    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 17, 1999]
    [Pages 2317-2318]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 2317]]

    Memorandum on Electronic Government
    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
    uniformally 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:
            1.  The Administrator of General Services, in coordination with
                the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, the
                Chief Information Officers' Council, the Government
                Information Technology Services Board, and other appropriate
                agencies shall promote access to Government information
                organized not by agency, but by the type of service or
                information that people may be seeking; the data should be
                identified and organized in a way that makes it easier for
                the public to find the information it seeks.
            2.  The heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies)
                shall, to the maximum extent possible, make available
                online, by December 2000, the forms needed for the top 500
                Government services used by the public. Under the Government
                Paperwork Elimination Act, where appropriate, by October
                2003, transactions with the Federal Government should be
                available online for online processing of services. To
                achieve this goal, the Director of the Office of Management
                and Budget shall oversee agency development of responsible
                strategies to make transactions available online.
            3.  The heads of agencies shall promote the use of electronic
                commerce, where appropriate, for faster, cheaper ordering on
                Federal procurements that will result in savings to the
                taxpayer.
            4.  The heads of agencies shall continue to build good privacy
                practices into their web sites by posting privacy policies
                as directed by the Director of the Office of Management and
                Budget and by adopting and implementing information policies
                to protect children's information on web sites that are
                directed at children.
            5.  The head of each agency shall permit greater access to its
                officials by creating a public electronic mail address
                through which citizens can contact the agency with
                questions, comments, or concerns. The heads of each agency
                shall also provide disability access on Federal web sites.
            6.  The Director of the National Science Foundation, working
                with appropriate Federal agencies, shall conduct a 1-year
                study examining the feasibility of online voting.
            7.  The Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Education,
                Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture, the Commissioner of
                Social Security, and the Director of the Federal Emergency
                Management Agency, working closely with other Federal
                agencies that provide benefit assistance to citizens, shall

    [[Page 2318]]

                make a broad range of benefits and services available
                through private and secure electronic use of the Internet.
            8.  The Administrator of General Services, in coordination with
                the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce,
                the Government Information Technology Services Board, the
                National Partnership for Reinventing Government, and other
                appropriate agencies and organizations, shall assist
                agencies in the development of private, secure, and
                effective communications across agencies and with the
                public, through the use of public key technology. In light
                of this goal, agencies are encouraged to issue, in
                coordination with the General Services Administration, a
                Government-wide minimum of 100,000 digital signature
                certificates by December 2000.
            9.  The heads of agencies shall develop a strategy for upgrading
                their respective agency's capacity for using the Internet to
                become more open, efficient, and responsive, and to more
                effectively carry out the agency's mission. At a minimum,
                this strategy should involve:
                (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