Statement of

Dr. Fred B. Wood
Senior Associate and Project Director
Telecommunication and Computing Technologies Program



Before the


Subcommittee on Regulation and Government Information
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate



On

Making Government Work:
Electronic Delivery of Federal Services




December 2, 1993













Mr. Chairman and Members:
	Thank you for the opportunity to present key findings from OTA's report Making Government Work: Electronic Delivery of Federal Services.  The report was requested by Senator John Glenn, Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs.  I directed the study, with the assistance of Emilio Gonzalez, Tom Hausken, and Jean Smith of the OTA staff.
ELECTRONIC DELIVERY AT A CROSSROADS
	Electronic delivery of government services is no longer a topic for futurists or a blue-sky projection of an unrealistic vision.  Electronic delivery's time is here.  OTA found, in preparing Making Government Work, that currently available information technologies allow electronic delivery to serve the diverse needs of citizens for government services.  These technologies include: personal computers in homes and offices; multimedia work stations and videoconferencing in community one-stop service centers; neighborhood electronic kiosks; portable computers and wireless communications that provide mobile services; and computer chip or magnetic stripe cards for transactions at stores, banks, and other retail or service locations.
	Information technology--computers, advanced telecommunications, and the like--can help deliver Federal services such as social security benefits, job training, research grants, small business loans, and government publications to millions of Americans.  It can also assist citizens to participate more fully in the governmental process, perhaps in hearings such as this one, and help citizens communicate more easily with government officials.  Information technology can also help streamline the process of developing, issuing, and implementing government regulations.  Electronic delivery can lead not only to improvements in current services, but can help develop innovative ways of organizing government programs and delivery systems.  The largest payoffs could come indirectly through restructuring of Federal programs made possible by the use of information technology and electronic delivery to improve social, economic, educational, and health conditions in the United States.
	We caution, however, that electronic delivery must be designed and implemented to benefit all citizens--not just the affluent and computer literate.  Furthermore, continual congressional attention and oversight coupled with extraordinary, skillful agency execution will be required to ensure that scarce taxpayer dollars used for electronic delivery are wisely spent.
	Timing is key.  Congress can influence and affect the rate, nature, and consequences of the transition to greater use of electronic service delivery. This hearing is an important step in congressional involvement with the issues at hand.  We believe that Making Government Work can assist this committee and Congress as a whole in providing guidance on developing policies to expedite electronic delivery of government services.
IMPROVED DELIVERY BY NO MEANS ASSURED
	The American public wants better services from government at less cost. This is a tough order at a time when demand is growing and budgets are tighter. The administration's "National Performance Review (NPR)" initiative and "National Information Infrastructure (NII)" initiative currently under development place high hopes on information technology to help improve the overall performance of the Federal Government.  We similarly conclude in Making Government Work that computer and telecommunications technologies can play an important role, but we caution that improvements in service delivery are by no means assured.
	Will information technology make it easier for all Americans--rural and urban, young and old, affluent and impoverished--to obtain the government services to which they are entitled?  Or will electronic delivery further widen--rather than narrow--the gap between the information technology "haves" and "have-nots" and simply increase the advantages that educated, technically proficient citizens have over those less so?  Many of the potential social benefits of electronic delivery will be lost if it is not widely accessible, usable, and affordable.
	Will electronic delivery simplify the provision of government services and improve cooperation among Federal agencies and their State and local governmentcounterparts, resulting in less costly and more effective delivery?  Or will electronic delivery further complicate the already confusing, cumbersome, bureaucratic manner in which governments organize and deliver some services? Many of the potential economic benefits of electronic delivery will be lost if the Federal Government fails to capitalize on opportunities for innovation and economies of scale and scope through partnerships among Federal, State, and local agencies and the private sector.
	These challenges are immense.  The administration's NPR and NII initiatives provide vision and general direction, but neither yet offers detailed policy guidance and actions that are needed to speed the transition toward cost-effective and equitable electronic delivery.
A STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS
	OTA identifies, in Making Government Work, seven key strategic elements of successful electronic delivery.  These would, if implemented, constitute the backbone of a governmentwide electronic service delivery initiative, and a shift towards creative, accessible, citizen- or client-centered systems for service delivery.  These elements include:
1. involving local citizens and recipients of Federal services at the grassroots level;
2. developing the community infrastructure of schools, libraries, community centers, and other local agencies that can facilitate electronic delivery through training, education, and implementation;
3. encouraging innovation by Federal agency employees, clients, and others in trying new ways of delivering services electronically;
4. creating directories to agency services (including information services and information about other services);
5. creating alternative futures for electronic delivery by generating new ideas for the use of information technology and matching electronic opportunities with agency missions;
6. strategic partnering between Federal and State/local government agencies; voluntary, not-for-profit, or philanthropic organizations; and commercialcompanies engaged or interested in electronic delivery; and
7. pre-operational testing of electronic delivery systems on a regional or national scale prior to full deployment, including explicit early attention to performance evaluation and policy development.
	To ensure that these strategic elements are fully and effectively implemented, Congress could: a) require that these elements be included in Federal agency plans and budgets for electronic delivery; b) reinforce their importance when reauthorizing the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and through annual oversight, authorizations, and appropriations; and c) work with, and monitor, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop detailed guidance for delivery of government services.  Congress and OMB could mandate specific budget set-asides (a proportion of each agency's information technology budgets) for grassroots involvement, community infrastructure development, innovation, and pre-operational evaluation--activities that otherwise are likely to be underfunded.
GRASSROOTS INVOLVEMENT IS KEY
	The primary goal of electronic delivery is to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of Federal services for the American people.  This goal is not likely to be realized unless service recipients are actively involved at all stages--from planning and pilot testing to implementation and evaluation of electronic delivery.
	OTA site visits conducted for Making Government Work found that citizens are interested--in principle--in better service delivery and receiving at least some services electronically.  But most find it difficult to learn about opportunities to participate and many lack the necessary time, training, and/or equipment.  These barriers can be overcome through sustained outreach, education, and funding.  If "electronic service to the citizens" is to succeed, grassroots citizen involvement should be required for all Federal electronic delivery projects.  A mandatory "grassroots empowerment" set-aside from project or agency budgets may be needed to assure adequate resources.
	The local community infrastructure--e.g., schools, libraries, seniorcenters, town halls, and self-help and information referral groups--can play a highly leveraged role in electronic delivery, especially in rural and small town America, inner cities, and for citizens with special needs.  The local community can help provide leadership and training for its residents, and can assure "points of access" for citizens who do not want or cannot afford in-home delivery.  Community infrastructure development and involvement also should be a required and funded component of all Federal electronic delivery projects.
NEED FOR ELECTRONIC ROAD MAPS
	To have effective access, citizens need to know that services exist and how to obtain them, and be able to make the electronic connections necessary to receive the services on an affordable basis.  	Congress could affirm its intent that the executive branch develop directories or "electronic road maps" to help citizens identify and locate desired services.  A Federal Information Locator System (FILS) was mandated by the PRA 13 years ago, but is far from fully implemented.  Congress could add statutory and report language, when reauthorizing the PRA, that further defines the need for a directory or family of directories to Federal services and information.  Federal directories can be implemented using wide-area search and retrieval technologies, as well as electronic bulletin boards and gateways, that allow individual agency directories to function collectively as a "virtual" governmentwide directory.
	The cost of electronic delivery can be a major barrier to access.  OMB's recently revised Circular A-130 on "Management of Federal Information Resources" prohibits agencies from charging more than the marginal cost of electronic information dissemination, unless explicitly authorized by statute, and permits agency heads to reduce or waive fees if necessary to carry out agency missions or meet the needs of agency clients.  Congress could include this provision in a reauthorized PRA, and make clear that the pricing policy applies to electronic delivery of all Federal services--not just information. 	Congress also could direct OMB to review all agency activities that might be included in an "electronic public access safety net" to assure access for citizens who might otherwise fall through the cracks of electronic delivery.


REINVIGORATING THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUREAUCRACY
	Significant change is needed to jump-start the Federal Information Resources Management (IRM) bureaucracy to move in new directions that emphasize service to the citizen and electronic delivery.  Congress could use amendments to the PRA, or equivalent legislation (e.g., a new "Federal Information Management Act" or "Electronic Service Delivery Act") and accompanying report language, to provide a clear sense of legislative intent by redefining information resources management, planning, and training to emphasize electronic service delivery with an end-user or customer orientation.
	Congress could help refocus the Federal IRM organization by encouraging or requiring the creation of new organizational units on electronic delivery within OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the General Services Administration's (GSA's) Information Resources Management Service, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Computer Systems Laboratory.
UPDATING FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICIES
	The information policymaking process generally has lagged technological advances and new applications by several or more years.  Electronic service delivery provides a framework for balancing the reality of decentralized, dispersed, user-oriented agency automation with the need for some measure of centralized, yet flexible, policy direction and oversight.
	The transition to electronic delivery of many Federal services will require a review, and in many cases the eventual updating, of other Federal information policies, including those already discussed above.  Priority should be placed on updating the Privacy Act, since electronic delivery that involves personal or financial information will increase the risks to personal privacy.  To do this, Congress should consider: a) extending the Act to cover non-Federal systems that participate in electronic delivery of Federal services; and b) establishing an independent Privacy Protection Commission or Board to serve informational, ombudsman, advocacy, investigative, and oversight functions concerning theprivacy aspects of electronic delivery.  (Also see OTA's recent report on Protecting Privacy in Computerized Medical Information.)
	Electronic delivery should provide new opportunities for promoting open government and public access to Federal meetings, records, and archives (while still tightly controlling access to private, proprietary, national security, and other exempted material).  Congress could ask OMB and the National Archives and Records Administration to conduct a detailed review of any statutory changes needed to assure that the Freedom of Information Act, Government in the Sunshine Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act, and Federal Records Act are fully applicable to electronic delivery.  Congress could likewise ask OMB and NIST to conduct a review of any changes needed in the Computer Security Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and related statutes to help assure the security of electronic delivery systems.  (OTA is currently conducting a study on "Security and Privacy in Network Environments" at the request of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.)
USING THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
	The telecommunications infrastructure is critical to the success of electronic service delivery, but the infrastructure will be provided largely by the private sector--not by the government.  The government and the private sector have a synergistic relationship:  greater focus and priority on electronic delivery of Federal (and State/local) services will speed up infrastructure development by the private sector, and vice versa.
	OMB and GSA are conducting studies on the future of FTS2000 (the current contracts for long-distance telecommunications expire in 1998).  Congress could redirect this effort so that OMB and GSA:  1) use more creativity in visualizing the potential future role for telecommunications in electronic delivery, and 2) develop more complete and authoritative information for deciding whether and in what form FTS2000 should be extended.  Congress could direct OMB and GSA to develop a program of agency experiments to conduct more complete and realistic price and service comparisons of electronic delivery using advanced telecommunications.  These experiments could be based on technology, agency,program, service, or geography, or some combination thereof.
	Congress also could revise the concept of universal telephone service to include advanced telecommunications and computer networking needed to support electronic delivery.  Access to computer networks should be part of the modern version of universal telephone service, whether it be Federal agencies delivering services over the Internet family of computer networks via FTS2000 and other commercial carriers, or citizens receiving Federal services over computer networks via their local telephone company or some other common carrier or specialized telecommunications system.
ASSURING COST-EFFECTIVE ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER
	After a decade of testing and pilot projects, electronic benefits transfer (EBT) appears ready to take off as a viable alternative to the current paper-based system for delivering many Federal services.  EBT tests and evaluations, using magnetic stripe or "smart" (computer chip) cards, indicate that recipients, retailers, financial institutions, and local program administrators who have tried EBT prefer it to paper.  EBT is most likely to be cost effective if it can be used for multiple services and programs and is based on a standardized commercial technology and infrastructure.
	Despite these optimistic findings, sufficient information is not available to assure that EBT is cost effective or to make sound technical decisions on nationwide implementation.  The next logical step toward nationwide EBT deployment is a scaled-up, multitechnology, multiple-program, and regionally based EBT feasibility test.  Congress could direct OMB, the Department of the Treasury, and responsible agencies to design and implement a program of scaled-up feasibility tests.  (S.1646, the Food Stamp Fraud Reduction Act of 1993, is intended to provide this direction.)
INCREASING CONGRESSIONAL ELECTRONIC DELIVERY
	In addition to oversight and policy actions, Congress can participate in electronic delivery through its own use of information technology.  Several applications are technically feasible and have been pilot-tested, at least on a small scale.  These include videoconferencing for committee hearings; electronicbulletin boards for hearing and legislative materials, schedules, etc.; and computer conferences for public input and dialogue.
	Congress gradually is building the information infrastructure on Capitol Hill that could support its needs for electronic service delivery.  Ultimately, in addition to scheduling and status information, complete congressional reports and documents also could be made available electronically.  These could include committee reports and hearings, as well as public documents issued by the congressional support agencies.  Taken together, electronic service delivery applications could further open Congress to the people, strengthen the role of Congress as the people's branch of government, and, in the process, set an example for the executive branch and the Nation.
	To underscore this point, electronic copies of the full text of Making Government Work are available by dial-up modem or Internet access to the FedWorld Electronic Bulletin Board operated by the National Technical Information Service (dial up at 703-321-8020 [modem set at N,8,1, ANSI or VT-100] or Internet at fedworld.gov [ip=192.239.92.201]).  Comments on the report itself, or the general topic of electronic delivery, may be directed to OTA over Internet by messaging fwood@ota.gov or the groupmail address of elecdelivery@ota.gov.  OTA also is providing the Report on computer diskette to any other computer network or electronic bulletin board that is interested in disseminating it (e.g., Americans Communicating Electronically via Internet at ota@ace.esusda.gov).
	Thank you for the opportunity to highlight the results of Making Government Work for the Subcommittee.
	I would be happy to answer any questions that you and other Subcommittee members may have.