Washington, D.C. - Kay Coles James told Congress today that a single e-Gov initiative managed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will save America's taxpayers nearly $260 million over 10 years, while improving and speeding the processing of background investigations leading to security clearances for employees. She added that the e-Clearance initiative and four others the White House has entrusted to the human resources agency will increase the total tax savings to approximately $3 billion.

James thanked Florida Congressman Adam Putnam, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, for the opportunity to promote OPM's accomplishments in the e-Government arena.

"I appreciate Chairman Putnam's leadership and oversight of the e-Government agenda and his commitment to efforts that make government more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the citizen," said James.

James, OPM's Director, also informed subcommittee members that the recent merger of the Department of Defense and OPM clearance databases is allowing agencies to make better and more-timely decisions on each applicant's suitability for government employment.

"Our e-Clearance initiative will improve and speed the processing of investigations for security clearances," said James. "E-Clearance will allow agencies to image investigative records held by the myriad investigative agencies and make them available, among all authorized federal users, electronically."

Members called the hearing to assess the progress of vital components of President Bush's Management Agenda, which is aimed at reducing the cost of government services, while clearing away bureaucratic impediments to creating a government that is citizen-centered, results-oriented and market-driven.

In testimony, James highlighted the accomplishments and goals of each of OPM's five e-Gov initiatives. From the newly enhanced Recruitment One-Stop (www.usajobs.gov) -- an online vacancy announcement site that, to date, has logged nearly 8 million unique visitors, relocated a "veterans" link, and let more than 111,000 people create and post online resumes -- to e-Training (www.golearn.gov) -- which provides opportunities for employees to obtain new skills or upgrade existing ones -- James said OPM's e-Government efforts are benefiting a large audience.

James noted the effectiveness of OPM's e-Training initiative in getting to its intended users and said it is delivering results "ahead of schedule." The GOLEARN site has 100,000 registered users, and federal employees across the globe have completed 60,000 courses since its unveiling in July 2002.

"There are soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today using our e-Training programs to continue their education as they defend freedom on the other side of the world," said James. Employees use the training site to enhance existing skills or to obtain new ones, such as in the high-demand information technology field.

The Director also educated committee members on the goals of the Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) and e-Payroll initiatives.

When completed, EHRI will give employees online access to information contained in their official work-history portfolios, as well as help agency managers and HR specialists forecast employee turnover and prepare qualified replacement staff to fill vacated positions. With e-Payroll, 22 disparate federal payroll systems will consolidate to create two systems, saving taxpayers more than $1 billion dollars over 10 years.

"E-Gov is producing results today," said James. "Results in tax dollars saved, government efficiency enhanced and the American citizen better-served by their government."

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.