[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.''.
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