[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 185 (Monday, November 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9142-H9143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CONNECTED GOVERNMENT ACT

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 2331) to require a new or updated Federal 
website that is intended for use by the public to be mobile friendly, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2331

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Connected Government Act''.

     SEC. 2. FEDERAL WEBSITES REQUIRED TO BE MOBILE FRIENDLY.

       (a) Amendment.--Subchapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 3559. Federal websites required to be mobile friendly.

       ``(a) In General.--If, on or after the date that is 180 
     days after the date of the enactment of this section, an 
     agency creates a website that is intended for use by the 
     public or conducts a redesign of an existing legacy website 
     that is intended for use by the public, the agency shall 
     ensure to the greatest extent practicable that the website is 
     mobile friendly.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given that 
     term in section 551 of title 5.
       ``(2) Mobile friendly.--The term `mobile friendly' means, 
     with respect to a website, that the website is configured in 
     such a way that the website may be navigated, viewed, and 
     accessed on a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar mobile 
     device.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding after the item related to 
     section 3558 the following new item:

``3559. Federal websites required to be mobile friendly''.

       (c) Report by OMB and GSA Required.--Not later than 18 
     months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in 
     consultation with the Administrator of General Services, 
     shall make publicly available and submit to Congress a report 
     that--
       (1) describes the implementation of the requirement 
     described under section 3559 of title 44, United States Code, 
     as added by subsection (a); and
       (2) assesses the compliance of each agency with such 
     requirement.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. 
Kelly) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2331, introduced by the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly). The bill requires all Federal 
agencies to ensure any Federal Government website intended for use by 
the public is mobile friendly. Services offered by the Federal 
Government should be effective but also accessible to the public. 
Agency websites are one of the most important tools for taxpayers to 
observe services and information from the government.
  The U.S. Government runs more than 6,000 websites on over 400 
domains. One recent study estimated that approximately 40 percent of 
government websites either are not accessible or are difficult to 
access on a phone, yet nearly 80 percent of Americans own a smartphone, 
and at least 1 in 10 American adults rely exclusively on a smartphone 
for access to the internet, according to a Pew survey. The data clearly 
points to the utility of making all government websites mobile 
friendly.
  Another study found that more people accessed the internet on their 
mobile devices than a desktop computer for the first time last year. It 
is clear that Federal agencies must emphasize mobile accessibility to 
effectively serve the American people. The Connected Government Act 
will require agencies to do just that.
  This bill requires Federal agencies to ensure their websites are 
mobile friendly during the course of creating new websites or updating 
existing ones. A mobile-friendly government is a necessary step in the 
modernization of the government's IT infrastructure.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague, the gentlewoman from Illinois, 
for her work in sponsoring this bill. I am proud also to support this 
bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a blog post regarding this bill 
written by Congressman Pallone and myself.

         [From the Energy & Commerce Democrats, Sep. 13, 2017]

    It's Time To Give the Government an Upgrade for the Mobile World

                (By Frank Pallone, Jr. and Robin Kelly)

       In the wake of the natural disasters devastating so much of 
     the country, millions of Americans are turning to federal 
     agencies for help--but the government's websites don't always 
     make it easy. We've introduced legislation in the House that 
     would change that, and it's moving forward at a time when it 
     can help a lot of Americans who are suffering.
       For people who were forced from their homes or are without 
     power because of hurricanes, storms or wildfires, their only 
     connection to necessities of survival--food, water, fuel, and 
     shelter--is through their mobile phones. It's the device they 
     could take with them when they had to flee their homes. But 
     while private websites and charities have developed new 
     mobile websites and apps to help those who are still 
     struggling, many of the essential government websites on 
     which people depend are essentially unusable on a phone.
       During any natural disaster, we expect the government to be 
     at its best. But for people whose homes have been flooded, 
     burned out, or leveled, trying to navigate government 
     websites on their phones likely feels like a waste of time. 
     For instance, if you need to start looking for a loan to 
     rebuild your home, good luck trying to use your phone to 
     navigate the website for the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development. If you need to reach state or local authorities, 
     the problems get worse. And asking people to hunt down a 
     working desktop computer right now is just unreasonable.
       Although these natural disasters are making this problem 
     more acute, the need for a

[[Page H9143]]

     government-wide upgrade is only growing more important every 
     day. That's because the people who need the most help are 
     often on mobile devices. If you are young, if you have a 
     lower income, or if you are a minority, you are much more 
     likely to use a smartphone as your only entry point to the 
     internet.
       The gap is significant--people earning less than $30,000 
     were 13 times more likely in 2015 to depend on a smartphone 
     than people earning more than $75,000. Yet websites that are 
     intended to strengthen the social safety net like programs 
     providing food assistance are nearly inaccessible on a phone.


A smart government brings services to people when they need them most--
                        not the other way around

       Last year we crossed a significant threshold--Americans are 
     now more likely to access the internet on their mobile device 
     than on their desktop computer. If people rely on mobile 
     devices, our services should be designed for mobile devices, 
     and that's why agencies with consumer-facing websites should 
     be designed with an eye towards mobile first. These mobile 
     sites can make it easier for people who may not have the time 
     to wait in line at a government office.
       In order to bring government up to speed, we have 
     introduced the Connected Government Act, which ensures that 
     all new federal agency websites are designed to work well on 
     mobile devices. These federal sites would serve as an example 
     to the states who need to do more to modernize their own 
     technology. This simple change can have a big impact--from 
     shorter lines and faster service, to providing more help to 
     more people. Mobile friendly websites will ultimately help 
     build a stronger democracy.
       Today, our bill is expected to clear a crucial committee 
     vote in the House. And our colleagues Senators Maggie Hassan 
     (D-NH) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) recently introduced a 
     companion bill in the Senate. With this progress, our path to 
     a smarter government is within reach. Congress should act 
     soon to get this bill passed.
       In the wake of these recent disasters, we need to ensure 
     that anyone looking for assistance from a federal agency can 
     get the information they need through their mobile device. 
     This is the least we can do to help alleviate some of the 
     stress people feel in times of need.

  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the coleader on this 
bill, Congressman Frank Pallone, who has been a strong supporter every 
step of the way, from the bill's drafting through today's floor 
consideration. I also thank my good friend Congressman Mark Meadows, a 
cosponsor of the bill, and I thank Senator Hassan, who introduced the 
Senate companion.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a simple bill that will ensure all government 
websites are accessible to all Americans. It simply requires that any 
new or updated Federal websites be mobile friendly. It is 2017. We need 
Federal websites to work for all Americans.
  In the past 90 days, there were 2.61 billion visits to Federal 
websites. Almost 40 percent of those came from mobile devices. That is 
over 1 billion hits from mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. 
But today, according to a report by the Information Technology and 
Innovation Foundation, 40 percent of government websites don't work on 
smartphones or are mobile unfriendly.
  Alarmingly, many of these sites are critical to serving the American 
people, like the application for Federal student aid and the launch 
point for bidding on Federal Government contracts. For millions of 
Americans without access to reliable broadband or without a desktop 
computer, smartphones are their doorway to the internet.
  A recent Pew report found that younger Americans, low-income 
Americans, rural Americans, and people of color are more likely to rely 
only on smartphones to browse the web.
  Today, 77 percent of Americans own and use smartphones to access the 
internet. For 10 percent of Americans, it is their primary access to 
the internet. That is 32 million Americans. It is unacceptable for 32 
million Americans to have difficulty reaching their government simply 
because we couldn't keep up with technological trends.
  Recently, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria showed just how vital 
smartphones have become, especially during disasters. In the aftermath 
of these storms, millions of Americans relied on their smartphones to 
find assistance. Imagine the frustration of navigating SBA, FEMA, or 
HUD websites, looking for assistance on a 5-inch screen, and the site 
not working because it is only designed for desktop browsing.
  In my time serving as the ranking member of the Information 
Technology Subcommittee, it has been clear that the Federal 
Government's IT systems are not working and have not kept up with even 
the most basic technology trends that are common in the private sector.
  Americans deserve a modern American Government that is accessible and 
responsive to their needs. This bill takes us one step closer to 
realizing this goal.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill 
that the CBO has said will have no significant cost to taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
her great work on this bill, I urge adoption of it, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this year's natural disasters have 
devastated millions of Americans across the country, leaving so many 
with little more than the smartphone in their pocket. But when these 
people look to the government for help, they find that too many of the 
governments' websites aren't made for the computers they have with them 
all the time--their phones. Our bill takes a big step forward in fixing 
that issue and helping these Americans get back on their feet. I want 
to thank Congresswoman Kelly for championing the Connected Government 
Act in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I urge my 
colleagues to support this common sense bill, and I hope we can secure 
passage in the Senate soon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2331, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________