[IP] "Fiscal 2005 spending bill addresses privacy issues"
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1204/120604tdpm1.htm
DAILY BRIEFING
December 6, 2004
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Fiscal 2005 spending bill addresses privacy issues
By Chloe Albanesius, National Journal's Technology Daily
The omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2005 includes privacy provisions
crafted to prevent the unlawful transfer of or access to confidential
information.
The language, which would prohibit federal agencies from monitoring
individuals' Internet use, is included in the part of the bill, H.R.
4818, that would fund the Transportation and Treasury departments. That
section also would fund independent agencies and general government
appropriations.
The government cannot collect information about Web users unless that
information does not identify specific people or those people give
their permission. Exceptions would be made for law enforcement requests
and "system security" incidents required to protect agency networks.
The bill also would require that each government entity hire chief
privacy officers to oversee system privacy, ensure that any data
collection is legal and secure, and evaluate the disclosure of personal
information by the government. To ensure that agencies are complying
with the provisions, the measure would require each agency's inspector
general to hire consultants to evaluate the agencies' use of
identifiable information and its data-protection procedures.
The measure also would provide funding to modernize information
technology infrastructure. The Treasury Department could spend a
maximum of $3 million on its IT modernization plan, while the Internal
Revenue Service would get $205 million to acquire IT systems, pending
the House and Senate Appropriations committees' approval.
The Executive Office of the President, meanwhile, would receive about
$12 million for IT modernization, but $4 million would not be released
until the office submits a plan that is approved by White House Office
of Management and Budget, Government Accountability Office and
appropriations committees.
Lawmakers also appropriated $42 million for the Counterdrug Technology
Assessment Center, $24 million of which would be used to continue the
program that transfers technologies developed with federal funds to
state and local communities.
Meanwhile, the Election Assistance Commission would receive $14 million
to implement the 2002 election overhaul, which included language on
e-voting. Of that sum, $2.8 million would go to the National Institute
of Standards and Technology.
Overall, the Transportation and Treasury departments' share of the
spending bill includes some $59 million for advanced technology
development, an increase over the $42 million suggested by the House
and $57 million offered by the Senate. The bill calls for $1.5 million
worth of appliance-based computer-security technology, $400,000 for
technology frameworks and $500,000 for certificate-based Internet
security. The bill also calls on the departments not to exceed $2.5
million on their e-government initiatives.
The bill would allocate $1.5 million for vertical flight technology, $4
million for "phased array" radar technology and $3 million for
anti-jamming technology for global positioning systems. It also would
appropriate $8 million for research and technology program support,
including $250,000 for the Transportation Research Center at the
Georgia Institute of Technology and $1.5 million for the Oklahoma
Transportation Center.
The bill also would waive "Buy America" provisions requiring federal IT
purchases to include U.S.-made content, and it would allow the Federal
Railroad Administration to reimburse employees for home Internet
connections.
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