White House vows to step up progress on e-gov efforts

Two White House Office of Management and Budget officials briefed reporters Wednesday on the status of OMB's e-government initiatives and hinted at future plans, stating that whether or not Congress centrally funds e-government, the initiatives are moving forward.

The press conference featuring OMB Deputy Director Clay Johnson and e-government administrator Karen Evans was called to introduce Evans, most recently the chief information officer at the Energy Department, to the media and field questions on the e-government initiatives. Earlier this month, Evans replaced Mark Forman in OMB's e-government slot.

Evans said OMB plans to finish implementing the e-government initiatives next year and continue improving security and privacy. OMB also will work to educate state and local governments and the public about the new services available to them through the initiatives, she said.

"The federal government continues to make strides in service while saving taxpayers' dollars," she said.

Evans dismissed the idea that the change of senior leadership at this point in the process would affect the initiatives' deployment. "It's always difficult when there's a change, but I think the momentum will pick up," she said, adding that the government's chief information officers "want to accomplish this mission."

Evans added that about 60 percent of federal agencies will be in compliance with rules for eliminating government paperwork by the Oct. 21 deadline. The law requires the agencies to give individuals or organizations that do business with the government the option to transact business electronically. Further implementation of act will become part of the e-government initiative, Evans said, but agencies will have to determine where it will be "practical" to move forward.

Johnson stated that by questioning the idea of a central appropriations fund for e-government, Congress is not calling the initiatives into question but just wants them funded from the federal government's broader $60 billion information technology budget. He said OMB will do that if necessary and already has done so to a limited extent this year.

"If Congress doesn't fund it, then the beat goes on," he said, adding that Congress opposes the idea of a central fund because OMB "hasn't been effective enough in communicating the idea."