Sen. Carper Statement on Administration’s New Plan to Build a Future-Ready Digital Government

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security, released a statement following the Obama Administration’s announcement of the strategy, “Building a Future-Ready Digital Government,” which directs federal agencies to implement a 12-month plan to give citizens and businesses increased access to high-quality digital government information and services, and to help the government procure and manage devices, applications and data in more effective and efficient ways.

“I commend the Obama Administration, and specifically Federal Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel, for prioritizing information technology investments that make government information and services more accessible and more efficient for American citizens and businesses in the 21st century,” said Sen. Carper. “In a time when our daily lives and businesses are increasingly dependent on digital information, it is critical that our government become more digitized, too. As many of us know, federal agencies have traditionally had a bad track record when it comes to managing their massive information technology portfolios – many times costing the American taxpayer millions – if not billions – more than we expected and at times failing to perform as planned. This new strategy to building a 21st century digital government is an important step forward in improving the federal government’s information technology operations and providing the planning and oversight needed to reduce waste. I look forward to working with the Administration to ensure that this initiative is properly implemented and executed.”

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