9/28/94 F A C T S H E E T INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE (IITF) The White House formed the Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) to articulate and implement the Administration's vision for the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The task force consists of high-level representatives of the Federal agencies that play a major role in the development and application of information and telecommunications technologies. Working together with the private sector, the participating agencies will develop comprehensive technology, telecommunications, and information policies and promote applications that best meet the needs of both the agencies and the country. By helping build consensus on difficult policy issues, the IITF will enable agencies to make and implement policy more quickly and effectively. Ronald H. Brown, the Secretary of Commerce, chairs the IITF, and much of the staff work and administrative support for the task force will be done by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce. The Task Force operates under the aegis of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council. Three IITF Committees have been established: Telecommunications Policy, Information Policy, and Applications and Technology, as detailed below. Through Executive Order No. 12864, the President established an Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. The Council is identifying appropriate government action within these guidelines to advise the Secretary of Commerce, Ronald H. Brown, on matters related to the development of the NII. Secretary Brown appointed 37 members to serve a two-year term on the advisory council. The Council members represent the many different stakeholders in the NII, including industry, labor, academic, public interest groups, and state and local governments. (See attached list.) The Task Force currently is undertaking a wide-ranging examination of all issues relevant to the timely development and growth of the NII. The Administration's Agenda for Action, released September 15, 1993, identified nine specific principles and goals to guide government action: 1) Promoting Private Sector Investment 2) Extending the "Universal Service" Concept to Ensure that Information Resources are Available to All at Affordable Prices 3) Promoting Technological Innovation and New Applications 4) Promoting Seamless, Interactive, User-Driven Operation 5) Ensuring Information Security and Network Reliability 6) Improving Management of the Radio Frequency Spectrum 7) Protecting Intellectual Property Rights 8) Coordinating with Other Levels of Government and With Other Nations 9) Providing Access to Government Information and Improving Government Procurement IITF Committees: (1) Telecommunications Policy Committee -- formulates a consistent Administration position on key telecommunications issues. Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce, chairs the Committee. (For information contact: Tatia Williams -- 202/482-1551 or twilliams@ntia.doc.gov) Universal Service Working Group will work to ensure that all Americans have access to and can enjoy the benefits of the National Information Infrastructure. Chaired by Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce. (Tatia Williams: 202/482-1551 or twilliams@ntia.doc.gov) Reliability and Vulnerability Working Group will ensure that the NII will: provide protection for all users from catastrophic failure of the network and the information services it provides, along with mechanisms for recovery from threats ranging from natural disasters to overt attacks; and define and monitor the national security and emergency preparedness requirements. Chaired by Dr. David Signori, Associate Director, Defense Information Systems Agency. (James Fletcher: 703/746-8537 or fletch1j@cc.ims.disa.mil) International Telecommunications Working Group will examine telecommunications issues from an international perspective. This Working Group is subdivided into five subworking groups and their team leaders and subject areas are listed below. Chaired by Carol Darr of the Department of Commerce. (Sharon Bywater: 202/482-1304 or sbywater@ntia.doc.gov) Foreign Government/Foreign Corporation Participation in the NII and the Use of the NII to Open Overseas Markets (Don Abelson: 202/395-7320) The Effect of Current Law on Setting Policy and Legislative Efforts to Change the Law (vacant) The Purposes of the United States Government Controlling the Flow of Technology Transfers (Elliot Maxwell: 202/482-5150 or emaxwell@banyan.doc.gov) United States Participation in International Organizations and Standards Setting Bodies (John Gilsenan: 202/647-2592) International Use of Research Networks (Stephen Wolff: 703/306-1949 or steve@nsf.gov) Legislative Drafting Task Force formulates and develops the Administration's telecommunications legislative reform initiatives. Chaired by Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce. (Ellen Bloom: 202/482-1551 or ebloom@ntia.doc.gov) (2) Information Policy Committee -- addresses critical information policy issues that must be addressed if the National Information Infrastructure is to be fully deployed and utilized. Sally Katzen, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), chairs the Committee. (Bruce McConnell: 202/395-3785 or ipc@a1.eop.gov) Intellectual Property Rights Working Group develops proposals for protecting copyrights and other IPR in an electronic world. Chaired by Bruce Lehman, head of the Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce. (Edward Kazenske: 703/305-8600) Privacy Working Group develops proposals to protect individual privacy despite the rapid increase in the collection, storage, and dissemination of personal data in electronic form. Chaired by Robert Veeder, Office of Privacy, Internal Revenue Service. (Robert Veeder: 202/927-6580 (Office) or 202/927-7216 (Fax)) Government Information Working Group focuses on ways to promote dissemination of government data in electronic form. Chaired by Bruce McConnell, Information Policy Branch, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. (Peter Weiss: 202/395-3785 or ipc@a1.eop.gov) Electronic Record FOIA Legislation Group (Daniel Metcalfe: 202/514-4251) Scientific and Technical Information Group (Elizabeth Buffum: 615/576-1188) (3) Committee on Applications and Technology -- coordinates the Administration's efforts to develop, demonstrate, and promote applications of information technology in manufacturing, education, health care, government services, libraries, environmental monitoring, electronic commerce, and other applications. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, chairs the Committee. (Cita Furlani: 301/975-4529 or cat_exec@nist.gov) Government Information Technology Services (GITS) coordinates efforts to improve the application of information technology by Federal agencies. Chaired by Jim Flyzik, Director, Office of Telecommunications Management, Department of Treasury. (Jim Flyzik: 202/622-1592 or jim.flyzik@treas.sprint.com) Technology Policy Working Group addresses cross-cutting technology issues related to interoperability and scalability of new telecommunications and information services. Chaired by Duane Adams, Deputy Director of ARPA. (Howard Frank: 703/696-2409 or hfrank@arpa.mil) Advanced Digital Video and NII (Howard Frank: 703/696-2409 or hfrank@arpa.mil) NII Roadmap (Y.T. Chien: 703/306-1930 or ytchien@nsf.gov) NII Services Architecture (Shukri Wakid: 301/975-2900 or swakid@nist.gov) NII Standards (Mike Hogan: 301/975-2926) Health Information and Applications Working Group coordinates efforts that affect use of the NII for health care. Chaired by John Silva, Program Manager, ARPA. (John Silva: 703-696-2221 or jsilva@arpa.mil) Telemedicine (Dena Puskin: 301/443-0835 or Lisa Leidig: 202/482-1880) Consumer Health Informatics (Kevin Patrick: 202/205-5793 or kpatrick@oash) Standards (Susan Katz: 301/975-3274) (4) NII Security Issues Forum -- coordinates security efforts across the Committees and Working Groups of the IITF. NII Security has been defined as the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and of the systems carrying the information. Sally Katzen, Chair of the Information Policy Committee, chairs this Issue Forum. (Edward Springer: 202/395-3785 or ipc@a1.eop.gov) Other Information: Access to IITF Bulletin Board -- 202/501-1920 (Accessible by using a personal computer and a modem.) (Information Contact: Charles Franz at 202/482-1835 or cfranz@ntia.doc.gov (e-mail) IITF Secretariat -- Yvette Barrett at 202/482-1835 (Office), 202/482-0979 (Fax) or ybarrett@ntia.doc.gov (e-mail) IITF Committee Report -- Yvette Barrett at 202/482-1835 (Office), 202/482-0979 (Fax) or ybarrett@ntia.doc.gov (e-mail) NII Grant Program -- Charles Rush at 202/482-1551 or crush@ntia.doc.gov (e-mail) Internet (Gopher) -- iitf.doc.gov (Information Contact: Charles Franz at 202/482-1835 or cfranz@ntia.doc.gov (e-mail)