Please click the link: http://www.usda.gov/2004/12/0522.xml Release No. 0522.04 Alisa Harrison (202) 720-4623 Jim Brownlee (202) 720-4623 USDA'S NATIONAL FINANCE CENTER RECEIVES PRESIDENT'S QUALITY AWARD Public Key Infrastructure Program Receives Presidential Award for Management Excellence WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2004---USDA's National Finance Center (NFC) has received a President's Quality Award, the highest recognition bestowed by the federal government to federal agencies for management excellence. The Presidential Award for Management Excellence is presented to organizations demonstrating exemplary approach and results in implementing the President's Management Agenda and who serve as role models for other organizations. In the category e-Government Innovation and Exemplary Practices, NFC was honored for successful deployment of Internet services to employees and agencies, including its Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Program in support of the broader e-Authentication initiative. "Receiving the President's Quality Award is another indication that the extraordinary dedication and skill of USDA's National Finance Center staff is paying off for their customers," said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. "In addition to providing innovative technology solutions, NFC provides quality customer service. They have a long tradition of service and a historic commitment to continual service improvement." "NFC has always been ahead of its time in pioneering new enabling technology solutions with the goal of serving its current and potential customers," said USDA's Acting Chief Financial Officer Patricia Healy. "NFC's PKI program is the first federal program approved for general use by federal agencies following accreditation by the Federal Identity Credentialing Committee." PKI is an underlying technology that offers secure authentication for e-business transactions and allows for digital signature of the transactions. It is a low-cost, low-risk approach for agencies to consider when transitioning to e-Government Internet-based transaction processing and information exchange. NFC's PKI program began in 1996 in support of the digital signature of payment documents relating to USDA's Rural Housing Program. PKI proved to not only be an effective solution in terms of security and digital signature, but it also saved the time needed to process purchase orders, thus reducing late fees. NFC recently expanded the PKI program to support Federal e-Government business needs and the program is now available to Federal agencies in support of their electronic business transactions. NFC's PKI program offers authentication, data integrity, non-repudiation, and confidentiality far superior to traditional ID and password solutions and has proven to reduce time and costs for customers, support the efficient and timely dissemination of secure information, and allow agencies to quickly mitigate concerns with high-risk transactions. NFC operates a 24 hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week help desk for its PKI customers and has integrated business continuity and disaster recovery as part of the base program. NFC's PKI services allow customer agencies the opportunity to immediately and strategically deploy this security and identity layer without a significant capital investment, eliminating the long lead time it takes to establish the rigorous processes necessary for implementation. This option saves NFC customer agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars and allows them to implement the services almost instantly. NFC, a component organization of USDA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer, offers its customers a very secure, multi-level PKI solution to support deployment and operation of electronic government. NFC's Web interface allows for easy, efficient registration and certificate activation processes. The mission of USDA's NFC is to provide superior payroll, financial, and administrative products to the Government at a reasonable cost. NFC has more than 20 years of experience delivering cost-effective business services to 134 Federal organizations. As part of the e-Payroll effort, NFC payrolls more than 500,000 Federal employees biweekly. NFC operates two additional government-wide programs on behalf of the Office of Personnel Management: Direct Premium Remittance System and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Centralized Enrollment Clearinghouse System. In addition, NFC provides operational support to the Thrift Savings Plan program, serves as a full-service data center for various USDA financial and administrative applications, and offers unique information technology services and solutions for other federal agencies. For more information about the National Finance Center, contact USDA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer at (202) 720-5539. For more information about the 2004 President's Quality Awards, visit http://www.opm.gov/viewDocument.aspx?q=705 # USDA News oc.news@xxxxxxxx 202 720-4623 ---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to oc.news@xxxxxxxx and reference your email address.
