TITLE 44 - US CODE - CHAPTER 36 - MANAGEMENT AND PROMOTION OF ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT SERVICES

44 USC 3601 - Definitions

In this chapter, the definitions under section 3502 shall apply, and the term

(1) Administrator means the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government established under section 3602;

(2) Council means the Chief Information Officers Council established under section 3603;

(3) electronic Government means the use by the Government of web-based Internet applications and other information technologies, combined with processes that implement these technologies, to

(A) enhance the access to and delivery of Government information and services to the public, other agencies, and other Government entities; or

(B) bring about improvements in Government operations that may include effectiveness, efficiency, service quality, or transformation;

(4) enterprise architecture

(A) means

(i) a strategic information asset base, which defines the mission;

(ii) the information necessary to perform the mission;

(iii) the technologies necessary to perform the mission; and

(iv) the transitional processes for implementing new technologies in response to changing mission needs; and

(B) includes

(i) a baseline architecture;

(ii) a target architecture; and

(iii) a sequencing plan;

(5) Fund means the E-Government Fund established under section 3604;

(6) interoperability means the ability of different operating and software systems, applications, and services to communicate and exchange data in an accurate, effective, and consistent manner;

(7) integrated service delivery means the provision of Internet-based Federal Government information or services integrated according to function or topic rather than separated according to the boundaries of agency jurisdiction; and

(8) tribal government means

(A) the governing body of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community located in the continental United States (excluding the State of Alaska) that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians, and

(B) any Alaska Native regional or village corporation established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

44 USC 3602 - Office of Electronic Government

(a) There is established in the Office of Management and Budget an Office of Electronic Government.

(b) There shall be at the head of the Office an Administrator who shall be appointed by the President.

(1) all functions under this chapter;

(2) all of the functions assigned to the Director under title II of the E-Government Act of 2002; and

(3) other electronic government initiatives, consistent with other statutes.

(d) The Administrator shall assist the Director and the Deputy Director for Management and work with the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in setting strategic direction for implementing electronic Government, under relevant statutes, including

(1) chapter 35;

(2) subtitle III of title 40, United States Code;

(3) section 552a of title 5 (commonly referred to as the Privacy Act);

(4) the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (44 U.S.C. 3504 note ); and

(5) the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002.

(e) The Administrator shall work with the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and with other offices within the Office of Management and Budget to oversee implementation of electronic Government under this chapter, chapter 35, the E-Government Act of 2002, and other relevant statutes, in a manner consistent with law, relating to

(1) capital planning and investment control for information technology;

(2) the development of enterprise architectures;

(3) information security;

(4) privacy;

(5) access to, dissemination of, and preservation of Government information;

(6) accessibility of information technology for persons with disabilities; and

(7) other areas of electronic Government.

(f) Subject to requirements of this chapter, the Administrator shall assist the Director by performing electronic Government functions as follows:

(1) Advise the Director on the resources required to develop and effectively administer electronic Government initiatives.

(2) Recommend to the Director changes relating to Governmentwide strategies and priorities for electronic Government.

(3) Provide overall leadership and direction to the executive branch on electronic Government.

(4) Promote innovative uses of information technology by agencies, particularly initiatives involving multiagency collaboration, through support of pilot projects, research, experimentation, and the use of innovative technologies.

(5) Oversee the distribution of funds from, and ensure appropriate administration and coordination of, the E-Government Fund established under section 3604.

(6) Coordinate with the Administrator of General Services regarding programs undertaken by the General Services Administration to promote electronic government and the efficient use of information technologies by agencies.

(7) Lead the activities of the Chief Information Officers Council established under section 3603 on behalf of the Deputy Director for Management, who shall chair the council.

(8) Assist the Director in establishing policies which shall set the framework for information technology standards for the Federal Government developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and promulgated by the Secretary of Commerce under section 11331 of title 40, taking into account, if appropriate, recommendations of the Chief Information Officers Council, experts, and interested parties from the private and nonprofit">nonprofit sectors and State, local, and tribal governments, and maximizing the use of commercial standards as appropriate, including the following:

(A) Standards and guidelines for interconnectivity and interoperability as described under section 3504.

(B) Consistent with the process under section 207(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002, standards and guidelines for categorizing Federal Government electronic information to enable efficient use of technologies, such as through the use of extensible markup language.

(9) Sponsor ongoing dialogue that

(A) shall be conducted among Federal, State, local, and tribal government leaders on electronic Government in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as leaders in the private and nonprofit">nonprofit sectors, to encourage collaboration and enhance understanding of best practices and innovative approaches in acquiring, using, and managing information resources;

(B) is intended to improve the performance of governments in collaborating on the use of information technology to improve the delivery of Government information and services; and

(i) development of innovative models

(I) for electronic Government management and Government information technology contracts; and

(II) that may be developed through focused discussions or using separately sponsored research;

(ii) identification of opportunities for public-private collaboration in using Internet-based technology to increase the efficiency of Government-to-business transactions;

(iii) identification of mechanisms for providing incentives to program managers and other Government employees to develop and implement innovative uses of information technologies; and

(iv) identification of opportunities for public, private, and intergovernmental collaboration in addressing the disparities in access to the Internet and information technology.

(10) Sponsor activities to engage the general public in the development and implementation of policies and programs, particularly activities aimed at fulfilling the goal of using the most effective citizen-centered strategies and those activities which engage multiple agencies providing similar or related information and services.

(11) Oversee the work of the General Services Administration and other agencies in developing the integrated Internet-based system under section 204 of the E-Government Act of 2002.

(12) Coordinate with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to ensure effective implementation of electronic procurement initiatives.

(13) Assist Federal agencies, including the General Services Administration, the Department of Justice, and the United States Access Board in

(A) implementing accessibility standards under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and

(B) ensuring compliance with those standards through the budget review process and other means.

(14) Oversee the development of enterprise architectures within and across agencies.

(15) Assist the Director and the Deputy Director for Management in overseeing agency efforts to ensure that electronic Government activities incorporate adequate, risk-based, and cost-effective security compatible with business processes.

(16) Administer the Office of Electronic Government established under this section.

(17) Assist the Director in preparing the E-Government report established under section 3606.

(g) The Director shall ensure that the Office of Management and Budget, including the Office of Electronic Government, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and other relevant offices, have adequate staff and resources to properly fulfill all functions under the E-Government Act of 2002.

44 USC 3603 - Chief Information Officers Council

(a) There is established in the executive branch a Chief Information Officers Council.

(b) The members of the Council shall be as follows:

(1) The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall act as chairperson of the Council.

(2) The Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government.

(3) The Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

(4) The chief information officer of each agency described under section 901 (b) of title 31.

(5) The chief information officer of the Central Intelligence Agency.

(6) The chief information officer of the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, if chief information officers have been designated for such departments under section 3506 (a)(2)(B).

(7) Any other officer or employee of the United States designated by the chairperson.

(c)

(1) The Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government shall lead the activities of the Council on behalf of the Deputy Director for Management.

(2)

(A) The Vice Chairman of the Council shall be selected by the Council from among its members.

(B) The Vice Chairman shall serve a 1-year term, and may serve multiple terms.

(3) The Administrator of General Services shall provide administrative and other support for the Council.

(d) The Council is designated the principal interagency forum for improving agency practices related to the design, acquisition, development, modernization, use, operation, sharing, and performance of Federal Government information resources.

(e) In performing its duties, the Council shall consult regularly with representatives of State, local, and tribal governments.

(f) The Council shall perform functions that include the following:

(1) Develop recommendations for the Director on Government information resources management policies and requirements.

(2) Share experiences, ideas, best practices, and innovative approaches related to information resources management.

(3) Assist the Administrator in the identification, development, and coordination of multiagency projects and other innovative initiatives to improve Government performance through the use of information technology.

(4) Promote the development and use of common performance measures for agency information resources management under this chapter and title II of the E-Government Act of 2002.

(5) Work as appropriate with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Administrator to develop recommendations on information technology standards developed under section 20 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3) and promulgated under section 11331 of title 40, and maximize the use of commercial standards as appropriate, including the following:

(A) Standards and guidelines for interconnectivity and interoperability as described under section 3504.

(6) Work with the Office of Personnel Management to assess and address the hiring, training, classification, and professional development needs of the Government related to information resources management.

(7) Work with the Archivist of the United States to assess how the Federal Records Act can be addressed effectively by Federal information resources management activities.

44 USC 3604 - E-Government Fund

(a)

(1) There is established in the Treasury of the United States the E-Government Fund.

(2) The Fund shall be administered by the Administrator of the General Services Administration to support projects approved by the Director, assisted by the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, that enable the Federal Government to expand its ability, through the development and implementation of innovative uses of the Internet or other electronic methods, to conduct activities electronically.

(3) Projects under this subsection may include efforts to

(A) make Federal Government information and services more readily available to members of the public (including individuals, businesses, grantees, and State and local governments);

(B) make it easier for the public to apply for benefits, receive services, pursue business opportunities, submit information, and otherwise conduct transactions with the Federal Government; and

(C) enable Federal agencies to take advantage of information technology in sharing information and conducting transactions with each other and with State and local governments.

(b)

(1) The Administrator shall

(A) establish procedures for accepting and reviewing proposals for funding;

(B) consult with interagency councils, including the Chief Information Officers Council, the Chief Financial Officers Council, and other interagency management councils, in establishing procedures and reviewing proposals; and

(C) assist the Director in coordinating resources that agencies receive from the Fund with other resources available to agencies for similar purposes.

(2) When reviewing proposals and managing the Fund, the Administrator shall observe and incorporate the following procedures:

(A) A project requiring substantial involvement or funding from an agency shall be approved by a senior official with agencywide authority on behalf of the head of the agency, who shall report directly to the head of the agency.

(B) Projects shall adhere to fundamental capital planning and investment control processes.

(C) Agencies shall identify in their proposals resource commitments from the agencies involved and how these resources would be coordinated with support from the Fund, and include plans for potential continuation of projects after all funds made available from the Fund are expended.

(D) After considering the recommendations of the interagency councils, the Director, assisted by the Administrator, shall have final authority to determine which of the candidate projects shall be funded from the Fund.

(E) Agencies shall assess the results of funded projects.

(1) shall consider criteria that include whether a proposal

(A) identifies the group to be served, including citizens, businesses, the Federal Government, or other governments;

(B) indicates what service or information the project will provide that meets needs of groups identified under subparagraph (A);

(D) is interagency in scope, including projects implemented by a primary or single agency that

(i) could confer benefits on multiple agencies; and

(ii) have the support of other agencies; and

(E) has performance objectives that tie to agency missions and strategic goals, and interim results that relate to the objectives; and

(2) may also rank proposals based on criteria that include whether a proposal

(A) has Governmentwide application or implications;

(B) has demonstrated support by the public to be served;

(D) identifies resource commitments from nongovernmental sectors;

(E) identifies resource commitments from the agencies involved;

(F) uses web-based technologies to achieve objectives;

(G) identifies records management and records access strategies;

(H) supports more effective citizen participation in and interaction with agency activities that further progress toward a more citizen-centered Government;

(I) directly delivers Government information and services to the public or provides the infrastructure for delivery;

(J) supports integrated service delivery;

(K) describes how business processes across agencies will reflect appropriate transformation simultaneous to technology implementation; and

(L) is new or innovative and does not supplant existing funding streams within agencies.

(d) The Fund may be used to fund the integrated Internet-based system under section 204 of the E-Government Act of 2002.

(e) None of the funds provided from the Fund may be transferred to any agency until 15 days after the Administrator of the General Services Administration has submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives, and the appropriate authorizing committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, a notification and description of how the funds are to be allocated and how the expenditure will further the purposes of this chapter.

(f)

(1) The Director shall report annually to Congress on the operation of the Fund, through the report established under section 3606.

(2) The report under paragraph (1) shall describe

(A) all projects which the Director has approved for funding from the Fund; and

(B) the results that have been achieved to date for these funded projects.

(g)

(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund

(A) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

(D) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(E) such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2007.

(2) Funds appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.

44 USC 3605 - Program to encourage innovative solutions to enhance electronic Government services and processes

(a) Establishment of Program.—
The Administrator shall establish and promote a Governmentwide program to encourage contractor innovation and excellence in facilitating the development and enhancement of electronic Government services and processes.

(b) Issuance of Announcements Seeking Innovative Solutions.—
Under the program, the Administrator, in consultation with the Council and the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, shall issue announcements seeking unique and innovative solutions to facilitate the development and enhancement of electronic Government services and processes.

(1) The Administrator, in consultation with the Council and the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, shall convene a multiagency technical assistance team to assist in screening proposals submitted to the Administrator to provide unique and innovative solutions to facilitate the development and enhancement of electronic Government services and processes. The team shall be composed of employees of the agencies represented on the Council who have expertise in scientific and technical disciplines that would facilitate the assessment of the feasibility of the proposals.

(2) The technical assistance team shall

(A) assess the feasibility, scientific and technical merits, and estimated cost of each proposal; and

(B) submit each proposal, and the assessment of the proposal, to the Administrator.

(3) The technical assistance team shall not consider or evaluate proposals submitted in response to a solicitation for offers for a pending procurement or for a specific agency requirement.

(4) After receiving proposals and assessments from the technical assistance team, the Administrator shall consider recommending appropriate proposals for funding under the E-Government Fund established under section 3604 or, if appropriate, forward the proposal and the assessment of it to the executive agency whose mission most coincides with the subject matter of the proposal.

44 USC 3606 - E-Government report

(a) Not later than March 1 of each year, the Director shall submit an E-Government status report to the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives.

(b) The report under subsection (a) shall contain

(1) a summary of the information reported by agencies under section 202(f) of the E-Government Act of 2002;

(2) the information required to be reported by section 3604 (f); and

(3) a description of compliance by the Federal Government with other goals and provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002.