President Biden is set to give his first State of the Union address on March 1. The address comes at a tumultuous moment when the President’s ambitious agenda has been obscured by interrelated crises of inflation, war, and the pandemic. But one of Biden’s more recent accomplishments that could serve as an enduring theme of his presidency is an executive order quietly passed on December 13, 2021: Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government.
The customer service executive order is the most far-reaching outline in decades to modernize and improve service delivery and the government’s relationship with citizens. With only about 24% of Americans stating they have trust in government, this executive order is a commitment to allay that skepticism. The upcoming address should highlight this goal.
Service delivery is at the foundation of the purpose of democratic governance. It touches everything from taxes to emergency support and retirement assistance. High quality, easy to access services are a strong measure of the capacity of the government to use taxpayer dollars efficiently.
It could not come at a better time. In the pandemic, many Americans accessed government services in new ways. Lacking digital systems means we’re still fully unpacking the success of those interactions. Along the way, the pandemic did expose how lack of funding, lack of staff, and lack of digital capacity created roadblocks and paperwork burdens in moments when citizens were in real need.
Proposed improvements to U.S. systems include making online applications, portals, and mobile-accessible sites for the USPS and SSA along with passport.gov, WIC, Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture.
Digitizing service delivery is particularly hard for a nation slow to universalize at-home broadband access, low digital literacy, and an electorate suspicious of spending additional taxpayer dollars. The transformation will not come cheap and will likely face growing pains along the way.
Fortunately, digital development is agile and adaptable by design. A prime example is healthcare.gov. When it launched in 2013, only 50% of Americans had at-home broadband access and the software was nearly unusable, leading the Obama administration to recommend analog, phone, or in-person applications. Today, with improved website functionality and a 25% increase in at-home broadband means nearly 77% of Americans have the choice to bypass phone or in-person applications.
While Americans may be naturally suspicious of government, particularly when systems like healthcare.gov fail, good service speaks for itself; critiques of the healthcare website have entirely dried up. The evolution of healthcare.gov is illustrious of how other government services could be improved.
Biden’s goal to fully realize the potential gains of public sector modernization demonstrates a prioritization to make government work. The executive order should be just the beginning. Calling for legislation to fund and operationalize these goals could allay doubts about the Democrat’s agenda and overall improve public trust.