THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 23, 1999
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES SENIORS TO BENEFIT FROM NEW ONE-STOP
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Washington,
DC -- Vice President Gore unveiled Access America for Seniors, an
Internet site providing a wide range of services to older Americans
-- an example of his vision of one-stop Internet access to government
services.
The new web site provides information
and services offered by virtually every major Federal government
agency, civilian and military. All are accessible with a few clicks
from the Access America for Seniors home page.
"This is an excellent example of our efforts to reinvent government
to provide services that the American people need and care about,"
Vice President Gore said.
"Through this new web site, seniors can change their address with
the Post Office, compare nursing homes, request Social Security
statements, get IRS tax forms and find a variety of other government
information."
The site is hosted by the Social Security Administration, whose
official web site, Social Security Online, has won numerous awards
as one of the best in the government. As part of today's announcement,
Social Security Commissioner Kenneth S. Apfel unveiled two new Internet
services that Social Security will offer to the public.
Social Security benefit recipients can now request official agency
statements of their benefits through the Access America web site,
and receive them in the mail within ten days. For example, Form
SSA-1099, which is used by seniors and other Social Security beneficiaries
in preparing their Federal income tax returns, will be available.
In addition, seniors can request an official letter verifying how
much they will receive in monthly benefits. This letter is frequently
used by some aged or disabled beneficiaries to establish eligibility
for state and local assistance programs.
"This is another example of Social Security using the web site to
provide better, faster service to our customers," Commissioner Apfel
said. "We're constantly seeking secure ways to use technology, in
this case, the Internet, to broaden the range of official Social
Security information and services available to the American public."
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For more information, contact Kelly Paisley, National Partnership
for Reinventing Government, at (202) 694-0051.
Related Resources:
Access
America Online Magazine
Yahoo!
News: Gore's Virtual Government Goal Unveiled
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