OMB: E-gov flailing as Congress withholds funding

Federal agencies are failing to make progress in e-government initiatives, and Congress' unwillingness to fund the programs is a chief reason why, the Office of Management and Budget said in its Executive Branch Management Scorecard for the quarter ending March 31, 2006. Federal Computer Week reports:

OMB said Congress is partly to blame for the dropping grades, which reflect agencies’ difficulty in getting congressional approval for the funding necessary to cover the costs of e-government services.

“We are going to continue to reach out to Congress on e-gov and work with them to ensure that e-gov projects are able to provide the greater levels of services demanded by our citizens,” Johnson said.

Agencies with lower scores: Commerce, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Justice and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; NASA; the Office of Personnel Management; and the Small Business Administration. The Social Security Administration improved its score, joining Labor and National Science Foundation in the top green rating.