Joe Lieberman: “I rise to applaud passage by the House and Senate today of the E-Government Act of 2002. The E-Government Act is strong…”

“I rise to applaud passage by the House and Senate today of the E-Government Act of 2002. The E-Government Act is strong, bipartisan legislation that will help bring the Federal Government into the electronic age by improving the access of all citizens to the government services and information they rely on every day in their work and personal lives. The bill that we are passing today, H.R. 2458, represents a consensus between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the House, and with the administration. It is the product of more than a year of negotiations and cooperation between Senators Fred Thompson, Conrad Burns and me, and Congressmen Tom Davis, Jim Turner, Dan Burton, and Henry Waxman. It is also the result of important input from a range of constituencies who support electronic government. This bill has won the support of the IT industry, of the public access community, of privacy advocates, and of non-profit groups interested in good government. There are many others who have contributed to the legislation, too many to name here. The bill demonstrates what can happen when we put aside partisan interests and work together to improve the performance of our Government.”