Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., plans to introduce legislation before the end of the session that would create a federal chief information officer post.
At the E-Gov 2000 conference in Washington on Wednesday, Lieberman said he would not expect action on his measure until next year, but it's a step toward more effectively managing the transition of government projects to the Web.
While some agencies are doing better than others, efforts to put government services online are hamstrung by "a loose mix of ideas, projects and alliances without coordination" and with overlapping goals and redundant expenditures, he said.
The senator suggested that a federal funding structure be created to encourage cross-agency projects, and added that the government needed to adopt a sense of urgency on the matter.
Lieberman and Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., have taken part in an online experiment for interactive legislation called the eGovernment Project in an effort to explore how voters would respond to electronic government.
Lieberman said that in the two months since the site was launched, it has been "an unqualified success." Going online makes government officials more accessible and gives citizens an opportunity for input like never before, he said.
While people in the government are fascinated by technology, they "are much less educated" on the pace of technological change, Lieberman said, urging technology industry leaders to educate Congress about the importance of swift action.
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