[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2188 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2188

     To require government-wide application of continuous process 
 improvement methods to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of 
            the Federal Government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2011

Mr. Latham (for himself and Mr. Burgess) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require government-wide application of continuous process 
 improvement methods to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of 
            the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

    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 ``LESS Government Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nearly 100 major United States corporations, and many 
        government entities around the world, have reduced waste in 
        their operations and improved the quality of the goods and 
        services they provide by implementing a continuous process 
        improvement methodology known as lean six sigma.
            (2) Use of this methodology has resulted in average cost 
        reductions greater than 25 percent while also improving the 
        quality of goods and services.
            (3) The piloted use of lean six sigma within the Department 
        of Defense and several other departments and agencies has 
        demonstrated that it can successfully be applied across the 
        Federal Government.
            (4) Continuous process improvement is essential for Federal 
        agencies to be successful in setting and meeting performance 
        goals and is a key component that is missing from current 
        statutory requirements for performance improvement efforts.
            (5) Clear direction and authority from Congress is needed 
        to ensure this innovative management process from the private 
        sector is applied across the Federal Government to achieve 
        waste reduction and optimal efficiency.
    (b) Congressional Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of 
the United States--
            (1) to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of the 
        Federal Government through the use of continuous process 
        improvement methods;
            (2) to require each Federal agency to implement the 
        necessary capabilities to fully institutionalize such methods 
        within such agency to reduce waste while maintaining or 
        improving the level of services provided by the Federal 
        Government; and
            (3) to return savings from such methods to the United 
        States Treasury to reduce the deficit.

SEC. 3. CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

    (a) Continuous Process Improvement Defined.--Section 1101 of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
            ``(3) `continuous process improvement' means a management 
        methodology (commonly referred to as lean six sigma) that 
        combines tools to improve process speed, reduce waste, and 
        incorporate requirements with data driven project analysis to 
        provide products and services with improved quality at lower 
        cost.''.
    (b) Agency Performance Reporting.--Subsection (c) of section 1116 
of such title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6)(E), by striking ``; and'';
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) describe the implementation of continuous process 
        improvement, including information on each of the following:
                    ``(A) The extent to which employees have received 
                continuous process improvement training appropriate to 
                the position of such employee, and its relation to the 
                deployment goals in a typical application of continuous 
                process improvement.
                    ``(B) A description of the application of 
                continuous process improvement in cost-reduction 
                projects, including any performance or quality 
                improvements and cost savings realized as a result of 
                such application.
                    ``(C) A comparison of the implementation results to 
                the goal of a 25 percent cost reduction per project.''.
    (c) Implementation Results.--Subsection (c) of section 1122 of such 
title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'';
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(10) a description of the results of the government-wide 
        implementation of continuous process improvement.''.
    (d) Chief Operating Officer Requirement.--Subsection (b) of section 
1123 of such title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; and'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) implement continuous process improvement within the 
        agency.''.
    (e) Performance Improvement Officer Requirement.--Paragraph (2) of 
section 1124(a) of such title is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'';
            (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(G) advise and assist the head of the agency and 
                the Chief Operating Officer on implementing the 
                continuous process improvement within the agency.''.
    (f) Performance Improvement Council.--Subsection (b) of section 
1124 of such title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
                (D) and (E), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B), the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) an appropriate expert designated by the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                pursuant to paragraph (4);''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Designation of expert on continuous process 
        improvement.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
        Budget shall appoint a highly-qualified expert on continuous 
        process improvement to serve as a member of the Performance 
        Improvement Council to advise on the implementation of 
        continuous process improvement across agencies.''.

SEC. 4. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1126. Center of Excellence for continuous process improvement
    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall designate a center of excellence for continuous process 
improvement training, from within the Department of Defense.
    ``(b) Functions.--The Director shall ensure that the center 
designated under subsection (a) provides agencies with a common set of 
approaches to training and deployment of continuous process 
improvement.''.
    (b) Designation.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall designate the center of excellence required under section 
1126(a) of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 
not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for 
chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1125 the following new item:

        ``1126. Center of excellence for continuous process 
                            improvement.''.

SEC. 5. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS TO THE 
              PRESIDENT.

    Paragraph (1) of section 1108(b) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The head of each 
agency shall include information on the results of cost-reduction 
projects using continuous process improvement in each relevant 
appropriation request for the agency, and an explanation of how any 
savings from such implementation have impacted the agency's request.''.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided under this Act, this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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