President Obama says improving the government's technological capabilities is critical to effectively using American taxpayers' money and reducing waste.

Obama was speaking to a group of more than 50 CEOs Thursday at a forum about modernizing government. The crowd included executives from Facebook, UPS, Trader Joe's and Southwest Airlines.

Obama says when Washington lags behind the private sector it has a negative effect on people's lives. He said people should be able to schedule government appointments and track applications as easily as they can book airline reservations and follow the package delivery progress.