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Web Management Task Force:
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For Immediate Release |
December
17, 1999
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December 17, 1999
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Electronic Government
My Administration has put a wealth of information online. However, when it comes to most Federal services, it can still take a paper form and weeks of processing for something as simple as a change of address.
While Government agencies have created "one-stop-shopping" access to information on their agency web sites, these efforts have not uniformly been as helpful as they could be to the average citizen, who first has to know which agency provides the service he or she needs. There has not been sufficient effort to provide Government information by category of information and service -- rather than by agency -- in a way that meets people's needs.
Moreover, as public awareness and Internet usage increase, the demand for online Government interaction and simplified, standardized ways to access Government information and services becomes increasingly important. At the same time, the public must have confidence that their online communications with the Government are secure and their privacy protected.
Therefore, to help our citizens gain one-stop access to existing Government information and services, and to provide better, more efficient, Government services and increased Government accountability to its citizens, I hereby direct the officials in this memorandum, in conjunction with the private sector as appropriate, to take the following actions:
a. expanded training of Federal employees, including employees with policy and senior management responsibility;
b. identification and adoption of "best practices" implemented by leading public and private sector organizations;
c. recognition for Federal employees who suggest new and innovative agency applications of the Internet;
d. partnerships with the research community for experimentation with advanced applications; and
e. mechanisms for collecting input from the agency's stakeholders regarding agency use of the Internet.
10. Items 1-8 of this memorandum and my July 1, 1997, and November 30, 1998, memoranda shall be conducted subject to the availability of appropriations and consistent with agencies' priorities and my budget, and to the extent permitted by law.
11. The Vice President shall continue his leadership in coordinating the United States Government's electronic commerce strategy. Further, I direct that the heads of executive departments and agencies report to the Vice President and to me on their progress in meeting the terms of this memorandum, through the Electronic Commerce Working Group in its annual report.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE
WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release |
December
17, 1999
|
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Use of Information Technology to Improve Our Society.
The Internet and other information and communications technologies are changing the way we work, learn, communicate with each other, and do business. These technologies are shaping our economy and our society in the same way that the steam engine and electricity defined the Industrial Age.
In recent years, information technology has driven the U.S. economy. Businesses are scrambling to use the Internet to increase productivity, boost exports, cut the time required to develop new products, and forge closer relationships with customers and suppliers. My Administration has pursued a market-led approach to global electronic commerce that relies whenever possible on private sector leadership and seeks to eliminate legal and regulatory barriers to electronic commerce while protecting the public interest.
The Internet has the potential to enhance civil society as well as to boost commerce. Used creatively, the Internet and information technology can be a powerful tool for tackling some of our toughest social challenges as well as fostering economic growth. Information technology can and is being used to make it easier for working adults to acquire new skills, increase access to healthcare in isolated rural communities, improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, and strengthen our democracy.
My Administration has led the effort to explain and support the commercial and societal benefits of information technology to the American people. However, we can and must do more. To that end, I am directing executive department and agency heads in this memorandum to take certain actions. As they carry out these actions, they should:
a. adopt policies that will remove barriers to private sector investment in Internet applications;
b. explore partnerships with companies, State, local, and tribal governments, and other entities, such as nonprofit organizations and universities;
c. explore innovative mechanisms for fostering a national discussion on the potential of the electronic society;
d. consider other policies to promote the electronic society, such as the establishment of national goals; and
e. review the recommendations of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, particularly as they relate to support for information technology applications with broad societal benefits.
Therefore, to further promote the broader social benefits of the Information Age to the American people, I direct the officials in this memorandum to take the following actions:
1.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall identify additional
steps that can be taken to promote expanded access to higher quality,
cost-effective health care to underserved rural communities and
inner city clinics, and other health-care applications of information
technology.
2.
The Secretary of Education shall support and encourage States and
local communities to make "school report cards" available on the
Internet. The Secretary of the Interior shall make it possible for
"school report cards" on Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and tribally
controlled schools to be available on the Internet.
3.
The Secretaries of Education and Labor shall work with States and
institutions of higher education to remove legal and regulatory
barriers to high-quality distance learning, to increase awareness
of the availability of distance learning as an alternative means
of education and training, and to find ways to promote the earning
of credentials through distance learning. The Secretary of Education
shall assist the Tribal Colleges and Universities in developing
associate and baccalaureate programs in information technology,
using innovative distance learning technology.
4.
The Secretary of Education shall propose the next phase of my Administration's
Educational Technology Initiative. The next phase should address
teacher training, the integration of technology in the curriculum,
the evaluation of technology, the market for educational software
and web content, the need for more multimedia computers in the classroom,
and the need for investments in educational technology research
and development.
5.
The Secretary of Labor shall determine how telecommuting might be
used to help more disabled Americans get jobs and to provide jobs
for Americans located in geographic regions outside traditional
commuting areas, including isolated tribal communities.
6.
The Secretary of Education and the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall develop a research agenda for making the Internet
and information technology more usable by persons with disabilities.
The Secretary of Commerce shall encourage the private sector to
make web content, software, and development tools more accessible
for people with disabilities by adopting technical standards consistent
with the Web Accessibility Initiative.
7.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall develop
a national strategy for promoting environmental applications of
information technology (such as disseminating information about
manufacturing techniques that reduce pollution, and increasing the
timeliness of environmental information).
8.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall identify services that can be
delivered electronically to rural Americans (such as the results
of Federally funded research at our Nation's land-grant universities),
and develop the policies needed to promote the availability of advanced
telecommunications services in rural and tribal communities.
9.
The Secretary of Commerce shall identify policies that will encourage
more effective use of information technology by nonprofit organizations.
10.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with appropriate
Federal agencies and private sector stakeholders, shall identify
policy initiatives that promote greater access to financial services
through the use of information technology.
11.
The Secretary of the Interior shall identify policies that will
accelerate the use of unclassified geospatial information systems
at the State, local, and tribal level.
12.
The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall work
with research universities and the private sector to apply advances
in information technology to managing the consequences of natural
and man-made disasters.
13.
The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Director of the
National Science Foundation, the Director of the National Park Service,
and the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
shall work with the private sector and cultural and educational
institutions across the country to create a Digital Library of Education
to house this country's cultural and educational resources.
14.
The Attorney General shall work with Federal, State, local, and
tribal law enforcement agencies to use information technologies
to make our Nation's communities safer.
15.
Items 1-14 of this memorandum and my July 1, 1997, and November
30, 1998, memoranda shall be conducted subject to the availability
of appropriations, consistent with the agencies' priorities and
my budget, and to the extent permitted by law.
16.
The Vice President shall continue his leadership in coordinating
the United States Government's electronic commerce strategy. Further,
I direct that the heads of agencies report to the Vice President
and to me on their progress in meeting the terms of the memorandum,
through the Electronic Commerce Working Group (ECWG) in its annual
report. To the extent that substantial new policy issues emerge,
the analysis and action on those policies will be coordinated in
a manner consistent with the responsibilities of the ECWG, the National
Economic Council, and the Domestic Policy Council, as appropriate.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON