President Obama Budget Shrinks U.S. Technology Spending, Promotes Savings

US 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 calls for $78.9 billion in spending in the current fiscal 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,” President Obama said in a message accompanying the proposed budget for fiscal 2013, the year starting Oct. 1. 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.