September 2000 – Want to track your Social Security benefits? Need to apply for a federal student loan? Having trouble surfing the Internet to find the nearest veterans hospital? Want to reserve a campsite at a national park?
Now, Americans can do all these things by logging on to a single U.S. government Web site: http://firstgov.gov.
The one-stop Internet site consolidates 20,000 government Web sites – some 27 million web pages – into one.
Rather than digging through the Social Security Administration’s Web site to print out a form to track retirement benefits, or entering their salary information to calculate it themselves securely, users can go straight to FirstGov to easily see all the government transactions, shopping and more they can do online.
“With 27 million Web pages of government information now on line – and more added everyday – finding the information or service you need can be frustrating,” Clinton said in his Internet address to the nation. “So go to http://firstgov.gov and you’re just a few mouse clicks away from Web sites where you can apply for student loans or reserve a campground at a national park.”