21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H.R. 5759, the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act of 2018. This bipartisan legislation, which was reported out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by voice vote, seeks to modernize and improve the delivery of citizen facing and internal digital services by government agencies.

This legislation builds on the Connected Government Act that I authored and which was signed into law last year. Like the Connected Government Act, the 21st Century IDEA requires federal agency websites to be mobile friendly and secure by providing citizens with an improved customer experience. The bill requires agencies to upgrade their online experiences, provide a digital, mobile friendly option for any paper- based form, requires a plan for the expanded use of electronic signatures, and establishes federal agency chief information officers as the responsible officials inside the federal government for carrying out these requirements. All critical factors in improving customer experience.

American citizens deserve and expect a modern, cost effective digital experience when interacting with the federal government. Recent data from the IRS shows that in-person or live assistance calls to the agency cost taxpayers between $40 and $60 on average, while digital transactions cost only $0.22 on average. A recent 2017 Forrester Research study on Federal Customer Experience Index also found that, ``federal websites and mobile apps still offer experiences that are worse than those provided by nondigital channels like physical locations and call centers.'' The need for enhanced citizen-facing digital service delivery is clear and will dramatically drive down the cost of government operations and improve customer experience.

Restoring the United States Government's global leadership in technology and digital government requires a new approach. To that end, H.R. 5759 is needed to modernize federal agency websites, support the increased use of mobile devices, transition away from paper-based forms and in-person transactions and bring the U.S. government into the 21st Century.

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