CTO Act

[John Wonderlich]

Below is a dear colleague I just came across that many here will be interested in, proposing a statutory foundation for the CTO position.  For background on the issues here, see this CRS report on legislative issues and the CTO.

john




Chief Technology Officer Act

From: The Honorable Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly

Date: 4/2/2009

Chief Technology Officer Act
Dear Colleague,
Technological innovation is a driving force behind our nation’s economy, and underpins much of the productivity growth of the past two decades. Application of technology can also save taxpayer money by making government more efficient. President Obama has pledged to appoint a cabinet-level Chief Technology Officer to coordinate integration of technology in federal government applications. I have introduced legislation, entitled the Chief Technology Officer Act, to support President Obama’s initiative by enshrining this position in statute. This legislation will save taxpayer money and promote technological innovation in the private sector.
President Obama has pledged that the Chief Technology Officer will ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will
Ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.
These functions are too important to take place during a single Administration. We will continue to rely on technological integration in the federal government to save taxpayer money and improve efficiency for years to come. Moreover, making the Chief Technology Officer a permanent position will give the CTO greater stature and empower him/her to accomplish the goals of the President.
The Chief Technology Officer Act both creates this position by statute and provides the CTO with resources that are necessary to complete his/her mission, including the ability to convene hearings, conduct studies, establish advisory panels, and award grants and fellowships.
This Act establishes responsibilities of the CTO that are consistent with those outlined by President Obama, including advising the President on integration of technology in the federal government, ensuring the security of federal information technology infrastructure, and leading an inter-agency effort to ensure that federal agencies use best-in-class technology.
Finally, the CTO will play a critical role advising the President on opportunities to use technological innovation to spur job creation and economic growth. To ensure that seminal technologies like the Internet and the personal computer continue to be invented in America, we must work in collaboration with the private sector to advance technological innovations, ranging from biotech to nanotechnology. 
President Obama has shown great foresight in pledging to create a Chief Technology Officer. Please join me in making this a statutory position so that we may continue to enhance the efficiency of  the federal government for this Administration and beyond.  To sign on, email zack....@mail.house.gov
Sincerely,
 
Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress

[ndic...@gmail.com]

Ah, its good to see my congressman at work. You go Gerry! Just a
thought on this from working at CIO offices in two separate agencies,
because the implementation of Clinger-Cohen Act ended up leaving the
CIO in a much weaker position than it was originally intended, the CIO
never really did have the power to make the changes the law required.
In DoD for instance, the CIO is embedded in an Assistant Secretary of
Defense (ASD) role instead of a Undersecretary of Defense (USD) role.
Yes it is a direct report to the SECDEF as the law requires but ASD
positions don't really have the heft to give direction to a USD.

Everyone in the CIO world is really interested in understanding the
nature of the relationship between the CTO and CIO. In terms of
correcting a previous wrong, it might make better sense to put the CTO
above the CIO in that the new position provides an opportunity to
redefine the power balance that this position would have in relation
their peers. If the CTO position reporting to the President ends up
having similar positions in each of the agencies, it needs to have
real authority or it will run afoul of the same issues CIO offices
have.

[John Wonderlich]

... and here it is:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1910/show

(via paul blumenthal)