From: Norman J. Jacknis (norm@jacknis.com)
Date: Sun Sep 24 2000 - 19:03:50 EDT
[The following notice is also available online
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/new/html/Fri_Sep_22_124445_2000.html)
no spaces]
THE WHITE HOUSE
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2000
President Clinton Launches Firstgov: A Single, Easy-To-Use Website
for Government Services and Information
Today, in an Internet address to the nation, President
Clinton will announce the launch of FirstGov - the
first-ever U.S. Government web site that will provide the
public with easy, one-stop access to all federal
government on-line information and services. This
website - located at www.firstgov.gov - provides a
single online information portal that will connect
Americans with information and resources from all 27
million federal agency web pages, one of the largest and
most useful collection of web pages in the world. A
breakthrough in one-stop shopping for government
services, FirstGov will allow citizens to search all on-line
U.S. Federal Government resources from one site,
conduct searches faster and more efficiently by topic
rather than by agency, and have easy access to federal
government information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Last June, the President first announced the concept of
FirstGov in his first-ever webcast address to the nation,
challenging government and industry to finish its creation
within 90 days. Today, exactly 90 days later, the
President is announcing the launch of this site. Building
on President Clinton's and Vice President Gore's efforts
to expand citizen access to online government, FirstGov
will cut red tape, make government more responsive to
the needs of citizens, and expand opportunities for
participation in our democracy.
CITIZENS CAN SEARCH ALL FEDERAL
ONLINE RESOURCES FROM ONE SITE.
FirstGov brings the U.S. government closer to the
American people -- giving users one-stop access to
crucial government information and services. With the
convenience of a single website, citizens can use
FirstGov to apply for student loans, plan for retirement,
track Social Security benefits and get advice on buying a
first home or starting a small business. But, FirstGov
does not only provide access to information affecting
major life decisions. Citizens also can go to FirstGov to
reserve a campsite in a national park, arrange to watch a
NASA shuttle launch, conduct research at the Library of
Congress or take an architectural tour of the National
Gallery of Art. Whether citizens want to plan a vacation,
or an education, FirstGov can connect them to the
information and resources they need.
CITIZENS CAN SEARCH FOR BASIC
INFORMATION FASTER AND MORE
EFFICIENTLY. With a powerful search engine
developed and donated by Internet entrepreneur Eric
Brewer, FirstGov allows users to search all 27 million
Federal agency web pages at one time. And it has plenty
of room to grow. It can search half a billion documents
in less than one-quarter of a second and handle millions
of searches a day. To increase efficiency, FirstGov
allows citizens to find information intuitively -- by subject
or by keyword. Customer-focused and easy to use,
FirstGov makes the government more responsive to
citizens' needs and expands their opportunity to
participate in our democracy. And this is just the
beginning. With the use of a citizen's feedback page,
FirstGov will continue to improve, becoming more
efficient and customer friendly.
CITIZENS HAVE ACCESS TO A GOVERNMENT
THAT IS ALWAYS OPEN ANYTIME,
ANYWHERE. FirstGov gives users free access to
government information and services 24 hours a day, 7
days a week -- cutting red tape, improving efficiency
and saving taxpayers' time and money. Also, FirstGov
protects its users with strong privacy standards that
safeguard their on-line communications and transactions
with the government. FirstGov will not track or record
personal information about individuals and their visits,
unless the user chooses to provide such information.
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