Biden signs an executive order directing 17 US agencies to modernize services and bring more of them online, including passport photo uploads and taxes
The order places federal service delivery alongside the administration’s earlier cybersecurity standards for software sold to the government, making digitization an operational and security agenda rather than a standalone website refresh.
That agenda later produced a revamped online passport-renewal system that was handling nearly half of renewals, giving the original service-modernization push a measurable public-facing outcome.
First-order effects
The 17 named federal agencies must shift more transactions online, changing how people submit passport photos and access tax-related services.
Federal agencies and their technology contractors face immediate work to redesign service workflows for digital submission rather than paper- or office-led processes.
Second-order effects
Government software suppliers are pulled toward systems that can meet both online-service demand and the administration’s cybersecurity expectations for federal vendors.
As passport renewal moves online at scale, other agencies have a clearer internal precedent for prioritizing digital self-service over separate legacy channels.
Third-order effects
If agencies continue to convert high-volume transactions, federal digital delivery is likely to be judged less by the launch of portals than by whether residents complete services online.
The combination of service modernization and vendor security standards points toward a more centralized federal expectation for secure, reusable digital-service infrastructure.
The trend: US federal policy is increasingly pairing online public-service delivery with security requirements for the technology behind it.
Today, the Biden Administration released an executive order detailing ways that the government should make services easier to use. This is a really good idea, but will also be VERY HARD. 1/X https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Biden's new Excecutive Order on CX gets the framing right. It's not about tech; it's not about policy. It's about government programs delivering for people at key times in their lives. https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Interacting with government should be simple, whether it's claiming retirement benefits or applying for disaster relief. The executive order @POTUS signed today will make our government more responsive and accountable to the American people. https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Major anti-sludge initiative being launched by @potus today to eliminate government paperwork burdens, reduce waiting times, increase navigability & - in so doing - promote individual dignity. @USAID looks forward to implementing! https://twitter.com/...
We know what's possible when we reimagine how government services are delivered. This Executive Order aimed at changing the Federal customer experience and service delivery can be transformative for millions of people across the country. https://www.whitehouse.gov/... via @whiteh…
NEW: President Biden will sign an executive order today to modernize government services, including by bringing more of those services online. The White House says the United States Digital Service will play a big role. https://www.protocol.com/...