AAP on the Hill / Issues: Internet & Technology

July 08, 2002

E-Government Act (S.803)

Ensuring that citizens have adequate access to Federal Government services and information has been a key legislative goal of Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). In an effort to provide citizens with more government information through the Internet and to promote electronic government information policies, Senator Lieberman, along with eleven other Senators, introduced the above-referenced legislation, which was unanimously passed by the Senate on June 27, 2002. S.803 would create an Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget, which would be charged with enhancing public access to Federal Government information and services through the Internet. The Administration opposed the bill as originally introduced, but Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) negotiated compromise revisions in the bill with Senator Lieberman, which substantially eliminated the Administration’s concerns. However, the Administration still does not support the provision of the bill that would require the administrator of the new office to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. On the House side, Representative Jim Turner (D-TX) has introduced a companion bill (H.R.2458), but it is not clear whether the House will take up this legislation before the end of the session. AAP and other content industries were particularly concerned about the bill as originally introduced and approved by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee because it contained language that would have permitted the Federal Government to make instructional materials and other copyrighted works freely available to the public on government websites. AAP worked successfully with Lieberman’s staff to have this language removed from the legislation before the full Senate considered the bill.

For more information contact:

Gloria Romanelli
Ph: 202-220-4542
Email: gromanelli@publishers.org