President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order Monday that will make several government agencies more efficient and easier for Americans to navigate. The new order fast-forwards the nation into the digital age by cutting the time and vexation of federal services such as renewing passports, applying for Social Security benefits, and getting needed aid after natural disasters.
The White House is looking to bolster confidence in government in a post-Trump era. Between the terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the ongoing rhetoric of a stolen and rigged election, and the conspiracy theories about COVID-19, masks, mandates, and U.S. postmaster general Louis DeJoy’s brilliant “slow down plan,” to name a few, it’s no wonder Americans don’t trust the government.
“We have to prove democracy still works, that our government still works and can deliver for our people,” Biden has said.
Dubbed Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, the new order is designed to “put people at the center of everything the government does.”
The order affects 36 “customer experience improvement commitments” across 17 federal agencies.
Listed in the order are 35 providers in federal agencies directed to reduce administrative speed-bumps and create “new online tools and technologies that can provide a simple, seamless, and secure customer experience” by next year.
The new order will ensure that those Americans 65+ can claim benefits online more smoothly, and Medicare recipients can better manage online tools to save money on medicine.
Taxpayers will now be able to schedule callbacks instead of waiting on long phone holds or relying on snail mail or faxes. Also, updating addresses or name changes in the Social Security Administration will be more accessible.
Passport services will be online, giving Americans the opportunity to renew and pay digitally versus via a personal check or money order.
Students and military veterans will have a single portal to pay federal loans or access benefits.
Lower-income families will be able to enroll in social service programs without having to manage reams of paperwork and will have the ability to order groceries online.
Those who’ve suffered a natural disaster and are applying for federal aid can now upload photos of damaged property to support claims, forgoing filing via multiple forms from various agencies.
Small businesses and farmers can now access loans online.
“We do our banking online,” Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs for AARP told the Associated Press. “We do our work online. We can order food online. We can order groceries from our phones. I think people are accustomed to that now, and they’re demanding that government keep up as well.”
Biden will sign the order in the Oval Office. He’ll be accompanied by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Small Business Administration head Isabel Guzman and TSA Administrator David Pekoske.