Davis Applauds Balanced Budget, Property Disposal Commitments
IT Initiatives, D.C. Education Proposals also Lauded in FY08 Budget Proposal

February 05, 2007

WASHINGTON D.C. - Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.-11th, announced today that he was pleased that President Bush's 2008 budget submission put the country on the path to balancing its books, honors the principle of pay parity, fully funds the District of Columbia's Tuition Assistance Grant program, expands spending on information technology and takes a significant first step toward unloading billions of dollars of real property the government owns but no longer needs.

"This budget is just a starting point, but it takes some important steps in the right direction," said Davis. "The answer to balancing the budget is not to raise taxes and kill economic growth; it's to have government become more efficient and more effective."

Davis was particularly pleased with the president's commitment to solving the real property management problem. Last Congress, Davis introduced H.R. 3134, which was to establish an expedited process to dispose of real property and to gather data on why government has struggled to dispose of unneeded property and save taxpayers billions of dollars. The program has performed so poorly that it has been included on the Government Accountability Office's High-Risk Series since 2003.

"The president's proposal is an excellent opportunity to achieve the goals I sought through my legislation in the last Congress," Davis said. "It's a serious attempt, and I applaud him for it."

Of regional interest, the president's budget fully funds - at $35.1 million - the TAG program, which Davis sponsored into law seven years ago. "It is vital that this program, which enjoys bipartisan support, be re-authorized, and I intend to work hard for that outcome," Davis said.

The budget also follows through on other items Davis initiated and led, including establishment of a permanent home for the D.C. Family Court, support for charter schools and school-choice opportunity scholarships, pensions, the Water and Sewer Authority's efforts to implement the Combined Sewer Overflow Long-Term Plan, and reimbursement for DNY analysis and other lab services performed for District police by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In addition, the president's budget will help enhance the local tax base by encouraging partnerships for economic development. Davis said he will continue to work with local and federal officials to help expand Metro's Navy Yard station to accommodate the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium, expected to open in 2008. He said expanding Navy Yard is "essential to help the baseball stadium succeed," by fostering economic development and easing traffic and Metro congestion.

The president's proposals concerning information technology also mirrored legislation and other efforts pursued previously by Rep. Davis. President Bush requested $65.5 billion for information technology and related supported services - a 2.6 percent increase over last year. Criteria for new IT investments, which will sound familiar to those who have watched Rep. Davis efforts in this area, include: improving service levels to customers, making better purchasing decisions, securing systems and data and reducing redundant costs.

The goals of the president's IT initiatives are to identify and reduce spending on duplicative systems, designate some for security awareness training and reporting under the Federal Information Security Management Act, which Rep. Davis authored; and to improve hiring, training and retention policies to help government find and keep the best-qualified professionals in the federal IT industry. In addition, the president's initiative calls for increased privacy protection and elimination of security breaches, streamline agency and department websites to enable taxpayers to receive the services they need and maintain security and to fund E-Gov initiatives.

"Overall, I'm pleased with the progress this administration has made in acquiring and managing information technology," Davis said. "However, given the announcement on Feb. 2 of yet another data loss by a federal agency, information security must remain a priority. In addition, I'll continue to follow the progress of at-risk IT investments on the Management Watch List and on GAO's High Risk list, and I'll work to ensure that we have the best-trained and most-qualified IT workforce in the world. The bottom line is we need to ensure our IT investment serves our citizens."