Is the E-Gov Act dead?

The E-Government Act of 2002 is one of the few laws that brought transparency to the government and helped connect citizens to the federal government information they needed. However, the law expired last year, and there has been a battle underway in the Senate over reauthorizing the law. Reauthorization would insure more streamlined government information and improved communications between agencies and citizens.

Despite the problems around reauthorizing this piece of legislation, there are a few things to remember. The E-Gov Act enables people to file their taxes online, or find out from a website how much Social Security they are entitled to receive when they retire. It is the mechanism that allows people to apply for a myriad of benefits online, or a federal job at USAJobs.gov.

Much of the controversy over reauthorizing the law has been an amendment by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) who wants to include new privacy protections. Federal agencies would be required to conduct privacy impact assessments before using outside contractors to manage personal information.

Republicans don't like that idea much, and several members have threatened to block the bill. The cost is also another issue. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would cost about $29 billion through 2012, far higher than the original $5 million a year when the legislation became law in 2002 and when agencies were told to find the money for E-Gov projects out of their existing budgets.

For more on the status of the E-Gov Act:
- see this nextgov.com Article
- also see: Obama's vision for e-government will take some work. Article