPUT identified only $3 billion in technology appropriations, down from the White House request of about $3.8 billion. The $3 billion figure constitutes about 10 percent of the overall Homeland Security budget.

The $1 billion gap can be attributed to whether a particular good or service qualifies as "technology," senior officials from both companies said.

Lauren Jones Shu, a senior analyst at INPUT, which generally has been more conservative in its budget and spending analyses than Federal Sources, said researchers went through every line of the appropriations bill and discovered that lawmakers scaled back funding from what the administration sought in a number of key homeland security programs. For instance, the massive entry-exit tracking system for foreign visitors, known as US VISIT, came in at 25 percent less than the Bush budget, with only $330 million appropriated.

INPUT also found that the former Customs Service's Automated Commercial Environment program to upgrade technology infrastructure was 29 percent less than the budget request, ending up with $441 million in appropriations.

"Congress decreased funding from the president's request for many of the major technology projects that have the most immediate impact on fighting terrorism, primarily because of concerns about the slow progress to date on several of these projects," Shu said.

Federal Sources, however, pointed to a number of programs with dramatic increases in funding. For example, the Transportation Security Administration is receiving $45 million for research of "next generation" explosives detection technologies. That's a 450 percent increase over fiscal 2003, the company said.

Jim Kane, Federal Sources' president, and Ray Bjorklund, a senior analyst, said the company took a broad view of what qualified as technology to prepare its spending breakdown, and that, like INPUT, its researchers pored over every line of the OMB documents and the appropriations bill.

Kane erred on the side of liberal analysis and noted that whether the technology budget is $3 billion or $4 billion, technology plays a key role in many homeland security initiatives. INPUT's Shu also pointed out that overall Homeland Security technology funding was not decreasing, though her company said year-to-year spending was "flat."

Neither company disputed the other's findings, acknowledging they did not know specifically what the other firm's research team included under the definition of information technology.