NATIONAL ELECTRONIC OPEN MEETING
MAY 1-14, 1995
DETAILED INFORMATION
AND PRELIMINARY AGENDA
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeks comments from all interested parties on the topic of the respective roles of the Federal government, State, local, and Tribal governments, industry, the public interest and library communities, academia, and the general public in creating an electronic government. This notice is part of the work of the Information Policy Committee of the Information Infrastructure Task Force. To facilitate public input, OMB, along with the Commerce Department's National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the National Performance Review (NPR), and assistance from the both the US Government Printing Office and the National Science Foundation's NCSA and SDSC Computing Centers, will host a nationwide electronic open meeting to discuss a number of questions related to this topic.
The world has entered the age of electronic information. We are present at the creation of a Global Information Infrastructure that will build on what aviation and communications have already done to shrink the world into ever more interdependent communities. Our U.S. National Information Infrastructure (NII) will, in many ways, be the paradigm upon which the global infrastructure is modeled.
The NII is a combination of facilities, services, and people that will allow all Americans to send and receive information when and where they want it at an affordable cost. The NII includes the physical facilities used to transmit, store, process, and display voice, data, and images. It includes software and services, including security services, that will integrate and interconnect these physical components through the efforts of a wide variety of private sector providers. It includes vast quantities of information that exist today in government agencies and the private sector. Finally, it includes all Americans, but especially the people who create information, develop applications, information products and services, construct facilities, and train others to tap the NII's potential.
While much of the infrastructure already exists, information will be so strategic a resource for U.S. competitiveness in the 21st Century that conscious and deliberate governmental action -- in concert with industry and the public -- is needed. Of course, government is in no position, financially, technically, or managerially, to design or build the information highway, or even to re-pave it. So the NII will be designed, built and operated by the private sector. What then is the government's role?
The Federal government should be in step with the private sector in the change from paper to electronic information. The U.S. government is the world's largest creator, collector, user, and disseminator of information. Sound scientific research, the public health and safety, the equitable collection and distribution of tax receipts, and the delivery of benefits and services are a few of the national priorities that depend on Federal information systems. In addition, the unique nature of information in a free society -- Jefferson called it "the currency of democracy" -- give Federal policies special importance.
The government, then, should act as a facilitator and catalyst to the development of the NII. It should help create a legal and policy framework that allows the information highway to develop in a manner consistent with consumer choice, universal service, and security and privacy protections. It should also be a model user -- creating a government that works better and costs less by using technology to improve information dissemination and service delivery.
For the NII to succeed, it must be built upon a partnership of business, labor, academia, the public, and government that is committed to deployment of an advanced, rapid, powerful infrastructure accessible and accountable to all Americans. The Administration has established the Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) to coordinate the Administration's efforts to formulate forward-looking telecommunications and information policy. Its goals are set forth in the Agenda for Action, published on September 15, 1993.
One of the fundamental tenets of the Administration's philosophy is that government information is a public asset and a valuable national resource. The government should make information available to the public on timely and equitable terms. It is also necessary to foster the existing diversity of information sources, in which the private sector, along with State and local governments, libraries, and other entities, are significant partners. On the one hand, this means that the government should not expend public resources filling needs which have already been met by others in the public or private sector. On the other, it means that the government should actively disseminate its information at cost and not attempt to exert copyright-like controls or other restrictive practices on government information. These guiding principles are set forth in OMB Circular A-130, most recently republished in the Federal Register on July 25, 1994.
Toward those goals, the recent revisions to the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130 have increasingly focused on the exchange of information with the public and the promotion of agency investments in technologies that improve service delivery to the public. On December 7, 1994, OMB Bulletin 95-01 unveiled the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) -- the "virtual card catalog" called for in the Agenda for Action. This first phase of GILS is a step toward improving the infrastructure for information and service delivery to the public.
Even before GILS, a number of Federal agencies, such as the Department of Commerce's "NTIS FedWorld" and the Government Printing Office's "GPO Access" systems, were using dial-up electronic bulletin boards and connections to the Internet. The GILS initiative then is an effort to stimulate the expanded use of electronic access and dissemination practices in a more coordinated manner.
Beyond GILS, questions arise as to other appropriate courses of action for the near and far term. Generally, what are the respective roles of the Federal government, State and local governments, industry, the public interest and library communities, and academia in creating an electronic government? More specifically, how can the delivery of services to the public be enhanced by electronic means? What services should they be, and how can they be delivered cost effectively and within overall budgetary constraints? What methods are best suited to further disseminate government information to the public, collect information from the public, and reduce burden while maximizing efficiency? In what ways can the interaction between agencies of the Federal government, or between agencies at the Federal, state and local levels be improved? How can we best encourage partnerships among governmental entities at all levels with private sector entities to ensure a diversity of information sources, providers and facilitators? Finally, what are the priorities? These topics are elucidated further below for discussion in the electronic open meeting.
Five relevant topic areas have been identified:
The following sections provide additional information and issues for discussion. Participants will provide us with comments, questions, and suggestions to particular issues or problems.
SERVICES: From Emergency Help and Health Care to Business Licenses
Governments provide a range of services from disaster relief and public safety to public education. Already, information technology is being used to help deliver these services. Fishing licenses are being issued from electronic terminals and reservations for a campground in a National Park can be made on- line. Governments at all levels are creating electronic systems like California's "Info/California" kiosk based service delivery that, so far, includes twelve State agencies, two county governments and the US Internal Revenue Service. The US Postal Service has been a leader in kiosk-based service delivery and continues to expand its use of kiosks.
In the public safety arena, the FBI's National Crime Information Center has helped State and local police catch fugitives from justice no matter where they attempt to hide. And each year the American people and governments at all levels must cope with natural disasters -- tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. Property is destroyed and, most tragically, lives are lost. In times like these how can governments best deliver the services that are needed? How can information technology assist governments and the public in these times of need?
Questions related to services: As electronic delivery systems evolve, what government services should they provide and where should they be located -- in libraries, schools, shopping centers, community centers? When are kiosks a good idea? How should these services be paid for or funded? What types of services would be best provided by using information technology?
BENEFITS: From Social Security and Food Stamps to Small Business Loans
Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Aid to Dependent Children, and care to disabled veterans are some of the major Federal benefits programs. Can governments deliver these benefits more quickly and efficiently while maintaining the accountability and security of the programs and the dignity of the recipients?
Each year some $500 billion in cash payments and food assistance are provided to needy Americans. Most of these entitlements are delivered by checks or vouchers -- paper and postage -- while some are directly deposited electronically into bank accounts -- no paper, no postage. But, many recipients of this form of assistance do not have bank accounts. In these instances, how can we take advantage of emerging technologies, avoid paper and postage and thus save time and money? An answer may be electronic transfer of benefits to a credit card-like benefits card. This is being done in several states right now.
Systems using automated teller machines and retail point-of- sale terminals (scanners already installed in many grocery stores) are undergoing testing in six states (Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) and are planned in thirty-one more. This year Texas goes on-line with the nation's largest electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system. Elsewhere, eight other southern states are joining forces to create the first regional system and every month since 1993, Maryland's "Independence Card" program has delivered some $57 million in food stamps, welfare and child-support benefits to 170,000 households statewide. No paper, no postage, and no lost or stolen checks.
Of course, entitlement programs are not the only types of government benefits. Also included are small business loans and grants for educational projects and agricultural research. For example, notices of National Science Foundation grants are available on-line. They may be downloaded and printed by the applicant at his or her ease. When an application is completed, it may be submitted to the National Science Foundation by electronic mail. The whole process has been made more efficient and user-friendly which ends up saving the tax payers' money.
Questions regarding benefits: What do people think about the pilot EBT projects in Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania? What have people's experiences been with the Maryland EBT program? How can governments continue to improve the delivery of other benefits? Without judging the merits of an individual benefits program, what do Americans expect of their governments as technologies evolve? Which enabling technologies should we pursue? Are added safeguards needed to protect from fraud and abuse or will electronic transfer make controls easier?
INFORMATION: From Declassified Secrets and Travel Aids to Satellite Weather Maps
Government agencies at all levels collect, maintain and disseminate an incredible array of information. It ranges from routine data relating to consumer products to vital weather information. It includes layers of regulations that apply to small businesses, major corporations or even government agencies themselves. We know the information is out there, but how do we find it? Until recently, our only option was to write or call the agency that had the information. Of course, first we had to figure out which agency that was. And then we waited.
All of that is changing. In December 1994, the Federal Government Information Locator Service (GILS) was launched. As it evolves, more and more Federal data will be at our fingertips. This locator service is similar to the card catalog at the local library, only it is electronic and on-line. GILS allows one to search on-line using a specific set of key-words of interest to locate appropriate subject matter. For example, suppose one had an interest in a major construction project and its effect on wildlife habitat. Using GILS, one could locate the various environmental impact statements. In addition, one might also locate pertinent satellite photographs.
Even declassified secrets are available electronically on the Department of Energy's OpenNet service. More agencies will follow. The National Archives and Records Administration is developing a government-wide declassification database.
One information source which is quite useful when planning to plant or harvest crops, or when planning a day at the beach, is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) national weather forecasts. These forecasts are available for any city in the United States which has a NOAA weather station. At last count, there were over 150 city forecasts available from NOAA's on-line computers.
For businesses, the Department of Commerce provides a bulletin board which contains timely economic information. For companies involved in export activities with Mexico and Canada, such items as export and import levels for particular product categories, such as paper products, from these two countries are easily available.
For the academic community, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census provides a bulletin board containing detailed demographic information about our country's citizens. For the medical community, the National Institutes of Health provide a bibliography of medical and scientific articles which allow physicians and scientists to remain up-to-date with the latest advances in medicine.
Questions regarding information dissemination: What level of effort should governments devote to electronic dissemination of government information? Are there benefits to the public at large or only to relatively sophisticated professional researchers, environmentalists, historians, or scientists? Should the taxpayers foot the bill for information access or should the direct users pay some of the cost? Where should access be available--at libraries, schools, community centers, on home computers? Which enabling technologies should be pursued?
PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: Ensuring Everyone's Chance to be Heard in a Democracy
What if everyone in the United States were to have instant electronic access to their elected, appointed and career government officials? Interested parties could participate in the drafting of regulations and engage directly in debate on government action. While several million Americans have electronic mail capability, with a population of more than 250 million, such access is still relatively limited. More and more agencies are advertising that they are now "on-line" and are soliciting citizens to contact them at their electronic mail address. It is also the case that more and more of our elected officials are establishing e-mail addresses or Web sites.
There is little dispute that using information technology to support government rulemaking can reduce costs for both agencies and the public. And, as a practical matter, electronic rulemaking is more efficient and can possibly reach a greater number of interested parties than by merely publishing in the Federal Register, corresponding by mail, talking by telephone and traveling to hearings and meetings. This same technology also enables interested parties to interact with other interested parties, consider and devise new and better ways of doing things, all prior to or without governments' involvement. For example, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication and Information Administration recently used electronic rulemaking to gather responses to a report on reallocating the Federal radio spectrum. The report was placed on-line and was made available through an electronic bulletin board system and via the Internet by Telnet. Sixty organizations responded to the report. These sixty responses were then placed on-line for everyone to see and discuss.
A related effort is making available to the public the rules and regulations they are expected to follow. Also relevant are legislative materials and supporting documents, such as Congressional committee reports. The ultimate issue is how we can make it possible, more practical, and more attractive for Americans to participate in government at all levels.
Questions regarding participatory democracy. As more of us utilize information technology to participate in governmental processes will the volume become overwhelming? How do we balance the level of involvement with expectations and governments' ability to deliver? Is there a broad interest from the public to participate, or would tax dollars be better spent elsewhere? What are the best strategies for seeing that citizens have access to the rules, regulations and related information needed to comply with government requirements?
TECHNOLOGY: How the Information Infrastructure of Electronic Government Will Work
We are in an era of technological upheaval--the information age. The advances in information technologies of all types have caused businesses to rethink the way they operate and governments to reinvent the way they do business. The future look of governments is what this electronic meeting is all about. How will governments work, individually and together, for Americans.
In the other topical discussion areas, we are talking about what electronic governments will do and generally how they will do it. Here, it is more what they will do it with--the technological tools to accomplish the tasks of governing.
The Information Infrastructure Task Force, a Federal government body, along with the Information Infrastructure Advisory Council, made up of representatives of State and local governments, industry, and academia, are also looking at the face of future governments. They are looking at issues such as the need for telecommunications reform, security matters, privacy, reliability and vulnerability, intellectual property rights, health issues and the technologies themselves.
Interoperability, the ability to communicate with one another, is a critical goal for future governments. Federal, State, Tribal and local agencies must be able to interact instantly and effectively.
Questions regarding the technology of electronic government: What will be the role of the Internet or its successors? What criteria should be used for selecting one platform over another? Or, should a portfolio of platforms be the goal? Does interoperability of governmental systems cause concerns? What if some government agencies systems aren't interoperable or they can't afford a system at all? Will their citizen customers suffer as a result? Will the information they use be as accurate and timely as necessary? What about reliability? We know it is essential, but won't technological vulnerabilities still exist? Will governments become so dependent on the use of advanced technologies that they will be unable to function if the system fails during an emergency? Are there alternatives?
PUBLIC ACCESS SITES A primary goal of the meeting is to enable as many Americans as possible to participate. This includes people who do not have a computer with a modem, or access to the Internet. In order to permit their participation, a number of "Public Access Sites" have been established. To either locate your nearest Public Access Site, or to order a list of all Public Access Sites, call (800) 881-6842.
Public, private, and commercial organizations that have a computer system available for public use may register to become a Public Access Site. Registration of Public Access Sites will end April 30, 1995. Public Access Sites must meet the following criteria:
* Willingness and ability to make computer facilities available, free-of-charge, to the general public on a full-or part-time basis throughout the two-week meeting, and willingness and ability to provide logistical and technical support to the public.
* Ability to access Internet e-mail, newsgroups, or the World Wide Web. Public Access Sites are requested not to use Telnet to access the FedWorld bulletin board. The number of Telnet access ports at FedWorld is limited, FedWorld prefers to reserve dial-in and Telnet capacity for individuals who must use the FedWorld BBS as their only means of participating.
* Willingness and ability to publicize your institution's participation as a Public Access Site to the local media and community, and answer local public and press questions about participation.
* Willingness to be listed in a national directory of Public Access Sites that will be made available to the public and press, before and during the meeting.
If your institution can serve as a Public Access Site, please:
Point your World Wide Web browser to:
http://meeting.fedworld.gov
Select Public Access Site registration, and complete the Public Access Site registration form;
Or, send a blank e-mail message, subject and text of message are ignored, to:
pas-info@meeting.fedworld.gov
In response to your e-mail, you will receive an automated response detailing how to register as a Public Access Site. If you do not presently have e-mail, newsgroup, or World Wide Web capability but plan on having such capability by the time of the meeting, you may register as a Public Access Site or receive general end user information by calling the GPO Access User Support Team at (202) 512-1530.
ACCESSING THE MEETING
It is possible to participate in the electronic open meeting in four ways depending upon desired level of interaction -- World Wide Web access, subscription to a newsgroup, subscription to a listserv, or dial-in access.
World Wide Web Access -- Using a World Wide Web browser offers the greatest level of interaction for participating in the electronic open meeting. Point the browser to:
http://meeting.fedworld.gov
The participant will arrive at a user friendly interface from where one can search the different newsgroup mailing list responses and reply (either anonymously or not) as one deems appropriate. The participant will also be able to view background documents on-line, and complete a voluntary participant survey.
Subscribing to a USENET newsgroup -- Subscribing to a USENET newsgroup is similar to joining a mailing list. The difference is that to subscribe to a USENET newsgroup, one needs to have a newsreader configured for his or her own computer. Remember, you will need to ensure that your News provider carries the appropriate alt.gov.meeting Newsgroups. Many News providers do no carry the alt. Newsgroups. Please ensure that your provider has the Newsgroups available. You should notify your News provider of your interest in accessing the Newsgroups immediately.
If you are familiar with a newsreader on your system, you will be able to participate in the newsgroups like any other regular newsgroup. The newsgroups have the following names:
alt.gov.meeting.services alt.gov.meeting.benefits alt.gov.meeting.infoaccs alt.gov.meeting.partdemo alt.gov.meeting.techgoal
Each of the newsgroups corresponds with one of the five subject areas, described in detail above.
Subscribing to a Mailing List -- Subscribing to a mailing list allows more interactive participation in the meeting. When one subscribes to a mailing list, one receives all the mail messages which everyone posts to the mailing list. It is much like putting a note on a bulletin board. However, instead of having to go to the bulletin board to look for new messages, the bulletin board comes to you in the form of electronic mail. To subscribe to the National Electronic Open Meeting mailing list, send an e-mail to:
join@meeting.fedworld.gov
The text of the e-mail message should be:
subscribe topic your_name
where the first word of the message must be the word "subscribe," the second word of the message must be the topic acronym, and the last two words of the message must be your name. The topic acronyms are:
services benefits infoaccs partdemo techgoal
Services and benefits are obvious acronyms. "Infoaccs" refers to the "information" topic. "Partdemo" refers to the "participatory democracy" topic. "Techgoal" refers to the "technology" topic.
For example, to subscribe to the "benefits" topic, an individual would send the message:
subscribe benefits Joe Smith
to
join@meeting.fedworld.gov
Individuals who subscribe to a mailing list topic will receive (via e-mail) a welcome message with information about the topic and will also automatically receive (via e-mail) all comments posted to that topic. To submit a comment on a particular topic, send an e-mail message containing the comment to:
topic@meeting.fedworld.gov
where the "topic" is one of the topic acronyms detailed above. For example to submit a comment to the technology topic, send an e-mail message containg that comment to:
techgoal@meeting.fedworld.gov
It is expected that each topic will generate a large number of comments. Individuals using the mailing lists to participate in the conference should expect to receive a very large number of e- mail messages.
Dialing-In to FedWorld -- Individuals wishing to use the FedWorld Bulletin Board will need a computer, a modem, and a communications program. The bulletin board can by accessed by calling 1-703-321-3339. A 1-800 number will be publicized prior to the start of the meeting for those making a long distance phone call. The communication parameters are no parity, eight data bits, and one stop bit, commonly referred to as N-8-1 or 8- N-1. The FedWorld Bulletin Board will allow full participation in the meeting and will contain all the instructions necessary to participate in the open meeting.
Accessing Background Materials On-line -- Any user who has access to a file transfer program, such as FTP or Fetch, may access the document archive from: meeting.fedworld.gov or may view the relevant documents by pointing a Web browser to the open meeting homepage at http://meeting.fedworld.gov. The homepage may be accessed using any world wide web browser such as Mosaic, Netscape, etc.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS CONTACT: Lew Oleinick, Information Policy and Technology Branch, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10236, New Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20503. Telephone: (202) 395-4638. E-mail: OLEINICK_L@A1.EOP.GOV.
RELEVANT INFORMATION RESOURCES
The following documents relevant to the topics to be discussed in the electronic open meeting are available electronically via anonymous FTP at: meeting.fedworld.gov The description of each document is followed by its file designation.
"Public Information in the National Information Infrastructure," Report to the Regulatory Information Service Center, General Services Administration, and to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Henry R. Perritt, Jr., Villanova University Law School, September, 1994. PERRITT1.TXT
"The Electronic Agency and The Traditional Paradigms of Administrative Law," Henry R. Perritt, Jr., Administrative Law Review, Vol. 44, pp. 79-105, Winter 1992. PERRITT2.TXT
"Agenda for Access: Public Access to Federal Information for Sustainability through the Information Superhighway," The Bauman Foundation, Washington, DC, January 1995. BAUMAN.TXT
"Information Superhighway: Issues Affecting Development," US General Accounting Office, Report to the Congress, September, 1994, Wash., DC, GAO/RCED-94-285 GAO94285.TXT
"Information Superhighway: An Overview of Technology Challenges," US General Accounting Office, Report to the Congress, January, 1995, Wash., DC, GAO/AIMD-95-23 GAO9523.TXT
"Executive Guide: Improving Mission Performance Through Strategic Information Management and Technology -- Best Practices," US General Accounting Office, Comptroller General of the United States, May, 1994, Wash., DC, GAO/AIMD-94-115 BESTPRAC.HTM (only by HTML viewer)
"Making Government Work: Electronic Delivery of Federal Services," US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, September, 1993, Wash., DC, OTA-TCT-578 GOVWORK.TXT
"Reengineering Through Information Technology: Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less," National Performance Review, Accompanying Report of the National Performance Review, Office of Vice President, September, 1993, Wash., DC, REENGIN.TXT
"Management of Federal Information Resources, Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130," 59 Federal Register 37906, 25 July 1994. OMB_A130.TXT
"National Information Infrastructure; Draft Principles for Providing and Using Personal Information and Commentary; Notice," 60 Federal Register 4362, 20 January 1995. PRIVPRIN.TXT
"The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action," Information Infrastructure Task Force, 15 September 1993. AGENDA.TXT
"The Information Infrastructure: Reaching Society's Goals," Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, US Department of Commerce, Wash., DC, September, 1994. GOALS.TXT
"Protecting Privacy in Computerized Medical Information," US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, September, 1993, Wash., DC, OTA-TCT-576 MEDPRIV.TXT
"Putting the Information Infrastructure to Work," Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, US Department of Commerce, Wash., DC, May, 1994. PUT2WORK.TXT
"Breaking the Barriers to the National Information Infrastructure," A Conference Report by the Council on Competitiveness, Wash., DC, December, 1994. BARRIERS.TXT
CONCLUSION
After the public meeting and receipt of comments, we will analyze the results and prepare a report. The report will summarize not only the substantive comments received, but will evaluate the success of the meeting in terms of both the level of participation experienced and the experience with the technologies utilized. Notice of availability of the report will be published on-line and in the Federal Register.
We hope that the lessons learned from this meeting will be extremely useful to future developers of nation-wide electronic open meetings. With the understanding that information technology has fundamentally altered the ways by which governments interact with the public, we acknowledge this meeting not only as an end in itself, but also as a basis for a new beginning to government.