There are many top priority Government initiatives and mandates today related to eGovernment. Most of them are focused on easier citizen interaction with the government and streamline citizen-to-Government communications through the use of internet-based technology. NFC places a high priority in supporting Government-wide initiatives related to secure eAuthentication.  Below are the related websites to view the most current Government initiatives and mandates.

HSPD 12, Homeland Security Presidential Directive, Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors
This directive requires the establishment of a Government-wide standard for gaining physical access to Federally controlled facilities and logical access to Federally controlled information systems.  Agencies must comply within 8 months of the promulgation of the Government-wide standard. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-8.html

OMB Memorandum (M-04-04) e-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies and NIST Special Publications 800-63, Electronic Authentication Guideline
The OMB memorandum establishes and describes four levels of assurance for electronic transactions and defines technical requirements for four levels of assurance in the areas of identity proofing, registration, tokens, authentications protocols, and related assertions.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy04/m04-04.pdf

FIPS Pub 201, Personal Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal Employees and Contractors - Federal Information Processing Standards Publication
The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication Series of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the official series of publications relating to standards and guidelines adopted and promulgated under the provisions of the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

This standard specifies an architecture and technical requirements for a common identification standard for Federal employees and contractors.  The overall goal is to achieve appropriate security assurance for multiple applications by efficiently verifying the claimed identity of an individual seeking physical access to Federally-controlled Government facilities and electronic access to Government information systems.
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips201/FIPS-201-022505.pdf

Appendix II to OMB Circular A-130 – Implementation of the Government Paperwork Elimination
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) requires availability for the electronic submission of forms.  It also encourages the use of electronic signatures.  Furthermore, GPEA promotes proper security measures with this electronic submission process. http://www.cdt.org/legislation/105th/digsig/govnopaper.html

USDA eAuthentication Service
The USDA, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has implemented the USDA eAuthentication Service, which centralized the electronic authentication functionality for all USDA eGovernment Services. This service allows users to interact with USDA using one account. It also allows USDA agencies to more quickly offer online services in a secure fashion. This system currently supports Levels 1 and 2 access to USDA services. In the future, OCIO and OCFO/NFC will be partnering to provide a complete suite of electronic authentication credential for USDA employees. As this partnership grows, USDA employees will be provided with information on obtaining higher levels of credentials.
http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov

Federal PKI Policy Authority
The Federal PKI (FPKI) Policy Authority sets policy governing operation of the U.S. Federal PKI Infrastructure, composed of: the Federal Bridge Certification Authority (FBCA); the Federal Common Policy Framework Certification Authority (CPFCA); the Citizen and Commerce Class Common Certification Authority (C4CA) and the E-Governance Certification Authority. The FPKI Policy Authority approves applicants for cross certification with the FBCA.
http://www.cio.gov/fpkipa