New IT czar bill introduced
Rep. Tom Davis introduced a bill that would create an office reporting to the president that would coordinate IT resources and information security decisions
Chief Information Officer of the United States Act (H.R. 4670)
Adding to a flurry of legislation proposing a federal chief information
officer, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced a bill to create
an office that would coordinate IT resources and information security decisions
governmentwide.
The Federal Information Policy Act (FIPA) of 2000 would establish an
Office of Information Policy headed by a national CIO to who would report
directly to the president. The office would have a deputy, staff and appropriated
funds through fiscal 2005 and could rely on federal agencies for services,
staff and space to perform its duties.
In addition, the bill creates an Office of Information Security and
Technical Protection within the OIP to coordinate the development and implementation
of a single federal security framework.
"Both our economy and our society have become information-driven, such
that IT plays the critical role in facilitating the federal government's
ability to be effective and efficient in managing federal programs and spending,
communicating with and providing services to citizens, and protecting America's
critical infrastructure," Davis said in his introduction of the bill.
In addressing both general IT management and information security issues,
the bill combines the ideas in the Chief Information Officer of the United
States Act introduced by Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas) in June and the Government
Information Security Act introduced last year by Sens. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.)
and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.)
"It's purpose is really to build upon Turner's bill and Lieberman's
bill," said Davis' spokesman.
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