WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Budget cuts caused by the huge cost of cleaning up and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina may hurt technology spending by the Department of Homeland Security.
INPUT, an information technology business consultancy, released a report Tuesday identifying areas that might suffer under the 2006 spending plan for the department, signed Tuesday by the president.
"With the war in Iraq, the national deficit has grown exponentially and continues to be a hotly-debated political issue," said Payton Smith, INPUT's director of public sector market analysis in a statement.
"With the billions of dollars now needed to rebuild the devastated regions caused by Hurricane Katrina, deficit reduction will become even more important."
The appropriation bill signed into law by President Bush Tuesday cuts spending in a number of technology-heavy programs, such as the biometric border indetity program dubbed US-VISIT, and the computer-assisted airline passenger screening program called Secure Flight.
"Vendors should also remain patient as DHS restructures their procurement operations over the next three to four years," said Smith.
