WASHINGTON-Commerce Secretary Don Evans today announced major technology reorganization, a shift that would combine the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Technology Administration and the International Trade Administration into one organization and effectively make Under Secretary for Technology Phil Bond the administration’s high-tech czar.
“Convergence is the business model in the digital economy-it should be the business model in the federal government,” said Evans. “This administration understands that our global marketplace has changed and that telecom and technology operate together, not separately. We need to adjust our thinking and adjust our structure to keep pace with the world, our economy and innovation.”
NTIA chief Nancy Victory, whose agency advises the White House on telecom policy and manages federal government spectrum, would report to Bond.
The proposed reorganization requires congressional approval.
Until recently, Bond had a dual role as head of the Technology Administration and chief of staff to Evans. Bond still serves on four committees of the President’s National Science and Technology Council, a cabinet-level panel.
Bond was director of federal public policy for Hewlett-Packard Co. before joining the Commerce Department in 2001. From 1993 to 1998, Bond was chief of staff to Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and prior to that served as legislative liaison for then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney.
