E-Government Act of 2002 (HR 2458)

The E-Government Act of 2002, enrolled as HR 2458, contains
a variety of specific provisions relevant to information
discovery and interoperability. The thrust of the law is
clearly meant to accelerate the ongoing work that many of
you pioneered, and meshes nicely with recent developments
in standards arenas. Although the U.S. Federal GILS law in
Title 44 Section 3511 is not directly affected, I see many
opportunities to promote common interoperability solutions
along the lines of what we've been pursuing.

Here are some specific highlights, as I read the law:

Section 207 calls for the establishment of an "Interagency
Committee on Government Information". Within two years, the
Committee is to recommend standards for the categorization
of Government information in a way that is searchable
electronically and interoperable across agencies. At the
same time, the Committee is recommend policies and procedures
regarding public access to Government information on the
Internet and other electronic records. Within a year after
Committee recommendations are made, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) and the Archivist of the United States are
to issue Federal policy requiring compliance and laying out
specific schedules for initial implementation.

Section 207 also requires OMB, within two years, to provide
guidance for agency websites in several specific respects.
Agencies are required to determine which Government information
will be accessible to the public on the Internet and by other
means and when such accessibility will occur. The determinations
and schedules are to be posted for public comment on the Internet
as well as being submitted to OMB. In the same two years, OMB
and the agencies are to collaborate on a public domain directory
of public Federal Government websites, including a public domain
taxonomy of subject categories. This directory building effort
is to include input from librarians, information technology
managers, program managers, records managers, and other
interested parties. Also, Sub-section 207(g) requires OMB and
the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish
a government-wide repository that compiles information about
Federally funded research and development.

Section 212 directs OMB, within three years and in consultation
with agencies, the regulated community, public interest
organizations, and the public, to study and report to Congress
on progress toward integrating Federal information systems
across agencies. The study is to address the integration of data
elements used in the electronic collection of information and
the feasibility of software tools for assembling, documenting,
and validating the information. It is also to address the
feasibility of a distributed information system that provides
public access to information integrated across participating
agencies. This data integration study effort is to be informed
by a series of no more than 5 pilot projects.

Section 214 requires a research and implementation strategy
on using information technology to enhance crisis preparedness,
response, and consequence management of natural and manmade
disasters.

Section 216 codifies under law the long-standing and on-going
work of the Federal Geographic Data Committee in facilitating
the development of common protocols for the development,
acquisition, maintenance, distribution, and application of
geographic information.



Eliot Christian echristi@usgs.gov  1-703-648-7245 FAX 1-703-648-7112
US Geological Survey, 802 National Center, Reston VA 20192

Received on Thursday, 28 November 2002 08:56:03 UTC