Joe Biden aims to slash bureaucratic burden for access to US government services

Travellers queuing at security at Denver International Airport last month. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order aimed at saving Americans time and frustration. AP

President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order aimed at saving Americans time and frustration when seeking a broad array of federal services, like renewing passports, applying for Social Security benefits and getting aid after natural disasters.

The order -- targeting 36 federal services across multiple agencies and departments -- also calls for passport renewals to be digitised and for the Internal Revenue Service to call back taxpayers instead of keeping them on hold.

The measure will “ensure that the federal government puts you, the American people, at the front of the line and are first in anything we do,” Mr Biden said.

The order is aimed at reducing the current bureaucratic runaround, under which people often have to visit offices, endure long phone calls or struggle with the delays of mail and fax machines when trying to contact federal agencies.

The White House hopes that improving the public's experiences with federal agencies will help to renew faith in government and democracy itself at time when deep political polarisation has eroded trust in US institutions.

The country has seen a strong economic rebound as coronavirus relief programs sent money directly to Americans. But support for the president has slumped as the United States faces inflation at a nearly four-decade high and the coronavirus pandemic lingers.

The new executive order should bring government services into the digital era, said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs for AARP, an association for older Americans.

“We do our banking online," Mr Sweeney said. “We do our work online. We can order food online. We can order groceries from our phone. I think people are accustomed to that now and they’re demanding that government keep up as well.”

The goal is to implement most of the order's changes across 17 federal agencies within the next year. Officials said that existing funds should be enough for agencies to pay for improvements and that better service and efficiency would ultimately save the government money. Mr Biden plans to sign the order on Monday afternoon.

For travellers, Americans will be able to renew their passports online instead of having to print forms and pay with a paper cheque or money order. New security machines and computers with advanced screening features are to streamline the process of going through security queues for the roughly 2 million people who fly daily.

For retirees and the nearly 4 million Americans who turn 65 each year, the order requires that they be able to claim Social Security benefits online more easily.

Medicare recipients are to be able to access personalised online tools for saving money on drugs and managing their health care. Taxpayers will be able to schedule callbacks with the IRS instead of waiting on hold or having to manage issues through letters and faxes.

The 45 million people with student debt will be able to manage their federal loans through a single portal, instead of several websites with different passwords. Paperwork is also to be reduced for people seeking loan forgiveness.

Other proposed changes include: making it easier for natural disaster victims to get federal aid, military veterans are to be able to access their benefits with a single login, and poorer families should find it easier to certify their incomes and enrol in eligible social safety net programs without the extra paperwork.

Agencies contributed to this report.