Washington, DC – Looking to accelerate the government’s shift to mobile technology, President Obama on Wednesday issued a directive requiring each federal agency to make two key government services available on mobile phones within the next 12 months.
The administration said it also will ramp up efforts to make large amounts of government data more accessible to the public, with the hope of spurring entrepreneurs to develop a range of new services and mobile apps.
“Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device,” said Obama. (Read the President’s entire directive, below.)
The White House said the goal of the program is to make dozens of additional government services accessible through mobile phones by next spring.
“We’re living in an increasingly mobile world and it is critical that the federal government keep up with the way the American people do business,” said Steven VanRoekel, the federal chief information officer. “Already, families can use government apps to check the wait time at the airport, get access to critical veteran services and check the status of their tax return. Today’s directive will accelerate our drive to make key services easily accessible to more Americans than ever.”
This article was also published in Potomac Tech Wire.
Related links:
The White House – press statement
Official White House photo of President Barack Obama by Pete Souza
