[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2142 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2142

  To require the review of Government programs at least once every 5 
 years for purposes of assessing their performance and improving their 
   operations, and to establish the Performance Improvement Council.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2009

   Mr. Cuellar (for himself and Mr. Moore of Kansas) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the review of Government programs at least once every 5 
 years for purposes of assessing their performance and improving their 
   operations, and to establish the Performance Improvement Council.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Government Efficiency, 
Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means--
                    (A) an executive agency as defined in section 105 
                of title 5, United States Code, other than the 
                Government Accountability Office; and
                    (B) the United States Postal Service and the Postal 
                Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Agency performance improvement officer.--The term 
        ``agency performance improvement officer'' means an employee of 
        an agency who is a member of the Senior Executive Service or 
        equivalent service, and who is designated by the head of the 
        agency to carry out the duties set forth in section 5 of this 
        Act.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) A lack of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability 
        in some Federal programs undermines the confidence of the 
        American people in the Government and reduces the Federal 
        Government's ability to adequately address public needs.
            (2) To restore the confidence of the American people in its 
        Government and to increase the Federal Government's ability to 
        adequately address vital public needs, the Federal Government 
        must continually seek to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, 
        and accountability of Federal programs.
            (3) With the passage of the Government Performance and 
        Results Act of 1993, Congress directed the executive branch to 
        seek improvements in the performance and accountability of 
        Federal programs by having agencies focus on strategic 
        objectives and annual program results.
            (4) The requirements of the Government Performance and 
        Results Act have produced an infrastructure of outcome oriented 
        strategic plans, performance measures, and accountability 
        reporting that serve as a solid foundation for agencies working 
        with Congress to achieve long-term strategic goals and improve 
        the performance of Federal programs.
            (5) Congressional policy making, spending decisions, and 
        program oversight have been handicapped by insufficient 
        attention to program performance and results.
            (6) While improvements have been made in the development of 
        outcome-oriented strategic plans, performance measures, and 
        accountability reporting for individual programs, progress is 
        still needed to ensure that programs are periodically evaluated 
        in a systematic, consistent, and transparent manner, and that 
        performance information is used to inform congressional 
        decisionmaking in conducting program authorization, 
        appropriation, and oversight.
            (7) Periodic performance assessments of Federal programs 
        provide critical information on whether a program is achieving 
        its performance objectives and help Congress and the executive 
        branch identify the most pressing policy and program issues and 
        determine if specific operational, financial, or strategic 
        reforms are needed to increase a program's efficiency and 
        effectiveness.
            (8) Programs performing similar or duplicative functions 
        that exist within a single agency or across multiple agencies 
        should be identified and their performance and results shared 
        among all such programs to improve their performance and 
        results.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To improve the Government Performance and Results Act 
        of 1993 by implementing a program assessment process that seeks 
        to assess each Federal program on a periodic basis with a 
        particular focus on the following:
                    (A) The clarity of purpose and objectives of the 
                program.
                    (B) The quality of the program design.
                    (C) The quality of strategic and performance 
                planning and goals for the program.
                    (D) The quality of the management and 
                organizational design of the program.
                    (E) The effectiveness of the program in reaching 
                its stated objectives.
            (2) To utilize the information gathered during the 
        assessment process to help agencies make informed management 
        decisions, improve the effectiveness of agency and program 
        operations (particularly for those programs that are deemed 
        poorly performing), and submit evidence-based funding requests.
            (3) To provide congressional policy makers with information 
        needed to conduct more effective oversight and assist in the 
        improvement of agency operations, and to make performance-
        informed and results-based authorization and appropriation 
        decisions that improve the effectiveness of program operations.
            (4) To establish the Performance Improvement Council as a 
        body that will assist in the development of performance 
        standards and evaluation methodologies, identify best practices 
        in Federal performance management practices and facilitate the 
        exchange of information among agencies on these practices, and 
        coordinate and monitor performance assessment efforts.
            (5) To establish agency performance improvement officers to 
        supervise the performance management activities of Federal 
        agencies.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED FOR INCREASED CONSULTATION 
              BETWEEN CONGRESS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ON PERFORMANCE 
              MANAGEMENT ISSUES.

    It is the sense of Congress that the head of each Federal agency 
should make every effort to consult with the committees with 
jurisdiction over the agency and other interested members of Congress 
each fiscal year regarding the performance plan of the agency (required 
by section 1115 of title 31, United States Code).

SEC. 5. PROGRAM ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Requirement for Program Assessments.--Chapter 11 of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:
``Sec. 1120. Program assessment
    ``(a) Assessments.--The head of each Federal agency, in 
collaboration with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, conduct an assessment of each 
program of the agency at least once every 5 fiscal years.
    ``(b) Assessment Requirements.--In conducting an assessment of a 
program under subsection (a), the head of a Federal agency, in 
collaboration with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
shall--
            ``(1) coordinate to determine the programs to be assessed; 
        and
            ``(2) assess the program's purpose, strategic plan and 
        objectives, organizational design, management, efficiency, and 
        effectiveness in achieving its performance objectives, and such 
        other matters as the head of the agency considers appropriate, 
        and identify the program's strengths and weaknesses and factors 
        impeding or contributing to program successes.
    ``(c) Draft List of Programs To Be Assessed.--The Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall--
            ``(1) ) make available, as part of the President's budget 
        submission and through the Office of Management and Budget 
        website, and provide to the Committee on Oversight and 
        Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
        Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate--
                    ``(A) a draft list of programs to be assessed 
                during the coming fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) the criteria and methodology that will be 
                used to assess the programs;
            ``(2) provide a mechanism for interested persons, including 
        members and committees of Congress, to comment on the programs 
        being assessed and the criteria and methodology that will be 
        used to assess the programs; and
            ``(3) along with the head of each agency, place a special 
        emphasis on the advantages of assessing during the same fiscal 
        year any programs that are performing similar functions, serve 
        similar populations, have similar purposes, or share common 
        objectives, for purposes of identifying common challenges, 
        exemplary goals and practices, common measures of performance, 
        and potential opportunities for the integration and 
        consolidation of Federal functions.
    ``(d) Final List of Programs To Be Assessed.--By May 1 of each 
year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make 
available, through the Office of Management and Budget website, and 
provide to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate--
            ``(1) a final list of programs to be assessed during the 
        coming fiscal year; and
            ``(2) the criteria and methodology that will be used to 
        assess the programs.
    ``(e) Coordination and Establishment of Assessment Teams.--In 
conducting an assessment of a program under subsection (a), the head of 
the relevant agency shall collaborate with the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget to establish assessment teams to assess the 
program's purpose, strategic plan and objectives, organizational 
design, management, efficiency, and effectiveness in achieving its 
performance objectives, and such other matters as the head of the 
agency considers appropriate, and identify the program's strengths and 
weaknesses and factors impeding or contributing to program successes.
    ``(f) Assessment Reports.--(1) The results of the assessments 
conducted during a fiscal year shall be submitted by the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget in a report to Congress at the same 
time that the President submits the next budget under section 1105 of 
this title after the end of that fiscal year.
    ``(2) The assessment report for each program shall--
            ``(A) include--
                    ``(i) a brief summary of the program purposes, 
                objectives, and performance goals, as well as key 
                findings of the assessment;
                    ``(ii) an assessment of the clarity of the 
                program's purpose and the soundness of the program's 
                organizational design and approach to achieving 
                specific long-term goals;
                    ``(iii) an assessment of the quality of the 
                program's measurable long-term and annual performance 
                measures, and the extent to which necessary performance 
                data are collected;
                    ``(iv) an assessment of the extent to which 
                managers are held accountable for achieving program 
                results, and the extent to which strong financial 
                management tools are in place;
                    ``(v) an assessment of the program's efficiency and 
                effectiveness in achieving long-term and annual 
                performance objectives; and
                    ``(vi) a summary of how the program's strengths and 
                weaknesses are impeding or contributing to its failures 
                or successes, including the reasons for any substantial 
                variation from the targeted level of performance of the 
                program;
            ``(B) describe the extent to which any trends, 
        developments, or emerging conditions affect the need to change 
        the mission of the program or the way that the program is being 
        carried out;
            ``(C) identify, within any program assessed, the best 
        practices conducted in the program for allocating resources in 
        an efficient and effective manner that resulted in positive 
        outcomes, and the key reasons why such practices resulted in 
        positive outcomes;
            ``(D) include recommendations for program modifications to 
        improve the results that each program achieves, with a special 
        focus on opportunities that might exist for the consolidation 
        and integration of programs and authorities, along with an 
        explanation of each change and a description of its effect on 
        program operations, costs, and effectiveness;
            ``(E) describe any significant limitations in the 
        assessments; and
            ``(F) be available in a searchable, online database through 
        the Office of Management and Budget website.
    ``(g) Improvement Plans.--(1) Following the submission of any 
assessment report, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
acting through the Deputy Director for Management, shall work with the 
relevant agency to develop an improvement plan that responds to the 
assessment report and that identifies follow-up actions to improve the 
performance of the program covered by the assessment report.
    ``(2) Within 90 days after submission of an assessment report, the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make the 
improvement plan relating to the report available, through the Office 
of Management and Budget website, and submit copies of the improvement 
plan to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate.
    ``(3) Each improvement plan for a program shall include management, 
organizational, or operational reforms the agency will implement to 
improve the performance of the program.
    ``(4) The head of the relevant agency, in collaboration with the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall oversee the 
implementation of improvement plans for programs in the agency.
    ``(5) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
make improvement plans available in a searchable, electronic form 
through the Office of Management and Budget website. The plans shall be 
updated periodically to reflect the status of follow-up actions.
    ``(h) Criteria for More Frequent Assessments.--The Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall make every effort to assess 
programs more frequently than required under subsection (a) in cases in 
which programs are determined to be of higher priority, special 
circumstances exist, improvements have been made, or it is determined 
that more frequent assessment is warranted.
    ``(i) Inspector General Report.--Each year, following the release 
of assessment reports, the Inspector General of each agency shall 
submit to Congress, and post on the website of the Inspector General, a 
report on the agency's implementation of the requirements of this 
section and on the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the 
agency's assessment process, as well as the quality of the agency's 
assessment reports and improvement plans.
    ``(j) Government Accountability Office Evaluations and Reports.--
            ``(1) Evaluations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--After the end of each of the 
                first, second, and third fiscal years with respect to 
                which the Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget submits one or more assessment reports under 
                subsection (f), the Comptroller General of the United 
                States shall evaluate the implementation of this 
                section, with emphasis on the matters specified in 
                subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Matters to be evaluated.--The matters to be 
                evaluated under subparagraph (A) are as follows, with 
                respect to the fiscal year covered by the evaluation:
                            ``(i) The criteria and methodology used to 
                        conduct program assessments.
                            ``(ii) The limitations of the assessment 
                        process.
                            ``(iii) The quality of assessment reports 
                        and improvement plans.
                            ``(iv) Agency efforts to implement follow-
                        up actions identified in program improvement 
                        plans.
                            ``(v) The level of engagement between 
                        congressional stakeholders and executive branch 
                        agencies.
                            ``(vi) The use of data produced through the 
                        assessment process.
                            ``(vii) The effectiveness of assessment 
                        teams, agency performance improvement officers, 
                        and the Performance Improvement Council in 
                        improving agency performance management 
                        efforts.
            ``(2) Reports.--The Comptroller General shall submit to 
        Congress a report on the results of each evaluation conducted 
        under paragraph (1). The report shall include a list of 
        recommendations on ways to improve the assessment process and 
        the operations of agency performance improvement officers and 
        the Performance Improvement Council.
    ``(k) Classified Information.--(1) With respect to program 
assessments conducted during a fiscal year that contain classified 
information, the President shall submit on the same date as the report 
is submitted under subsection (g)--
            ``(A) a copy of each such assessment (including the 
        classified information), to the appropriate committees of 
        jurisdiction of the House of Representatives and the Senate; 
        and
            ``(B) consistent with statutory law governing the 
        disclosure of classified information, an appendix containing a 
        list of each such assessment and the committees to which a copy 
        of the assessment was submitted under subparagraph (A), to the 
        Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
    ``(2) Upon request from the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall, consistent with statutory law 
governing the disclosure of classified information, provide to the 
Committee a copy of--
            ``(A) any assessment described in subparagraph (A) of 
        paragraph (1) (including any evaluation not listed in any 
        appendix submitted under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph); 
        and
            ``(B) any appendix described in subparagraph (B) of 
        paragraph (1).
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `classified information' refers 
to matters described in section 552(b)(1)(A) of title 5.
    ``(l) Inherently Governmental Functions.--The functions and 
activities authorized or required by this section shall be considered 
inherently Governmental functions and shall be performed only by 
Federal employees.
    ``(m) Termination.--The requirements of this section shall 
terminate on September 30, 2019.''.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall prescribe guidance to implement the requirements of 
section 1120 of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), including guidance on a definition of the term ``program''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``1120. Program assessment.''.

SEC. 6. STRATEGIC PLANNING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Change in Deadline for Strategic Plan.--Subsection (a) of 
section 306 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``No 
later than September 30, 2007,'' and inserting ``Not later than 
September 30 of each year following a year in which an election for 
President occurs, beginning with September 30, 2009,''.
    (b) Change in Period of Coverage of Strategic Plan.--Subsection (b) 
of section 306 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(b) Each strategic plan shall cover the four-year period 
beginning on October 1 of the year following a year in which an 
election for President occurs.''.

SEC. 7. IMPROVING GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE.

    (a) Improving Government Performance.--Chapter 11 of title 31, 
United States Code, as amended by section 4, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1121. Improving government performance
    ``(a) Duties of Agency Performance Improvement Officers.--Subject 
to the direction of the head of the agency, each agency performance 
improvement officer shall--
            ``(1) supervise the performance management activities of 
        the agency, including development of the agency's strategic 
        plans, annual performance plans, and annual performance reports 
        as required by law;
            ``(2) advise the head of the agency, with respect to a 
        program administered in whole or in part by the agency, 
        whether--
                    ``(A) the performance plans required under section 
                1115 of this title and the strategic plans required 
                under section 306 of title 5 are--
                            ``(i) sufficiently aggressive toward full 
                        achievement of the purposes of the program; and
                            ``(ii) realistic in light of authority and 
                        resources provided for the operation of the 
                        program; and
                    ``(B) means for measurement of progress toward 
                achievement of the goals are sufficiently rigorous and 
                accurate;
            ``(3) convene relevant agency personnel regularly 
        throughout each year to--
                    ``(A) assess the performance of programs 
                administered in whole or in part by the agency; and
                    ``(B) consider means to improve the performance and 
                efficiency of programs;
            ``(4) assist the head of the agency in the development and 
        use within the agency of performance measures in personnel 
        performance appraisals, and, as appropriate, other agency 
        personnel and planning processes; and
            ``(5) assist the head of the agency in overseeing the 
        implementation of the improvement plans required under section 
        1120 of this title.
    ``(b) Establishment and Operation of Performance Improvement 
Council.--
            ``(1) The Director shall establish, within the Office of 
        Management and Budget for administrative purposes only, a 
        Performance Improvement Council, in accordance with this 
        section.
            ``(2) The Performance Improvement Council shall consist 
        exclusively of--
                    ``(A) the Deputy Director for Management of the 
                Office of Management and Budget, who shall serve as 
                Chair;
                    ``(B) such agency performance improvement officers 
                as determined appropriate by the Chair; and
                    ``(C) such other full-time or permanent part-time 
                employees of an agency as determined appropriate by the 
                Chair with the concurrence of the head of the agency 
                concerned.
            ``(3) The Chair or the Chair's designee shall convene and 
        preside at the meetings of the Performance Improvement Council, 
        determine its agenda, direct its work, and establish and direct 
        subgroups of the Performance Improvement Council, as 
        appropriate to deal with particular subject matters, that shall 
        consist exclusively of members of the Performance Improvement 
        Council.
            ``(4) To assist in implementing the requirements of 
        sections 1115, 1116, 1117, 1120, and 9703 of this title and 
        section 306 of title 5, the Performance Improvement Council 
        shall--
                    ``(A) develop and submit to the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget, or when appropriate to 
                the President through the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, at times and in such formats as 
                the Chair may specify, recommendations concerning--
                            ``(i) performance management policies and 
                        requirements; and
                            ``(ii) criteria for evaluation of program 
                        performance;
                    ``(B) facilitate the exchange among agencies of 
                information on performance management, including 
                strategic and annual planning and reporting, to 
                accelerate improvements in program performance;
                    ``(C) monitor the assessments of Federal programs 
                required under section 1120 of this title;
                    ``(D) to facilitate keeping the public informed, 
                and with such assistance of heads of agencies and 
                agency performance improvement officers as the Director 
                of the Office of Management and Budget may require, 
                develop an Internet website that provides the public 
                with information on how well each agency performs and 
                that serves as a comprehensive source of information 
                on--
                            ``(i) agency strategic plans;
                            ``(ii) annual performance plans and annual 
                        performance reports;
                            ``(iii) program assessment reports required 
                        under section 1120 of this title;
                            ``(iv) the status of the implementation of 
                        improvement plans required under section 1120 
                        of this title; and
                            ``(v) consistent with the direction of the 
                        head of the agency concerned after consultation 
                        with the Director of the Office of Management 
                        and Budget, any publicly available reports by 
                        the agency's Inspector General concerning 
                        agency program performance;
                    ``(E) monitor implementation by agencies of the 
                policy set forth in sections 1115, 1116, 1117, 1120, 
                and 9703 of this title and section 306 of title 5 and 
                report thereon from time to time as appropriate to the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or 
                when appropriate to the President through the Director 
                of the Office of Management and Budget, at such times 
                and in such formats as the Chair may specify, together 
                with any recommendations of the Council for more 
                effective implementation of such policy; and
                    ``(F) obtain information and advice, as 
                appropriate, in a manner that seeks individual advice 
                and does not involve collective judgment or consensus 
                advice or deliberation, from--
                            ``(i) State, local, territorial, and tribal 
                        officials; and
                            ``(ii) representatives of entities or other 
                        individuals.
            ``(5)(A) To the extent permitted by law, the Office of 
        Management and Budget shall provide the funding and 
        administrative support the Council needs, as determined by the 
        Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to implement 
        this section.
            ``(B) The heads of agencies shall provide, as appropriate 
        and to the extent permitted by law, such information and 
        assistance as the Chair may request to implement this 
        section.''.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall prescribe guidance to implement the requirements of 
section 1121 of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a).
    (c) Conforming and Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section 1115(g) of title 31, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking ``1119'' and inserting ``1121''.
            (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 of 
        title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:

``1121. Improving Government Performance.''.
                                 <all>