IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

President Bush today signed legislation that promises funding for dozens of information technology programs designed to improve the public's online access to the federal government. The "E-Government Act of 2002" authorizes $345 million over four years to make the federal government more efficient through effective use of technology, and to make more agency information and services available online.

The law calls for $45 million to be used by the White House Office of Management and Budget to establish an e-government division. The amount would increase to $150 million by 2006.

It also authorizes a board to select technologies that would foster cooperation between government agencies, and recommends a program to evaluate and fund new anti-terrorism technologies.

To increase the average citizen's access to government, the new law requires the Library of Congress to work with other federal agencies and the private sector to establish an online national library.

The act also gives federal courts two years to establish Web sites where the public can get information about legal filings and other public case information. It also requires the Supreme Court to adopt rules to address privacy and security concerns related to the electronic filing and availability of court documents.

Federal regulatory agencies will have two years to establish public Web sites for rulemaking and docket information, and the law orders the creation of an online federal telephone directory.

Much of the e-government act stems from proposals originally introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), including "The Digital Tech Corps Act," which called for a worker-exchange program of mid-level information technology managers between the federal government and the private sector. Workers who join the program would join an office for six to 24 months and would retain pay and benefits from their original employers throughout the assignment.

The new law also includes the "Federal Information Security Management Act," another Davis-sponsored proposal to give Congress permanent oversight of federal agency computer security matters. It also makes permanent a previously enacted short-term measure that required federal agencies to test for and fix any security holes in their networks, and it expands the amount of computer security information agencies must collect and submit to Congress annually.

Related Link: E-Gov Law Sets Up Clash Over White House Outsourcing Plan

Quelle: Washingten Post