[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11227-S11228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ENHANCING THE MANAGEMENT AND PROMOTION OF ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT 
                         SERVICES AND PROCESSES

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2458, which is now at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2458) to enhance the management and promotion 
     of electronic Government services and processes by 
     establishing a Federal Chief Information Officer within the 
     Office of Management and Budget, and by establishing a broad 
     framework of measures that require using Internet-based 
     information technology to enhance citizen access to 
     Government information and services, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the consideration 
of the bill.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to applaud passage by the House 
and Senate today of the E-Government Act of 2002. The E-Government Act 
is strong, bipartisan legislation that will help bring the Federal 
Government into the electronic age by improving the access of all 
citizens to the government services and information they rely on every 
day in their work and personal lives.
  The bill that we are passing today, H.R. 2458, represents a consensus 
between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the House, and with 
the administration. It is the product of more than a year of 
negotiations and cooperation between Senators Fred Thompson, Conrad 
Burns and me, and

[[Page S11228]]

Congressmen Tom Davis, Jim Turner, Dan Burton, and Henry Waxman. It is 
also the result of important input from a range of constituencies who 
support electronic government. This bill has won the support of the IT 
industry, of the public access community, of privacy advocates, and of 
non-profit groups interested in good government. There are many others 
who have contributed to the legislation, too many to name here. The 
bill demonstrates what can happen when we put aside partisan interests 
and work together to improve the performance of our Government.
  I introduced the E-Government Act, S. 803, on May 1, 2001, with 
Senator Burns as chief co-cosponsor, and many original co-sponsors from 
both parties. This March after months of negotiations with the White 
House and with the help of my friend Senator Thompson, an amended 
version of the bill was reported out of the Governmental Affairs 
Committee. The committee filed Report No. 107-174 with the bill; this 
report provides important explanations and background on key concepts 
and terms in the legislation and should be referred to as relevant 
legislative history. The E-Government Act first passed the Senate on 
June 27 of this year. This fall, the House Government Reform Committee 
took up H.R. 2458, companion legislation to S. 803 that had been 
introduced by Rep. Jim Turner on July 11, 2001. The House Government 
Reform Committee incorporated virtually all of the amended S. 803. It 
also expanded upon several provisions and added new ones, some of them 
initiatives that had been worked on for some time by Congressman Davis, 
Turner, Burton and Waxman. The revised E-government legislation was 
passed by the House by unanimous consent early this morning.
  In less than a decade the tremendous growth of the Internet has 
transformed the way industry and the public conduct their business and 
gain access to needed information. This, in turn, has spawned a growing 
public expectation that government will make use of new information 
technologies, and a growing support for electronic government. 
Information technology, and the Internet in particular, provide a 
unique opportunity to re-package government information and services, 
so they are offered to the public according to the needs of individual 
customers. They can also facilitate interagency cooperation without 
requiring a major reorganization of government agencies. Ultimately, e-
government can transform the way government operates, essentially 
effecting a ``virtual'' reengineering of government. This paradigm 
shift requires systems based on function and the needs of the citizen 
rather than agency jurisdiction. If the government integrates processes 
across agency boundaries, the public will experience government as a 
seamless web of offerings. Federal services and information on the 
Internet can even be consolidated with those of state and local 
governments.

  The ``E-Government Act of 2002'' will facilitate this transformation 
to a government organized more appropriately according to the needs of 
the public. The bill requires agencies to link their e-government 
initiatives to key customer segments, and to work collectively in doing 
so. The E-Government Fund provides necessary funding for inter-agency 
projects, overcoming the difficulty in securing appropriations for 
cooperative endeavors. The Federal Internet Portal provides ``one-stop 
shopping'' for citizens, businesses, and other governments: information 
and services will be integrated according to the needs of all users, 
all of it accessible from a single point on the Internet. The 
Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government will oversee and 
promote this vital transformation.
  Among its many provisions, the E-Government Act would: establish an 
Office of Electronic Government, headed by a Presidentially-appointed 
Administrator within the Office of Management and Budget; authorize 
$345 million over four years for an E-Government Fund to support 
interagency e-government projects; improve upon the centralized Federal 
Government online portal that now exists so that it is more user 
friendly and establish an online directory of Federal web sites, 
organized by subject matter; require Federal courts to post opinions 
and other information online, and regulatory agencies to conduct rule-
making over the Internet; improve recruitment and training of 
information technology professionals in Federal agencies; and encourage 
electronic interoperability so that different agencies can communicate 
with one another more efficiently.
  We have taken care to include significant privacy protections and we 
extend and improve successful information security provisions due to 
expire this month. The Thompson-Lieberman Government Information 
Security Reform Act, which was enacted at the end of the last Congress, 
has provided a sturdy management framework for protecting the security 
of government computers. Congressman Davis has authored a new version 
of the legislation, updating it and improving it.
  As we are also in the process of debating homeland security 
legislation, it is worth noting that the E-Government Act is directly 
relevant to the goal of ensuring improved homeland security. The E-
Government Act will give the Federal Government the tools and structure 
to transform its IT systems, one of the greatest vulnerabilities of 
agencies now tasked with homeland security missions. As we've seen 
through dozens of depressing revelations over the last year, we have 
desperate need for more effective information systems at agencies like 
the FBI, CIA, Department of State, the INS, and state and local 
authorities. The E-Government Act will help the Federal Government get 
that job done, by establishing more effective IT management, 
establishing mandates for action, and authorizing funding.
  The bill will also substantially enhance the ability of the Federal 
Government to quickly provide information and services to citizens to 
help them prepare for, and respond to, terrorism, natural disasters, 
and other homeland threats. In the hours and days after the terrorist 
attacks of September 11, Americans flooded government websites in 
record numbers, seeking information more targeted than what the media 
was providing: what was happening; how they should respond to protect 
themselves from possible future attacks; how they could help victims; 
and how people who were victims themselves could seek assistance. The 
E-Government Act will substantially enhance the ability of the Federal 
Government to quickly provide information and services to citizens to 
help them prepare for, and respond to, terrorism, natural disasters, 
and other homeland threats.
  Mr. President, Congress's passage of this legislation will result in 
a better Government and a stronger America.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate; and that any statements 
related to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 2458) was read the third time and passed.

                          ____________________