I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1910 

To create the Office of the Chief Technology Officer within the Executive 

Office of the President. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To create the Office of the Chief Technology Officer within 

the Executive Office of the President. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chief Technology Offi5 cer Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND STAFF.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

10 the Executive Office of the President an Office 


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1 of the Federal Chief Technology Officer (in this 

2 Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

3 (B) HEAD OF THE OFFICE.— 

4 (i) FEDERAL CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OF5 FICER.—The President shall appoint a 

6 Federal Chief Technology Officer (in this 

7 Act referred to as the ‘‘Federal CTO’’) 

8 who shall be the head of the Office. 

9 (ii) COMPENSATION.—Section 5313 of 

10 title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘Federal Chief Technology Officer.’’. 

13 (2) STAFF OF THE OFFICE.—The President 

14 may appoint additional staff members to the Office. 

15 (b) DUTIES OF THE OFFICE.—The functions of the 

16 Federal CTO are the following: 

17 (1) Undertake fact-gathering, analysis, and as18 sessment of the Federal Government’s information 

19 technology infrastructures, information technology 

20 strategy, and use of information technology, and 

21 provide advice on such matters to the President, 

22 heads of Federal departments and agencies, and 

23 government chief information officers and chief tech24 nology officers. 


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1 (2) Work to ensure the security and privacy of 

2 the Federal information technology infrastructure 

3 and networks, coordinating closely with other Fed4 eral departments and agencies having responsibilities 

5 regarding security and privacy of the infrastructure 

6 and networks. 

7 (3) Lead an interagency effort, working with 

8 the chief technology and chief information officers of 

9 each of the Federal departments and agencies, to de10 velop and implement a planning process to ensure 

11 that they use best-in-class technologies, share best 

12 practices, and improve the use of technology in sup13 port of Federal Government requirements. 

14 (4) Provide, within the Executive Office of the 

15 President, advice on the engineering, technical and 

16 implementation aspects of information technology 

17 and information technology infrastructure issues 

18 that require attention at the highest levels of govern19 ment. 

20 (5) Evaluate the scale, quality, and effective21 ness of the Federal effort in the use of information 

22 technology, and advise on appropriate actions. 

23 (6) Advise the President on information tech24 nology considerations with regard to Federal budg25 ets. 


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1 (7) Assist the President in providing general 

2 leadership and coordination of the research and de3 velopment programs of the Federal Government for 

4 information technology-related matters. 

5 (8) Promote technological innovation in the 

6 Federal Government, and encourage and oversee the 

7 adoption of robust cross-governmental architectures 

8 and standards-based information technologies, in 

9 support of effective operational and management 

10 policies, practices, and services across Federal de11 partments and agencies and with the public and ex12 ternal entities. 

13 (9) Establish cooperative public-private sector 

14 partnership initiatives to gain knowledge of tech15 nologies available in the marketplace that can be 

16 used to improve governmental operations, citizen 

17 services, and the safety, security, and privacy of in18 formation collected, maintained, processed, and com19 municated by the Federal Government. 

20 (10) Establish public-private sector partnership 

21 initiatives to gain knowledge of information tech22 nology research activities underway and planned by 

23 Federal departments and agencies and in the private 

24 sector that can improve the use of information tech25 nologies by the Federal Government. 


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1 (11) Sponsor, initiate, and support research 

2 and demonstration projects in partnership with pri3 vate sector industry and academic institutions to le4 verage private sector expertise and innovation in 

5 order to enhance existing technologies or identify 

6 breakthrough innovations that can improve the Fed7 eral Government’s use of technology. 

8 (12) Lead an interagency effort, working with 

9 the chief technology and chief information officers of 

10 each of the Federal departments and agencies, to 

11 promote the use of best-in-class technologies, share 

12 best practices, and establish an information tech13 nology plan for the Federal Government that im14 proves the effectiveness, efficiency, security, and pri15 vacy of the Federal Government’s information infra16 structure and information technology-based services. 

17 (13) Any other functions and activities that the 

18 President may assign to the Federal CTO. 

19 (c) POLICY PLANNING; ANALYSIS AND ADVICE.—The 

20 Office shall serve as a source of analysis and advice for 

21 the President and heads of Federal departments and agen22 cies with respect to major policies, plans, and programs 

23 of the Federal Government associated with information 

24 technology. In carrying out this section, the Federal CTO 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) define coherent and systematic approaches 

2 for applying the use of information technology to 

3 critical and emerging Federal Government informa4 tion management problems, and promote coordina5 tion of the responsibilities and programs of Federal 

6 departments and agencies in the resolution of the 

7 problems; 

8 (2) gather timely and authoritative information 

9 concerning significant developments and trends in 

10 information technology, and in national priorities, 

11 both current and prospective, and analyze and inter12 pret the information for the purpose of determining 

13 whether the developments and trends are likely to 

14 affect achievement of the priority goals of the Fed15 eral Government; 

16 (3) encourage the development and mainte17 nance of an adequate knowledge base for human re18 sources in information technology, including the de19 velopment of appropriate models to forecast future 

20 workforce requirements, and assess the effects of 

21 major governmental and public programs on human 

22 resources and their utilization; 

23 (4) initiate studies and analyses, including sys24 tems analyses and technology assessments, of alter25 natives available for the resolution of critical and 


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1 emerging information technology infrastructure 

2 problems and, insofar as possible, determine and 

3 compare probable costs, benefits, and impacts of the 

4 alternatives; 

5 (5) assess the impact of information technology 

6 and networked information technology systems and 

7 applications on cybersecurity and personal privacy, 

8 utilizing Presidential and departmental advisory 

9 committees and agencies, such as the Privacy and 

10 Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the Information Se11 curity and Privacy Advisory Board managed under 

12 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

13 the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy 

14 and Integrity Advisory Board, and the National In15 frastructure Advisory Committee, and advise the 

16 President on steps necessary to mitigate and man17 age security and privacy risks; 

18 (6) advise the President on the extent to which 

19 the information technology programs, policies, and 

20 operations activities of the Federal Government are 

21 likely to affect the achievement of the priority goals 

22 of the Government; 

23 (7) provide the President with periodic reviews 

24 of Federal statutes and administrative regulations of 

25 the various Federal departments and agencies which 


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1 affect research and development activities, internally 

2 and in relation to the private sector, or which may 

3 interfere with desirable technological innovation, to4 gether with recommendations for elimination, re5 form, or updating, as appropriate of the statutes 

6 and regulations; 

7 (8) establish public-private partnerships to co8 ordinate Federal Government’s information tech9 nology research agenda with private sector research 

10 and development initiatives and provide guidance to 

11 research-funding agencies; 

12 (9) develop, review, revise, and recommend cri13 teria for determining information technology activi14 ties warranting Federal support, and recommend 

15 Federal policies designed to advance the develop16 ment and maintenance of effective and efficient in17 formation technology capabilities, including human 

18 resources, at all levels of government, academia, and 

19 industry, and the effective application of the capa20 bilities to national needs; 

21 (10) assess, and advise, on policies for inter22 national cooperation in information technology which 

23 will advance the national and international objectives 

24 of the United States; 


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1 (11) identify and assess areas in which informa2 tion technology can be used effectively in addressing 

3 national and international problems; and 

4 (12) perform such other duties and functions 

5 and make and furnish such studies, reports, and rec6 ommendations as the President may request. 

7 (d) OPERATIONS.— 

8 (1) POWERS.—To carry out the duties de9 scribed in subsections (b) and (c), the Federal CTO 

10 may do the following: 

11 (A) HEARINGS.—Hold public hearings on 

12 any relevant topic. 

13 (B) CONDUCT STUDIES.—Conduct a study 

14 on any relevant topic. 

15 (C) ADVISORY PANELS.—Establish advi16 sory panels composed of individuals appointed 

17 by the Federal CTO for such terms as the Fed18 eral CTO determines appropriate. 

19 (D) GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS.—Award 

20 grants and fellowships. 

21 (E) MAILS.—Use the United States mails 

22 in the same manner and under the same condi23 tions as departments and agencies of the 

24 United States. 


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1 (F) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the ex2 tent or in the amounts provided in advance in 

3 appropriations Acts, enter into contracts with 

4 and compensate a government or private agency 

5 or person for the conduct of activities under 

6 this section. 

7 (G) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT VOLUNTARY

8 SERVICES.— 

9 (i) Notwithstanding section 1342 of 

10 title 31, United States Code, accept the 

11 service of a volunteer. 

12 (ii) Reimburse a volunteer for ex13 penses or office supplies and local travel, 

14 and for travel expenses, including per diem 

15 in lieu of subsistence, incurred in per16 forming services for the Office. 

17 (H) TEMPORARY AND INTERMITTENT

18 SERVICES.—Obtain temporary and intermittent 

19 services in the same manner as an agency 

20 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (2) VOLUNTEER DEEMED A FEDERAL EM23 PLOYEE.—While performing services for the Office, 

24 a volunteer is deemed an employee of the Federal 

25 Government for the purposes of the following: 


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1 (A) Chapter 81 of title 5, United States 

2 Code, relating to compensation for work-related 

3 injuries. 

4 (B) Chapter 11 of title 18, United States 

5 Code, relating to conflicts of interest. 

6 (C) Chapter 171 of title 28, United States 

7 Code, relating to tort claims. 

8 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The Federal CTO 

9 may receive travel expenses, including per diem in 

10 lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 

11 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

12 5, United States Code. 

13 (e) COORDINATION OF THE OFFICE WITH OTHER

14 ENTITIES.— 

15 (1) FEDERAL CTO TO BE ON DOMESTIC POLICY

16 COUNCIL.—The Federal CTO shall be a member of 

17 the Domestic Policy Council. 

18 (2) OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM AGENCIES.— 

19 The Office may secure, directly from any depart20 ment or agency of the United States, information 

21 necessary to enable the Federal CTO to carry out 

22 this Act. On request of the Federal CTO, the head 

23 of the department or agency shall furnish the infor24 mation to the Office, subject to any applicable limi25 tations of Federal law. 


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1 (3) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—On re2 quest of the Federal CTO, to assist the Office in 

3 carrying out the duties of the Office, the head of any 

4 Federal department or agency may detail personnel, 

5 services, or facilities of the department or agency to 

6 the Office. 

7 (4) COLLABORATION WITH BUREAU OF LABOR

8 STATISTICS.—The Federal CTO shall work with the 

9 Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop mechanisms 

10 for tracking the effect of technological innovations 

11 on job creation. 

12 (5) COLLABORATION WITH OFFICE OF MANAGE13 MENT AND BUDGET.—The Federal CTO shall— 

14 (A) assist the Office of Management and 

15 Budget with an annual review and analysis of 

16 funding proposed for research and development 

17 in the budgets of all Federal departments and 

18 agencies; and 

19 (B) on a reimbursable basis, assist the Of20 fice of Management and Budget and Federal 

21 departments and agencies throughout the budg22 et development process. 

23 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

24 (1) PUBLICATION AND CONTENTS.—The Fed25 eral CTO shall publish, in the Federal Register and 


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1 on a public Internet website of the Federal CTO, an 

2 annual report that includes the following: 

3 (A) Information on programs to promote 

4 the development of technological innovations. 

5 (B) Recommendations for the adoption of 

6 policies to encourage the generation of techno7 logical innovations. 

8 (C) Information on the activities and ac9 complishments of the Office in the year covered 

10 by the report. 

11 (2) SUBMISSION.—The Federal CTO shall sub12 mit each report under paragraph (1) to— 

13 (A) the President; 

14 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov15 ernment Reform of the House of Representa16 tives; 

17 (C) the Committee on Science and Tech18 nology of the House of Representatives; and 

19 (D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

20 and Transportation of the Senate. 

Æ 


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