President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday that aims to improve the delivery of government services, including everything from the way Americans get passports and move through airport security to how they sign up for Social Security and Medicare benefits.
The executive order directs 17 agencies to focus on 36 “customer experiences” provided by the government that need to be improved. In comments at the White House, Biden said the goal is “to ensure that the federal government puts you, the American people, at the front of the line.”
“You’ll see better technology to speed the security lines and wait times at our national airports, make filing and refunds with the IRS more rapid,” Biden said at the White House. “And for disaster aid … and to student loans — the list goes on. The bottom line is we’re going to make the government work more effectively for the American citizens so it’s not as confusing.”
Modernizing access and delivery of popular services will help rebuild confidence in the government, Biden said. “The bottom line is we're going to make the government work more effectively ... so it's not as confusing and it's straightforward,” he said. “This will go a long way to restoring faith in government, and I know it sounds like a simple thing, but I think it's pretty consequential.”
Some details: The streamlining effort, which will be run by the Office of Management and Budget, sets out specific goals, including:
* the ability to claim Social Security benefits online;
* online tools for Medicare beneficiaries to help manage individual health care spending;
* the ability to schedule call-backs from the IRS;
* better online tools for filing taxes and receiving refunds;
* streamlined and centralized applications for disaster relief;
* online passport renewal;
* better technology to speed screening at airports;
* centralizing student loan payments at a single portal, StudentAid.gov;
* reducing paperwork for student loan forgiveness;
* centralized benefit management for military veterans;
* centralized signup for federal benefits for low-income families;
* the use of USA.gov as a centralized and streamlined “digital Federal front door” for all benefits and programs.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the actions will take six to 12 months to implement.