Lieberman, Burns Unveil "Next Generation Government"
E-Government Bill Would Improve Access of Citizens to Government
Services and Information

WASHINGTON - In a step intended to usher in "next generation government," Senators Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Conrad Burns, R-Mont., introduced legislation Tuesday designed to bring government more fully into the Electronic Age by improving citizen access to government information and services.

The E-Government Act of 2001 is a bipartisan effort to maximize the organization, efficiency, accessibility and quantity of the federal government’s online resources, while reducing overall cost.

"The private sector has benefitted tremendously from the application of information technology," Lieberman said. "Now it’s government’s turn. We can and must take full advantage of the Internet and other technologies to overcome arbitrary boundaries between agencies, so government can provide the public with seamless, secure online services."

"The U.S. government has been a sometimes unwilling participant in the technological revolution of recent years," Burns said. "The legislation we are introducing today will change that by creating online services to make government more efficient, accessible and accountable to the citizens it represents."

The e-government legislation would:

4 establish a federal Chief Information Officer, within the Office of Management and Budget, to promote e-government and implement government wide information policy.

4 authorize $200 million a year for an e-government fund to support interagency projects and innovative uses of IT.

4 improve upon the centralized online portal; establish an online directory of Federal web sites and indexes of resources

     4 institute an online national library

     4 require federal courts to post opinions online

4 fund a federal training center to recruit and train information technology professionals

The bill contains a variety of other provisions that would promote the use of the Internet in the regulatory process, encourage compatibility of electronic signatures and provide strong new privacy protections. "A functional approach to e-government focuses on delivering services to the citizen, organized according to the citizens' needs, without regard to agency jurisdictions," Lieberman said. "The greatest challenge we face is to get a handle on how new technologies have created new opportunities, and to reconfigure government accordingly."

The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Conrad Burns, R-Mont., Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., John McCain, R-Ariz., Thomas Carper D-Del., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., John Kerry, D-Mass., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Carl Levin, D-Mich.

Senator Joe Lieberman press statement

Talking Points and Brief Summary for "E-Government Act of 2001"

Outline of "E-Government Act of 2001"

Click here for "Bill Text"

Adobe Access Version of "Bill Text"

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