President Biden is taking a host of US government services online at last

Biden Signing
(Image credit: White House)

President Biden has signed a new executive order with the aim of streamlining government services in an effort to eliminate some of the bureaucracy around renewing passports, applying for loans and paying taxes

The executive order directs 17 different government agencies including the Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of the Treasury, the Small Business Administration and others to modernize the way they deliver services to US citizens by bringing more of them online.

The American people frequently interact with these agencies and the order lays out over 30 specific updates they will need to make. However, according to deputy director of management at the Office of Management and Budget, Jason Miller, these changes will be made quickly with some completed in the coming months and others within one year.

Senior adviser to the President, Neera Tanden explained in a call to reporters that the order will use the White House's existing technical resources within agencies to implement these changes including the United States Digital Service which was launched under President Obama.

Digitizing US government services

According to a press release from the White House, President Biden's latest executive order “includes 36 customer experience (CX) improvement commitments across 17 Federal agencies” and will “put people at the center of everything the Government does”.

The order targets government services that deal with travel, retirement, business, taxes, health and updating personal information. When it comes to taxes for instance, US citizens will be offered new online tools that will make it easier to file though they'll also now have the option to schedule customer service callbacks.

Traveling abroad will now be easier as well as Americans will be able to renew their passports online as opposed to filling out forms and heading to their local post office. At the same time, reaching out to the TSA with urgent questions regarding travel will be simplified as well. Meanwhile, the US government will create a single online portal for college graduates with student loan debt.

While President Biden has signed his new executive order, it will likely take some time before all of these US government services become available online.

We've also highlighted the best hybrid working tech and best online collaboration tools

Via The Hill

Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.