Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery To Rebuild Trust in Government, 71357-71366 [2021-27380]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 71357-71366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27380]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 239 / Thursday, December 16, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 71357]]


                Executive Order 14058 of December 13, 2021

                
Transforming Federal Customer Experience and 
                Service Delivery To Rebuild Trust in Government

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. Our Government must recommit to 
                being ``of the people, by the people, [and] for the 
                people'' in order to solve the complex 21st century 
                challenges our Nation faces. Government must be held 
                accountable for designing and delivering services with 
                a focus on the actual experience of the people whom it 
                is meant to serve. Government must also work to deliver 
                services more equitably and effectively, especially for 
                those who have been historically underserved. 
                Strengthening the democratic process requires providing 
                direct lines of feedback and mechanisms for engaging 
                the American people in the design and improvement of 
                Federal Government programs, processes, and services.

                As the United States faces critical challenges, 
                including recovering from a global pandemic, promoting 
                prosperity and economic growth, advancing equity, and 
                tackling the climate crisis, the needs of the people of 
                the United States, informed by, in particular, an 
                understanding of how they experience Government, should 
                drive priorities for service delivery improvements. In 
                recent years, the annual paperwork burden imposed by 
                executive departments and agencies (agencies) on the 
                public has been in excess of 9 billion hours. That 
                number is too high. Agencies must work with the 
                Congress; the private sector and nonprofit 
                organizations; State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
                governments; and other partners to design experiences 
                with the Federal Government that effectively reduce 
                administrative burdens, simplify both public-facing and 
                internal processes to improve efficiency, and empower 
                the Federal workforce to solve problems.

                The Federal Government must design and deliver services 
                in a manner that people of all abilities can navigate. 
                We must use technology to modernize Government and 
                implement services that are simple to use, accessible, 
                equitable, protective, transparent, and responsive for 
                all people of the United States. When a disaster 
                survivor, single parent, immigrant, small business 
                owner, or veteran waits months for the Government to 
                process benefits to which they are entitled, that lost 
                time is a significant cost not only for that 
                individual, but in the aggregate, for our Nation as a 
                whole. This lost time operates as a kind of tax--a 
                ``time tax''--and it imposes a serious burden on our 
                people as they interact with the Government. Improving 
                Government services should also make our Government 
                more efficient and effective overall.

                Every interaction between the Federal Government and 
                the public, whether it involves renewing a passport or 
                calling for a status update on a farm loan application, 
                should be seen as an opportunity for the Government to 
                save an individual's time (and thus reduce ``time 
                taxes'') and to deliver the level of service that the 
                public expects and deserves. By demonstrating that its 
                processes are effective and efficient, in addition to 
                being fair, protective of privacy interests, and 
                transparent, the Federal Government can build public 
                trust. Further, the Federal Government's management of 
                its customer experience and service delivery should be 
                driven fundamentally by the

[[Page 71358]]

                voice of the customer through human-centered design 
                methodologies; empirical customer research; an 
                understanding of behavioral science and user testing, 
                especially for digital services; and other mechanisms 
                of engagement.

                Executive Order 12862 of September 11, 1993 (Setting 
                Customer Service Standards), required agencies that 
                provide significant services directly to the public to 
                identify and gather feedback from customers; establish 
                service standards and measure performance against those 
                standards; and benchmark customer service performance 
                against the best customer experience provided in the 
                private sector. Executive Order 13571 of April 27, 2011 
                (Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer 
                Service), further required agencies to develop a 
                ``Customer Service Plan . . . to address how the agency 
                will provide services in a manner that seeks to 
                streamline service delivery and improve the experience 
                of its customers.'' Executive Order 13707 of September 
                15, 2015 (Using Behavioral Science Insights To Better 
                Serve the American People), called for the use of 
                empirical findings in behavioral science fields to 
                deliver better results for the American people, 
                including by identifying ``opportunities to help 
                qualifying individuals, families, communities, and 
                businesses access public programs and benefits.'' And 
                Executive Order 13985 of January 20, 2021 (Advancing 
                Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities 
                Through the Federal Government), established the policy 
                of the Federal Government to ``pursue a comprehensive 
                approach to advancing equity for all, including people 
                of color and others who have been historically 
                underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by 
                persistent poverty and inequality.'' Consistent with 
                these aims, agencies have begun assessing whether, and 
                to what extent, their programs and policies perpetuate 
                systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for 
                people of color and other underserved groups. These 
                previous actions have laid an important foundation for 
                the policies and procedures set forth in this order. 
                However, more is required to establish the sustained 
                system for Federal Government accountability and 
                performance necessary to drive an ongoing focus on 
                improved delivery and results for the people of the 
                United States.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                that, in a Government of the people, by the people, and 
                for the people, improving service delivery and customer 
                experience should be fundamental priorities. The 
                Government's performance must be measured empirically 
                and by on-the-ground results for the people of the 
                United States, especially for their experiences with 
                services delivered. The means of Government--such as 
                its budget, policy, financial management, procurement, 
                and human resources practices--must work to achieve 
                those ends. Agencies should continually improve their 
                understanding of their customers, reduce administrative 
                hurdles and paperwork burdens to minimize ``time 
                taxes,'' enhance transparency, create greater 
                efficiencies across Government, and redesign 
                compliance-oriented processes to improve customer 
                experience and more directly meet the needs of the 
                people of the United States. Consistent with the 
                purpose described in section 1 of this order, agencies' 
                efforts to improve customer experience should include 
                systematically identifying and resolving the root 
                causes of customer experience challenges, regardless of 
                whether the source of such challenges is statutory, 
                regulatory, budgetary, technological, or process-based. 
                Furthermore, to engender public trust, agencies must 
                ensure that their efforts appropriately maintain or 
                enhance protections afforded under law and policy, 
                including those related to civil rights, civil 
                liberties, privacy, confidentiality, and information 
                security.

                Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

                    (a) The term ``customer'' means any individual, 
                business, or organization (such as a grantee or State, 
                local, or Tribal entity) that interacts with an agency 
                or program, either directly or through a federally-
                funded program administered by a contractor, nonprofit, 
                or other Federal entity.
                    (b) The term ``customer experience'' means the 
                public's perceptions of and overall satisfaction with 
                interactions with an agency, product, or service.

[[Page 71359]]

                    (c) The term ``customer life experience'' means 
                each important point in a person's life at which that 
                person interacts with one or more entities of 
                Government.
                    (d) The term ``equity'' means the consistent and 
                systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all 
                individuals, including individuals who belong to 
                underserved communities that have been denied such 
                treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native 
                American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific 
                Islanders, and other persons of color; members of 
                religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
                transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with 
                disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and 
                persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent 
                poverty or inequality.
                    (e) The term ``High Impact Service Provider'' 
                (HISP) means a Federal entity, as designated by the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
                that provides or funds customer-facing services, 
                including Federal services administered at the State or 
                local level, that have a high impact on the public, 
                whether because of a large customer base or a critical 
                effect on those served.
                    (f) The term ``human-centered design'' means an 
                interdisciplinary methodology of putting people, 
                including those who will use or be impacted by what one 
                creates, at the center of any process to solve 
                challenging problems.
                    (g) The term ``service delivery'' means actions by 
                the Federal Government related to providing a benefit 
                or service to a customer of a Federal Government 
                entity. Such actions pertain to all points of the 
                Government-to-customer delivery process, including when 
                a customer applies for a benefit or loan, receives a 
                service such as health care or small business 
                counseling, requests a document such as a passport or 
                Social Security card, files taxes or declares goods, 
                uses resources such as a park or historical site, or 
                seeks information such as notices about public health 
                or consumer protection.

                Sec. 4. Agency Actions to Improve Customer Experience. 
                (a) The Secretary of State shall design and deliver a 
                new online passport renewal experience that does not 
                require any physical documents to be mailed.

                    (b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall design and 
                deliver new online tools and services to ease the 
                payment of taxes and provide the option to schedule 
                customer support telephone call-backs. The Secretary of 
                the Treasury should consider whether such tools and 
                services might include expanded automatic direct 
                deposit refunds based on prior year tax returns, tax 
                credit eligibility tools, and expanded electronic 
                filing options.
                    (c) The Secretary of the Interior shall redesign 
                the website of the Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS.gov, 
                in compliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital 
                Experience Act (Public Law 115-336), and shall support 
                a centralized, modernized electronic permitting system 
                to accept and process applications for permits. Such a 
                system might include special use permits for the 
                National Wildlife Refuge System and for at least five 
                high-volume permit application forms required for 
                individuals and businesses who import or export fish, 
                wildlife, and plants and their products 
                internationally.
                    (d) The Secretary of Agriculture shall:

(i) test the use of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits for online purchasing;

(ii) identify opportunities to reduce individuals' and families' burdens by 
simplifying enrollment and recertification for nutrition assistance 
programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and 
the WIC, including expanding the use of direct certification; and

(iii) design and implement a simplified direct farm loan application 
process.

                    (e) The Secretary of Labor shall:

(i) update existing rules and policies, consistent with applicable law and 
to the extent practicable, to allow individuals entitled to medical 
treatment

[[Page 71360]]

under their workers' compensation plans to conduct their routine medical 
treatment appointments using telehealth platforms; and

(ii) update rules, policies, and procedures to eliminate, consistent with 
applicable law and to the extent practicable, requirements for workers' 
compensation claimants to submit physical documents, but to retain the 
option for physical submission for claimants who cannot otherwise submit 
them.

                    (f) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                shall:

(i) continue to design and deliver new, personalized online tools and 
expanded customer support options for Medicare enrollees;

(ii) strengthen requirements for maternal health quality measurement, 
including measuring perinatal quality and patient care experiences, and 
evaluating the measurements by race and ethnicity to aim to better identify 
inequities in maternal health care delivery and outcomes;

(iii) to the maximum extent permitted by law, support coordination between 
benefit programs to ensure applicants and beneficiaries in one program are 
automatically enrolled in other programs for which they are eligible;

(iv) to the maximum extent permitted by law, support streamlining State 
enrollment and renewal processes and removing barriers, including by 
eliminating face-to-face interview requirements and requiring prepopulated 
electronic renewal forms, to ensure eligible individuals are automatically 
enrolled in and retain access to critical benefit programs;

(v) develop guidance for entities regulated pursuant to the Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on providing 
telehealth in compliance with HIPAA rules, to improve patient experience 
and convenience following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency; 
and

(vi) test methods to automate patient access to electronic prenatal, birth, 
and postpartum health records (including lab results, genetic tests, 
ultrasound images, and clinical notes) to improve patient experiences in 
maternity care, health outcomes, and equity.

                    (g) The Secretary of Education shall:

(i) consider providing eligible recipients of student aid under Title IV of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-329), as amended, with the 
option to receive information about certain benefits and services for which 
they may qualify; and

(ii) design and deliver a repayment portal capability on StudentAid.gov for 
Direct Loan borrowers.

                    (h) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall:

(i) provide digital services through a single, integrated, and equitable 
digital platform on VA.gov and the VA mobile app; and

(ii) provide on-demand customer support through the channels that work best 
for customers, including personalized online chat with a virtual or live 
agent.

                    (i) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall:

(i) test the use of innovative technologies at airport security checkpoints 
to reduce passenger wait times;

(ii) provide new opportunities for customers to connect with the 
Transportation Security Administration, including as appropriate, online 
chat, improved communication during additional screenings, and additional 
mechanisms to provide customer feedback;

(iii) design and deliver a streamlined, online disaster assistance 
application; and

(iv) work with States to proactively update existing rules and policies on 
supporting documentation needed for disaster assistance processes to reduce 
burden and increase accessibility.

[[Page 71361]]

                    (j) The Administrator of the Small Business 
                Administration shall:

(i) establish baseline experience measures for key small business 
application processes in areas such as loans, grants, and certifications; 
and

(ii) design and deliver a streamlined online disaster assistance 
application experience.

                    (k) The Commissioner of Social Security shall:

(i) within 120 days of the date of this order, provide a report to the 
Director of OMB that analyzes all services of the Social Security 
Administration that currently require original or physical documentation or 
in-person appearance as an element of identity or evidence authentication, 
and that identifies potential opportunities for policy reforms that can 
support modernized customer experiences while ensuring original or physical 
documentation requirements remain where there is a statutory or strong 
policy rationale;

(ii) develop a mobile-accessible, online process so that any individual 
applying for or receiving services from the Social Security Administration 
can upload forms, documentation, evidence, or correspondence associated 
with their transaction without the need for service-specific tools or 
traveling to a field office;

(iii) consistent with applicable law and to the extent practicable, 
maintain a public policy of technology neutrality with respect to 
acceptable forms of electronic signatures;

(iv) consistent with applicable law and to the extent practicable, revise 
any necessary regulations, forms, instructions, or other sources of 
guidance (to include the Program Operations Manual System of the Social 
Security Administration) to remove requirements that members of the public 
provide physical signatures; and

(v) to the maximum extent permitted by law, support applicants and 
beneficiaries to identify other benefits for which they may be eligible and 
integrate Social Security Administration data and processes with those of 
other Federal and State entities whenever possible.

                    (l) The Administrator of General Services shall:

(i) develop a roadmap for a redesigned USA.gov website that aims to serve 
as a centralized, digital ``Federal Front Door'' from which customers may 
navigate to all Government benefits, services, and programs, and features 
streamlined content, processes, and technologies that use human-centered 
design to meet customer needs, including consolidating content currently 
appearing on Benefits.gov, Grants.gov, and other appropriate websites; and

(ii) dedicate multi-disciplinary design and development teams to support 
priority projects of HISPs that will be selected and funded each fiscal 
year in consultation with the Director of OMB.

                    (m) The Administrator of the United States Agency 
                for International Development (USAID) shall review and 
                revise, as appropriate, regulations, forms, 
                instructions, or other sources of guidance relating to 
                the application for grants and cooperative agreements 
                in countries in which USAID works to ensure that such 
                policies are clear and intelligible, do not contain 
                unjustified administrative burdens or excessive 
                paperwork requirements, and do not place undue burdens 
                on local organizations and underserved communities.
                    (n) Joint Agency Actions:

(i) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Administrator of General 
Services shall collaborate to provide seamless integration of Login.gov 
accounts to allow customers to access VA.gov, the VA mobile application, 
and other customer-facing digital products and to eliminate outdated and 
duplicate customer sign-in options.

(ii) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary 
of Education, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management

[[Page 71362]]

shall collaborate to enable a more streamlined Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness process for eligible borrowers, including those who serve in 
the United States Armed Forces or as civil servants, or who work for 
eligible nonprofit organizations.

(iii) The Director of OMB, including through the Administrator of the 
United States Digital Service, shall collaborate across the Federal 
Government with multiple agencies and their respective customers in order 
to conduct human-centered design research and document customer experience 
challenges related to accessing grant programs to which Tribal governments 
are entitled, and shall propose ways to streamline processes and reduce 
administrative burdens on Tribal government customers.

(iv) The Director of OMB, through the Administrator of the United States 
Digital Service; the Administrator of General Services; and the Postmaster 
General are encouraged to collaborate on ways to update mailing address 
records across Government so that members of the public may change their 
respective mailing addresses for purposes of all Government services only 
once, through the United States Postal Service.

                Sec. 5. Government-wide Actions to Improve Customer 
                Experience. Customers often navigate services across 
                multiple agencies in specific moments of need, such as 
                when they are seeking financing for their businesses or 
                experiencing food insecurity. In such situations, 
                relevant agencies should coordinate their service 
                delivery to achieve an integrated experience that meets 
                customer needs through the exchange of data with 
                appropriate privacy protections.

                Such coordination may include providing States that 
                administer elements of Federal services with guidance 
                and flexibilities with respect to the elements of 
                Federal programs they administer. Such coordination 
                would allow both Federal and State government entities 
                to maximize their respective expertise and improve 
                efficiency. To further the policy set forth in this 
                section:

                    (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, and 
                on a regular basis thereafter, the Deputy Director for 
                Management of OMB and other members of the President's 
                Management Council (PMC) shall work with the Assistant 
                to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to 
                the President for Domestic Policy, and the Assistant to 
                the President for Economic Policy to select a limited 
                number of customer life experiences to prioritize for 
                Government-wide action to improve customer experience.
                    (b) The Deputy Director for Management of OMB and 
                other members of the PMC, in consultation with the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the 
                Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and 
                relevant interagency teams coordinated by OMB, shall 
                organize appropriate leadership structures to assess 
                customer life experiences selected pursuant to 
                subsection (a) of this section, work to develop 
                measurable improvements for such customer life 
                experiences that involve multiple agencies, develop 
                prospective plans for rigorously testing that use 
                appropriate empirical methods on which approaches work 
                best, and share lessons learned across the Federal 
                Government.
                    (c) Within 180 days of the date of this order and 
                every 6 months thereafter, the Deputy Director for 
                Management of OMB and other members of the PMC, through 
                the Deputy Director for Management of OMB, shall report 
                to the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff on 
                the status of the actions described in subsection (b) 
                of this section.
                    (d) The Director of OMB shall work with the head of 
                each relevant agency to help resolve issues related to 
                overlapping responsibilities among agencies, work to 
                address barriers to serving customers across multiple 
                agencies, and coordinate activities to improve customer 
                experience or service delivery when primary 
                responsibility among multiple agencies is unclear.
                    (e) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the 
                Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government 
                and the Administrator of the Office of

[[Page 71363]]

                Information and Regulatory Affairs within OMB, in 
                consultation with relevant interagency councils 
                (including the Chief Information Officers Council, the 
                Federal Privacy Council, the Chief Data Officer 
                Council, the Evaluation Officer Council, and the 
                Interagency Council on Statistical Policy), shall 
                coordinate their current, respective efforts to develop 
                guidance for agencies, ensuring that such guidance 
                incorporates opportunities to:

(i) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of data sharing and support 
processes among agencies and with State and local governments; and

(ii) streamline the process for agencies to provide services to State and 
local governments, consistent with applicable law.

                    (f) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the 
                Administrator of the Office of Information and 
                Regulatory Affairs shall provide guidance for agencies 
                on:

(i) identifying specific steps to reduce information collection burdens on 
customers to enhance access across agencies; and

(ii) clarifying and updating recommendations and flexibilities under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), including to facilitate 
stakeholder engagement and feedback processes to support the implementation 
of this order.

                    (g) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Administrator of General Services shall submit to the 
                Director of OMB a roadmap for the development of 
                prioritized common services and standards (such as the 
                United States Web Design System or systems for login 
                and identity management), platforms (such as 
                notification capabilities), and digital products (such 
                as USA.gov) that support increased efficiency, 
                integration, and improved service delivery of 
                designated customer life experiences.

                Sec. 6. Ongoing Accountability for Federal Service 
                Delivery. (a) The Director of OMB shall designate as 
                HISPs those Federal entities that provide or fund 
                customer-facing services, including Federal services 
                administered at the State or local level, that have a 
                high impact on the public, whether because of a large 
                customer base or a critical effect on those served. The 
                Director of OMB shall maintain a list of designated 
                HISPS and may update this list at any time.

                    (b) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 
                of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the 
                Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the 
                Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
                Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the 
                Commissioner of Social Security, the Administrator of 
                General Services, the Administrator of the United 
                States Agency for International Development, and the 
                Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall 
                each submit to the Director of OMB a report including 
                an assessment of the improvements needed in each 
                agency's customer experience management and service 
                design capabilities in light of this order, to be 
                prioritized within each agency's respective available 
                and budgeted resources.
                    (c) The head of each HISP shall, in consultation 
                with the Deputy Director for Management of OMB, 
                annually designate a limited number of services for 
                prioritized improvement (designated services). 
                Identification of designated services should be based 
                on the moments that matter most to the individuals 
                served, as illustrated through human-centered design 
                and other research, and on those services' public-
                facing nature, the number of individuals served, the 
                volume of transactions, the total Federal dollars 
                spent, the safety and protection of lives, or the 
                critical nature of the services provided in the lives 
                of the individuals they serve.
                    (d) The Deputy Director for Management of OMB shall 
                issue guidance for HISPs that outlines an annual 
                process for assessing their capacity to manage customer 
                experience, assessing their performance of designated 
                services through meaningful measures from the 
                perspective of the public and planning for the 
                improvement of the customer experience. Assessments

[[Page 71364]]

                should include, as appropriate, the identification of 
                customer experience challenges experienced by customers 
                of the HISP in the form of administrative burdens or 
                other barriers, informed by experiential data 
                (including, as appropriate, through randomized 
                controlled trials or other rigorous program 
                evaluation); ethnographic research; feedback from 
                public engagement; human-centered design methodologies 
                such as journey mapping; operational and administrative 
                data analysis; direct observations; examination, from a 
                customer perspective, of how to navigate the agency's 
                service offerings, apply for a benefit, or comply with 
                a requirement of the agency; observations of customer 
                interaction with the agency's website or application 
                processes and tools; or observations of customer 
                support service delivery such as activities at call 
                centers. Informed by findings from these assessments, 
                plans for improvement should include, as appropriate, 
                actions such as conducting outreach to the public about 
                the agency's programs and other Federal programs for 
                which those served by the agency may be eligible, 
                providing assistance to members of the public enrolling 
                in the agency's programs and other Federal programs, 
                streamlining and improving accessibility of forms and 
                digital experiences, eliminating unnecessary 
                administrative burdens on customers, ensuring the 
                accessibility of services for customers with 
                disabilities and those with limited English 
                proficiency, developing targeted actions to advance 
                equity for communities that face inequitable barriers 
                to service access, or engaging in other efforts to 
                coordinate with other agencies to reduce the need for 
                those they serve to interact separately with multiple 
                agencies.
                    (e) The Director of OMB shall establish a team 
                within OMB to lead and support agency customer 
                experience initiatives as well as such initiatives that 
                reach across agencies, including by facilitating the 
                decision-making processes needed to achieve the 
                objectives of this order; coordinating HISP activities 
                as outlined in this order; and developing strategies 
                for the integration of services and development of 
                products involving multiple agencies as contemplated in 
                this order.
                    (f) All agencies, whether identified in this 
                section or not, are urged to apply guidance issued 
                pursuant to subsection (d) of this section to improve 
                their service delivery.

                Sec. 7. Additional Agency Actions to Improve Customer 
                Experience. The heads of agencies shall:

                    (a) integrate activities to improve customer 
                experience, as appropriate and consistent with 
                applicable law, into their respective:

(i) agency strategic plans developed pursuant to section 306(a) of title 5, 
United States Code;

(ii) Agency Performance Plans developed pursuant to sections 1115 and 1116 
of title 31, United States Code;

(iii) portions of performance plans relating to human and capital resource 
requirements to achieve performance goals pursuant to section 1115(g) of 
title 31, United States Code;

(iv) agency priority goals developed pursuant to section 1120 of title 31, 
United States Code;

(v) selection of items for their respective regulatory agendas and plans 
pursuant to subsections 4(b) and (c) of Executive Order 12866 of September 
30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as amended;

(vi) individual performance plans for senior executives consistent with 
section 4312 of title 5, United States Code, and for other senior employees 
consistent with section 4302 of title 5, United States Code; and

(vii) as permitted by law, any other agency activities, acquisitions, and 
strategies that the Director of OMB determines to be appropriate to further 
the implementation of the policy articulated in this order;

                    (b) direct all of their respective program offices 
                to apply the guidance from OMB's Office of Information 
                and Regulatory Affairs described in section

[[Page 71365]]

                5(f) of this order, as well as the requirements of the 
                Paperwork Reduction Act related to collections of 
                information, consistently with guidance contained in 
                the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
                Memorandum of July 22, 2016 (Flexibilities under the 
                Paperwork Reduction Act for Compliance with Information 
                Collection Requirements), which provides that the 
                Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply to agencies' 
                general solicitations of public views and feedback, 
                certain ratings and rankings of Federal services by 
                members of the public using Government websites, or 
                direct observations of users interacting with digital 
                tools and products;
                    (c) direct all of their respective program offices 
                to identify opportunities to apply policies, including 
                those set forth in subsections 1(a) and (b) of 
                Executive Order 13707, and to engage in promising 
                practices such as the advance testing of information 
                collections described in the Office of Information and 
                Regulatory Affairs Memorandum of August 9, 2012 
                (Testing and Simplifying Federal Forms);
                    (d) identify opportunities, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law, to modify their 
                respective agencies' regulations, internal and public-
                facing guidance, and policies to include positive and 
                equitable customer experiences and service delivery as 
                part of their respective agencies' missions; issue 
                internal directives or policies on customer experience 
                and service delivery to articulate how their respective 
                agencies' strategies and missions relate to customer 
                experience and service delivery outcomes; and promote 
                coordination within and among their respective agencies 
                concerning those customer life experiences that cut 
                across agency or agency component responsibilities;
                    (e) improve the digital customer experience for 
                their respective agencies' customers by modernizing 
                agency websites, using human-centered design 
                methodologies, digitizing agency services and forms, 
                modernizing records management, updating network 
                infrastructure and mobility capabilities, and 
                accelerating the use of electronic signatures when 
                aligned with policy priorities, as required by the 21st 
                Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (44 U.S.C. 
                3501 note); and
                    (f) identify means by which their respective 
                agencies can improve transparency and accessibility 
                through their compliance with the Plain Writing Act of 
                2010 (Public Law 111-274) and related requirements and 
                guidance.

                Sec. 8. OMB Guidance. The Director of OMB shall review 
                and update OMB Government-wide guidance and supporting 
                processes (such as information collection reviews or 
                data sharing approvals) as necessary and applicable, to 
                ensure conformity with this order and to assist 
                agencies in improving their service delivery and 
                customer experience.

                Sec. 9. Independent Agencies. Independent agencies are 
                strongly encouraged to comply with the provisions of 
                this order.

                Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 71366]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    December 13, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-27380
Filed 12-15-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P