CIO Rolled Over By Passenger Train

Transportation CIO Dan Matthews and his aides could be job hunting if the Senate agrees with the House of Representatives.To find money to run Amtrak, the House last week approved a bill to eliminate the $11.9 million slated to run the Department of Transportation's CIO office and transfer those funds to the beleaguered passenger rail system, according to a report in Government Computer News, which adds that shrinking budgets are encouraging legislators to raid funds for one mission to pay for another.

Eliminating the CIO office's budget is not a done deal, however. After the Senate approves its version of Transportation funding for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the House and Senate must reconcile the difference between the two measures, and that's when funding could be restored for the CIO office.