U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on Wednesday electronically signed into action the Labor Department’s E-Government Strategic Plan. The initiative hopes to make government services and products more user-friendly and establish Labor as a federal leader in implementing E-Gov programs.
Labor officials said the plan includes more than a dozen programs to be completed this year within four, broad areas: customer relationship management, organizational capability, enterprise architecture, and security and privacy.
“Our plan provides the blueprint for transforming the Labor Department into a ‘digital department,'” Chao said. “We are leading the way into the 21st century by offering American citizens an easy way to interact with the federal government.”
The plan, “A Call To Action,” was developed in response to President Bush’s request for expanded electronic government. Bush called for the improved management and performance of the federal government through a more citizen-centered, results-oriented approach in the President’s Management Agenda of August 2001 and again in signing the E-Government Act of 2002 on Dec. 17 of last year.
In the last year, the Department of Labor has successfully launched two Web sites, GovBenefits.gov and DisabilityInfo.gov, to serve as one-stop online resources for government benefits information and programs for disabled workers, respectively. Other ongoing E-Gov efforts include the department’s National Call Center, eProcurement and eGrants initiatives, and development of a common e-mail system and public key infrastructure initiatives.
“We are vastly improving our customer service by making our Web-based resources more accessible and changing the way we communicate internally and with citizens,” added Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management Patrick Pizzella, who serves as Labor’s chief information officer.
