Friday, November 15, 2002
WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., and Ranking Republican Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.,
Friday announced the passage of legislation that will bring the
federal government more fully into the electronic age by
improving citizen access to government services and information
people rely on their every day work and personal lives. The
Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent. The House
passed the same bill earlier in the day, and it is expected to
be signed by the president.
"Congressional passage of this legislation represents
the culmination of years of work," Lieberman said. "As
a result, the government will be taking full advantage of the
Internet and other information technologies to maximize
efficiency and provide the public with seamless, secure online
information and services."
"In addition to improving the management of federal
e-government programs, this bill goes a long way toward
protecting federal information systems from vulnerability to
computer attacks by international and domestic terrorists, crime
rings, and hackers," Thompson said. "We are fighting a
new war in a new age on unconventional fronts. We can not afford
to overlook our nation’s technology infrastructure as we
secure our homeland."
The Electronic Government Act represents a bipartisan
agreement between Democrats, Republicans and the Administration.
Senator Lieberman introduced this legislation in May of 2001
with Senator Conrad Burns, R-Mt. It passed the Senate in June by
unanimous consent. Early Friday, the House passed an amended
version of the bill, which was ratified by the Senate later in
the day.
The measure will:
Establish an Office of Electronic Government, headed by a
Presidentially-appointed administrator within the Office of
Management and Budget. The Administrator will implement
e-government initiatives and oversee agencies' compliance
with relevant statutes
Establish an E-Government Fund that will invest in
interagency projects with government-wide application. The
bill authorizes $45 million for the Fund in FY 2003,
increasing to $150 million in FY 2006
Authorize funding for improvement of the federal Internet
portal, Firstgov.gov, so that on-line government information
and services are organized according to citizen needs, not
agency jurisdiction
Require regulatory agencies to conduct administrative
rule-makings on the Internet, and federal courts to post
court information and judicial opinions on their websites
Allow agencies, scientists, policy makers and the public
to have access over the Internet to non-sensitive
information about where federal funds for scientific
research are spent
Improve recruitment and training for federal information
technology professionals
Establish significant new privacy protections for
personally identifiable information maintained by the
government
Update, improve and make permanent successful information
security provisions.