$305 Million Project Facing Temporary Setbacks, Says FBI Director

Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:36PM
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By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

Setbacks facing the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Sentinel project, a $305 million effort to revamp the bureau's case management system, are temporary, FBI director Robert Mueller told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Thursday.

According to Mueller, the project is stuck in the second of four phases. The makeover was halted when reviews of the program revealed what the director described as “coding defects.”

The delay of Sentinel made many of the committee members nervous that this program will end up like Trilogy, a separate, failed revamp of the FBI’s case management program that cost around $100 million.

“Are we on the way to [a] boondoggle?” asked Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who chairs the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Muller defended the stalled program, and explained that the setback was minor and has enabled the FBI to seize the opportunity to take a more in-depth look at the progress of the program.

The delay will move the project's completion date to 2011.

Article originally appeared on Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media (http://www.talkradionews.com/).