[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[27. General Government]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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27. GENERAL GOVERNMENT
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Table 27-1. Federal Resources in Support of General Government
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 800 1999 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 13,702 12,586 14,669 14,505 14,596 14,840 15,019
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 3,346 1,737 1,385 1,340 1,332 1,606 1,370
Proposed legislation.................. ........ 32 22 370 401 394 404
Credit Activity:
Direct loan disbursements............... ........ 28 5 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Guaranteed loans........................ ........ ........ ........ N/A N/A N/A N/A
Tax Expenditures:
Existing law............................ 63,005 65,805 68,265 70,775 73,830 77,035 80,275
Proposed legislation.................... ........ ........ 35 259 308 342 375
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N/A = Not available.
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The General Government function encompasses the central management
activities of the executive and legislative branches. Its major
activities include Federal finances (tax collection, public debt,
currency and coinage, Government-wide accounting), personnel management,
and general administrative and property management.
Four agencies are responsible for these activities: the Treasury
Department (for which the budget proposes $14.0 billion), the General
Services Administration ($942 million), the Office of Personnel
Management ($214 million), and the Office of Management and Budget in
the Executive Office of the President ($69 million).
Department of the Treasury
Treasury is the Federal Government's financial agent. It produces and
protects the Nation's currency; helps set domestic and international
financial, economic, and tax policy; enforces economic embargoes and
sanctions; regulates financial institutions and the alcohol, tobacco,
and firearms industries; manages the Federal Government's financial
accounts; and, protects citizens and commerce against those who
counterfeit money, engage in financial fraud, violate our border, and
threaten our leaders. Treasury's law enforcement functions are discussed
in Chapter 26, ``Administration of Justice''.
In 2001 Treasury will seek to collect an estimated $1.96 trillion in
tax and tariff revenues due under law; issue $2 trillion in marketable
securities and savings bonds to finance the Government's operations and
promote citizens' savings; and, produce nine billion Federal Reserve
Notes, 15 billion postage stamps, and 17.9 billion coins.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS): The IRS is the Federal Government's
primary revenue collector. The IRS' mission is to provide America's
taxpayers with top quality service by helping them understand and meet
their tax responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity
and fairness to all. To carry out its customer service-oriented mission,
the IRS is engaged in a multi-year effort to modernize its technology
infrastructure and organize into four operating divisions, each focused
on serving groups of taxpayers with similar needs (i.e., wage and
investment earners, small business and self-employed, middle and large
cor
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porate, and tax exempt and government entities).
As it implements this technological and organizational modernization,
the IRS is working to improve its work processes in order to enhance
productivity and customer satisfaction. A critical component of this
effort is the introduction of a new performance measurement system which
balances business results (including quality and quantity measures),
customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction for each business unit.
The IRS also is engaged in a long-term study to improve its
understanding of taxpayer compliance burden so that this burden can be
minimized. While this new measurement system is not yet fully in place,
2001 targets for several critical measures include the following:
improve customer satisfaction (based on random surveys with a
seven-point scale) to 6.3 for toll-free assistance (6.2 in
1998), 6.5 for walk-in customer service (6.4 in 1998), and 4.5
for field examination (4.1 in 1998), and 4.1 for field
collection (3.9 in 1998);
continue to improve customer service through its toll-free
assistance, answering 60 percent of calls, (53.3 percent in
1999), with an accuracy rate of 84 percent for tax law
questions (74.1 percent in 1999);
receive 29.5 percent of individual returns filed
electronically, up from 23.4 percent in 1999 (working toward a
legislative goal of 80 percent of all returns and information
documents by 2007), with over six million using Telefile,
which allows taxpayers to file a simple tax return on the
telephone in 10 minutes;
receive 75.2 percent of tax revenues electronically (72.1
percent in 1999); and,
continue to process 99 percent of refunds for electronic
returns within 21 days and for paper returns process 85
percent within 40 days (99.6 percent for electronic and 83.2
percent for paper in 1999).
Financial Management Service (FMS): The FMS mission is to improve the
quality of Federal Government financial management by providing
financial services, information and advice to Federal program agencies
and other clients. FMS has been working toward an all electronic
Treasury by promoting its electronic payment and collection programs.
FMS has also been providing debt collection and debt management services
to all Federal agencies to aid in its implementation of the Debt
Collection Improvement Act. In 2001, FMS will:
increase the percentage of Federal payments and associated
information transmitted electronically from 68 percent in 1999
to 79 percent in 2001;
increase electronic collections as a percentage of total
collections from a level of 72 percent in 1999. FMS achieved
its 2001 target of 72 percent two years ahead of schedule and
is re-evaluating the program and will establish a new target;
and,
increase the percentage of eligible delinquent debt that is
referred to Treasury for collection from 68 percent in 1999 to
75 percent in 2001.
Bureau of Public Debt (BPD): BPD conducts all public debt operations
for the Federal government and promotes the sale of U.S. savings-type
securities. Funding for 2001 will allow BPD to maintain its current
level of service and will enable it to continue to meet the following
baseline performance goals:
issue at least 95 percent of over-the-counter bonds within
three weeks of their purchase (99 percent in 1999);
as in 1999, conduct all marketable securities auctions
without error; and,
announce auction results within one hour 95 percent of the
time (100 percent in 1999).
U.S. Mint: The U.S. Mint produces the Nation's coinage and
manufactures numismatic products for the public. In 2001, the U.S. Mint
will:
introduce the 35 State series in the 50 States Commemorative
Quarter Program; and,
maintain high levels of customer service by shipping
commemorative coins within four weeks and recurring coins
within three weeks of order placement.
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In 1999, the Mint received a high customer satisfaction rating from
buyers of numismatic and commemorative coins. Exceeding the scores of
many private sector firms in the American Customer Satisfaction Index
(ACSI), the Mint scored among the highest of the 29 ``high impact''
Federal agencies evaluated by ACSI.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP): BEP produces all U.S.
currency, about half of U.S. postage stamps, and other Government
securities. In 2001, BEP is expected to have a stable production year,
with currency and postage production remaining at 2000 levels, thus
allowing BEP to continue to achieve the following goals:
meet all Federal Reserve and United States Postal Service
orders as requested; and,
prevent more than 0.05 notes per million from being returned
by the Federal Reserve because of counterfeit deterrence
defects.
General Services Administration (GSA)
GSA provides policy leadership and expertly managed space, products,
and services to support the administrative needs of Federal agencies. In
2001, revenues from GSA's various business lines will exceed $14
billion. GSA is responsible for more than $50 billion a year in Federal
spending for property management and administrative services, and
management of assets valued at $466 billion.
In recent years, GSA has worked to develop a new Federal management
model, focusing on performance measurement, accountability for agencies
and employees, and the effective use of technology in changing work
environments. GSA has established inter-agency groups to advise it on
the policies, best practices, and performance benchmarks appropriate for
each administrative service and information system. GSA's ultimate goal
is a Federal Government in which agencies receive the administrative
services they need, according to the best known practices and at the
least cost.
As a provider of many administrative services, GSA seeks to exceed all
Government-wide performance goals and industry benchmarks for these
services, as these benchmarks are developed or identified. Its overall
goals as a service provider are to exceed its customer agencies'
expectations for price, service, and quality. In 2001:
the Public Buildings Service will deliver 81 percent of its
construction, and 84 percent of its repair projects on
schedule and within budget, up from 78 and 81 percent in 1999,
respectively;
the Federal Technology Service projects a 35-percent
reduction from 1994 rates in monthly line charges for local
telephone service;
the Federal Supply Service will reduce its costs of
operations in the Supply and Procurement Business Line by 45
percent of 1999 costs; and,
the volume of purchases made with Federal purchase cards will
total $18.8 billion, a 27 percent increase over 1999.
Because GSA provides services on a reimbursable basis, agency budgets
fund most of GSA's activities. In 2001, for example, the budget proposes
an appropriation of $871 million for GSA, primarily for the Office of
Government-wide Policy, the Office of the Inspector General, and the
construction and repair of Federal buildings. However, the budget
projects obligations over $14 billion through GSA's revolving funds. GSA
also affects Federal spending through its delegation of authority for
property disposal, building operations, and the procurement of
pharmaceuticals. In addition, GSA will administer contracts through
which agencies will purchase more than $27 billion in goods and services
outside of GSA's revolving funds.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
OPM provides human resource management leadership and services, based
on merit principles, to Federal agencies and employees. It provides
policy guidance, advice, and direct personnel services and systems to
the agencies; operates USAJOBS, a worldwide job information and
application system; and provides fast, friendly, accurate, and cost-
effective retirement, health benefit, and life insurance services to
Federal employees, annuitants, and agencies. Several OPM programs and
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related performance measures are discussed elsewhere in the budget. For
example, see Chapters 5 and 23 for a discussion of the health benefits
program and Chapter 25 for a discussion of the retirement program.
OPM provides oversight of the Federal civil service merit systems,
covering nearly 1.8 million employees. In 1993, OPM was only conducting
sporadic reviews at local level installations. In 2000 and 2001, OPM
will conduct 15 to 16 Nation-wide agency oversight reviews each year,
including reviews of agencies whose personnel in the Executive Branch
are not covered by Title 5 of the U.S. Code, and a number of small
agencies.
OPM promotes programs and personnel flexibilities that enable
employees to successfully balance work and family issues, such as
quality child care and family friendly programs. In 2001, OPM will
continue to conduct programs promoting lifelong learning (e.g.,
Individual Learning Accounts), diversity in the workplace, employment of
persons with disabilities, and alternative dispute resolution, to foster
effective labor-management relationships.
In 2001, OPM will:
Continue to expand access to Federal employment information
by all Americans by increasing usage of USAJOBS by five
percent from the 1999 high of 14.8 million (usage which has
tripled since 1993), and maintain a 90 percent or better (up
from 60 percent in 1993) customer satisfaction level with
USAJOBS users by implementing a student employment job search
feature and email notification of job matches to job seekers.
The Office of the Inspector General will initiate program
performance audits of OPM mission-critical programs, beginning
with the retirement and investigations programs.
The Office of Executive and Management Development will
establish a minimum of twelve strategic partnerships with high
impact agencies, emphasizing custom-designed programs to meet
their strategic needs in promoting organizational
effectiveness of the agencies' partners.
The Office of Investigations will continue to work with its
contractor to further improve the quality of casework, reduce
the cost of a standard background investigation to the
agencies (reducing it from $2,795 to $2,695 in 2000), and to
meet new business requirements from the Drug Enforcement
Administration and the Department of Defense.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
OMB assists the President in policy development relating to the
budget, regulations, information, and legislation; and in the management
of the Executive Branch. OMB also provides the President with high
quality analysis and advice on a broad range of topics.
OMB prepares the Federal budget and oversees its execution in the
departments and agencies by helping to formulate the President's
spending plans, reviewing the performance of agency programs, and the
effectiveness of policies and procedures; assessing competing funding
demands among agencies; and, providing policy options. OMB works to
ensure that proposed legislation, and agency testimony, reports, and
policies are consistent with Administration policies, leveraging use of
interagency programs and Councils. On behalf of the President, OMB often
presents and justifies major policies and initiatives related to the
budget and Government management before Congress.
OMB has a central role in developing, overseeing, coordinating, and
implementing Federal procurement, financial management, information, and
regulatory policies. OMB helps to strengthen administrative management,
develop better performance measures, and improve coordination among
Executive Branch agencies.
In 2000, OMB will use a state-of-the art off-site secure data center
to produce the annual budget. In 2001, OMB will invest in additional
information technology applications to improve efficiency and
effectiveness of the OMB's staff. In addition, OMB staffing will be
increased to permit completion of more thorough technical and analytical
work in key functional areas such as financial management, procurement,
regulatory anal
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ysis, economic forecasting, and technology systems investment analyses.
Tax Incentives
The Federal Government provides significant tax incentives that
benefit State and local governments. It permits tax-exempt borrowing for
public purposes, costing $23.4 billion in Federal revenue losses in 2001
and $118 billion over five years, from 2001 to 2005. (The budget
describes tax-exempt borrowing for non-public purposes in the chapters
on other Government functions.) In addition, taxpayers can deduct State
and local income taxes against their Federal income tax, costing $44.7
billion in 2001 and $239 billion over five years. Corporations with
business in Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions receive a special tax
credit, costing an estimated $2.6 billion in 2001 and $13 billion over
five years. This tax credit is phasing out and will expire at the end of
2005. Finally, up to certain limits, taxpayers can credit State
inheritance and estate taxes against Federal estate taxes, costing $35
billion over five years.