[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68049-68051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28593]



[[Page 68047]]

Vol. 76

Wednesday,

No. 212

November 2, 2011

Part VI





The President





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Memorandum of October 28, 2011--Making It Easier for America's Small 
Businesses and America's Exporters to Access Government Services to 
Help Them Grow and Hire
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 2, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 68049]]

                Memorandum of October 28, 2011

                
Making It Easier for America's Small Businesses 
                and America's Exporters to Access Government Services 
                to Help Them Grow and Hire

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                As I outlined in my State of the Union address to the 
                Congress on January 25, 2011, winning the future in the 
                global economy will require a Government that wisely 
                allocates its scarce resources to maximize efficiency 
                and effectiveness so that it can best support American 
                competitiveness, innovation, and job growth. If we are 
                to thrive in the global economy, and make America the 
                best place on Earth to do business, we need to equip 
                our Government with the tools necessary to support 
                innovation and job growth in the 21st century.

                Accordingly, we must make it easier for businesses to 
                access the full range of Government programs and 
                services without having to waste effort navigating 
                their way through the Federal bureaucracy. At the same 
                time, we must further streamline and coordinate Federal 
                programs to reduce costs and provide customer-oriented 
                service.

                Businesses looking for assistance from the Federal 
                Government should feel like they are interacting with 
                one entity, rather than a number of separate, albeit 
                linked, components. This means adopting a ``No Wrong 
                Door'' policy that uses technology to quickly connect 
                businesses to the services and information relevant to 
                them, regardless of which agency's website, call 
                center, or office they go to for help.

                In addition, a business's interactions with the Federal 
                Government should be individualized and efficient. If 
                the private sector can allow consumers to customize 
                interactions so that they receive only the information 
                they want, in the form they want it, so can the Federal 
                Government.

                Today, I am directing a first wave of changes focused 
                on both small businesses and businesses of all sizes 
                that want to begin or increase exporting (exporters), 
                because those businesses help drive economic growth and 
                have the most to gain from Federal assistance. We plan 
                to use the resulting improvements as a model for future 
                reforms so that, in time, all businesses and all 
                citizens receive the highest level of customer service 
                when they interact with the Federal Government.

                Accordingly, I direct the following:

                    (1) All executive departments and agencies 
                (agencies) shall work with a Steering Committee co-
                chaired by the Federal Chief Information Officer, 
                Assistant to the President and Chief Technology 
                Officer, and Chief Performance Officer (the Co-Chairs) 
                to carry out the directives in this memorandum within 
                90 days of the date of this memorandum, unless a 
                provision of this memorandum expressly states 
                otherwise. The Steering Committee shall include senior 
                policy and technical representatives, appointed by the 
                heads of their respective agencies, from the 
                Departments of State, Defense, Agriculture, Commerce, 
                and Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration 
                (SBA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the 
                Export-Import Bank,

[[Page 68050]]

                and other agencies designated by the Co-Chairs. The Co-
                Chairs and representatives from the Department of 
                Commerce and SBA shall serve as the Executive Committee 
                of the Steering Committee, which shall coordinate the 
                strategy, design, development, launch, and operation of 
                BusinessUSA, a common, open, online platform and web 
                service with dedicated resources that will, as a first 
                step, disseminate core information regarding the 
                Federal Government's programs and services relevant to 
                small businesses and exporters.
                    (2) Agencies shall work with the Steering Committee 
                to develop and launch an introductory version of 
                BusinessUSA. BusinessUSA shall be designed, tested, and 
                built with the active feedback of U.S. businesses and 
                relevant online communities. To the extent appropriate, 
                practicable, and permitted by law, the BusinessUSA 
                platform shall integrate related State and local 
                government services as well as those of private sector 
                partners.
                    (3) Agencies shall make information regarding their 
                small business and export programs and services 
                accessible through BusinessUSA. To accomplish this in a 
                uniform fashion, the Steering Committee shall develop a 
                common set of standards for content available through 
                BusinessUSA, which shall identify the types of programs 
                and services to be included initially on BusinessUSA 
                and a structure for organizing and presenting such 
                information. These standards shall be used by all 
                agencies in the creation, presentation, and delivery of 
                information regarding their programs and services, to 
                the extent practicable and permitted by law.
                    (4) Agencies shall also work with the Steering 
                Committee to develop new content for BusinessUSA that 
                synthesizes information available across agencies to 
                better serve small businesses and exporters. Among 
                other things, agencies shall work together to aggregate 
                on the BusinessUSA platform statistical, demographic, 
                and other raw Government datasets of particular 
                interest to small businesses and exporters, making 
                Government data more easily accessible and spurring 
                innovative uses of the data through business-oriented 
                web or mobile applications.
                    (5) Agencies shall integrate BusinessUSA, including 
                ready access to the BusinessUSA website, into their 
                current websites, call centers, and field offices to 
                ensure that small businesses and exporters have access 
                to the wide range of Government programs and services 
                at each entry point into the Federal Government. During 
                the year following the date of this memorandum, 
                agencies shall work with GSA and the Office of 
                Management and Budget to enhance the centralized call 
                center for responding to public questions about Federal 
                programs and services (1-800-FED-INFO) to add expertise 
                with Government programs and services for small 
                businesses and exporters.
                    (6) (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be 
                construed to impair or otherwise affect:

  (i) authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head 
thereof; or

  (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) BusinessUSA shall be operated by a single hosting agency under the 
Executive Committee's coordination. To the extent permitted by law, 
agencies shall reimburse the hosting agency for the cost of establishing, 
maintaining, and operating BusinessUSA.

(c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 
subject to the availability of appropriations.

(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or 
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, 
its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

[[Page 68051]]

                    (7) The Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget is authorized and directed to publish this 
                memorandum in the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, October 28, 2011.

[FR Doc. 2011-28593
Filed 11-1-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3110-01-P