Sen. Lieberman Plans E-Government Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The federal government, and Congress in particular, have a big interest in how Americans can use the Internet. But new legislation from Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., would make the federal government itself friendlier to its citizens.

The E-Government Act, expected to be introduced on Tuesday, satisfies the calls of many Congress members and industry advocates by establishing a federal chief information officer to lead information technology issues at the federal government level.

The legislation also would form an "Interagency Technology Fund" to provide necessary IT-earmarked cash to federal agencies to develop more Internet-friendly services.

Co-sponsored by Communications Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. -- who both chair the Congressional Internet Caucus -- the legislation also requires the Office of Personnel Management to analyze governmental IT needs and train government employees to meet those needs.

"The U.S. government has been a sometimes unwilling participant in the technological revolution of recent years," Burns said in a statement. "The legislation we are introducing today will change that by creating online services to make government more efficient, accessible and accountable to the citizens it represents."

High-tech civil-liberties group the Center for Democracy and Technology said it supports the legislation, noting that it is "the first bill ever to comprehensively require the federal government to use the Internet to serve citizens."

CDT Senior Policy Analyst Ari Schwartz said in a statement that the legislation would require better privacy policies for personal data offered by Internet users.

Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes