Move to Open Government Electronically

Move to Open Government Electronically. – “The federal government, with its tangle of agencies and regulations, has never played particularly well on the Internet, where fast-flying facts prevail.”

“As things now stand, conducting a search of federal databases on topics like toxic waste or the safety of frozen pizzas can be a frustratingly complex task. Toxic waste is handled by a half-dozen different agencies, all of which run their own Web sites and adhere to different policies about posting reports. And frozen pizzas are inspected by two different agencies — the Food and Drug Administration for cheese pizzas and the Department of Agriculture if the pies have meat toppings — each with its own approach to record keeping.”

“Until now, separate agencies have had neither motive nor means to collaborate on making their information and services easier to use online.”

“In the next year, though, a new Office of Electronic Government is to start removing information barriers between federal agencies to give the public easier online access to data and services. That is the mandate of the E-Government Act, which President Bush signed last week. (from The New York Times) [Library Stuff]

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