Nader urges better services

The federal government's move to become more businesslike is missing its mark, advocate Ralph Nader told a group of mostly federal IT officials.

Nader, former presidential candidate and founder of the citizen activist group Public Citizen, said agencies are outsourcing too often, are not transparent enough to citizens, and are silenced by lobbyists from creating new industry regulations. He also said they should use their purchasing power to set standards and policies in the software industry. He spoke at IRMCO Sept. 2 in Cambridge, Md.

But amid this push to be more businesslike, agencies are not doing a good job in promoting themselves, Nader said.

"No one knows who you are or what you do," he said. "I've been trying to get people to understand what you do for the past 30 years. But politicians beat up on you and call you bureaucrats, and that dissuades young people from going into government."