[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1921-E1922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             OMNIBUS BILLS

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 11, 1995

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report for Wednesday, October 4, 1995 into the Congressional Record.

                       Federal Government Reform

       The operations of the federal government have received 
     enormous scrutiny recently. Many Americans saw the last 
     election as a call to dramatically reduce the size and scope 
     of the federal government. The House of Representatives has 
     responded by passing bills to place limits on government 
     regulations, and will soon consider measures to eliminate 
     entire government agencies.
       But in the midst of all the high-profile activity, less 
     sweeping but important changes have been made to help 
     government work more efficiently. The challenge before us is 
     to determine what we want the government to do, and make sure 
     that it does the job well.
       Reinventing government: Two years ago, Vice President Gore 
     came forth with recommendations for reforming the way the 
     federal government operates. He recently detailed the 
     progress that has been made on implementing these 
     recommendations.
       Last year, Congress passed legislation to cut 272,000 
     federal employees. So far, 160,000 have been cut. There are 
     now fewer federal employees than there were when John F. 
     Kennedy was president. Furthermore, federal agencies have 
     closed more than 2,000 field offices.
       In addition, 16,000 pages of regulations have been 
     eliminated, and 31,000 are being reworked--resulting in an 
     estimated savings to the public of nearly $28 billion. For 
     example, the Environmental Protection Agency has either cut 
     or changed 85% of its regulations, thereby cutting its 
     paperwork requirements by 25%. These changes are estimated to 
     save industry 20 million hours of labor a year. The 
     Department of Housing and Urban Development has eliminated 
     65% of its regulations; the Small Business Administration, 
     50%.
       But just as important as cutting back on the size of 
     government is making it work more effectively, and progress 
     is being made on this front as well. Earlier this year, a 
     national business magazine evaluated a number of businesses' 
     telephone customer service. The magazine gave its highest 
     rating to the Social Security Administration, which 
     outperformed companies such as Southwest Airlines and L.L. 
     Bean. the IRS has also significantly improved its telephone 
     service, and has pledged to cancel penalties for taxpayers 
     who are given incorrect information.
       Congress has acted to improve government efficiency as 
     well. A law enacted earlier this year makes it more difficult 
     for the federal government to impose unfunded mandates on 
     state and local governments. Congress also strengthened a law 
     to lessen the paperwork burden imposed by the federal 
     government on businesses and individuals.
       Both the House and Senate have passed bills which would 
     place limits on federal agencies' power to issue new 
     regulations and require them to perform detailed cost-benefit 
     analyses before new rules could usually be issued.

[[Page E 1922]]

       There is wide agreement that the federal procurement 
     process is much too cumbersome, time-consuming and wasteful. 
     The House recently passed a bill to dramatically streamline 
     the process and make it more competitive. In addition, many 
     federal agencies and the House now allow employees to make 
     some purchases like businesses would--at the local office 
     supply store. As the procurement process becomes more 
     efficient, government agencies will have less need for 
     warehouse space for large inventories. Walter Reed Army 
     Medical Center in Washington used to need seven warehouses to 
     store its supplies--now it uses half of one. The House 
     recently sold off thousands of unneeded office furnishings, 
     eliminating the need for warehouse space that cost $245,000 a 
     year.
       Outlook: Many Hoosiers feel frustrated, irritated, even 
     angry about the hassle and the inflexible rules they often 
     find in the federal government. They rightly are demanding 
     change. Having watched the private sector streamline and 
     become more productive and lower costs, Americans know that 
     the federal government must go through the same passage of 
     change. Quite understandably they have a strong skepticism 
     that it can be done.
       There is a lot of discussion today about what the federal 
     government's role should be, and I think that is good. My 
     concern is that the debate is sometimes too simplistic, 
     with the ``get rid of it all'' school on one side and the 
     ``government as national nanny'' school on the other. Some 
     people argue that the way to fix the federal government is 
     to eliminate as much of it as possible. My sense is that 
     most of us don't want to get rid of government; we want to 
     limit it and make it effective. We want government to make 
     sure that our meat is safe to eat and that the skies are 
     safe for air travel; to aid communities in recovering from 
     the ravages of natural disasters; to insure our savings if 
     our bank fails, for example. We want to see a government 
     that moves us toward meeting our nation's common goals, 
     that recognizes people are its customers and gives them 
     their money's worth. We want a government that recognizes 
     that most people are neither crooked nor stupid and want 
     to do the right thing so long as the right thing makes 
     sense to them. They want to see a government that cuts 
     obsolete regulations, rewards results, and negotiates and 
     seeks consensus rather than dictates.
       We need to do some hard thinking about what it is we want 
     government to do and how we want it done. Our quest must be 
     to reduce the cost and simplify the operation of government 
     while maintaining essential programs and functions. We need 
     to design a government that uses common sense to solve 
     problems. We must stop doing things that government doesn't 
     do very well and that don't need to be done by government. 
     Where government can make a positive difference in the lives 
     of ordinary Americans it must be made to work more 
     efficiently and effectively.
       Those of us in government must convince people that we are 
     serious about limiting government and making it work better. 
     This effort must become a way of life for all of us. It is a 
     task that is never finished. As the world has become more 
     complex so has the federal government. Too often it has 
     become more master than servant. That is what has to change, 
     and that's what reinventing government is all about.

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