[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROTH:
  S. 266. A bill to establish the Government 2000 Commission to 
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.


                   the government 2000 commission act

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill which would 
establish a bipartisan Government 2000 Commission, charged with 
developing a comprehensive legislative proposal to reorganize, 
consolidate, and streamline Federal departments, agencies, and 
activities.
   Mr. President, this Commission is very similar to the one that was 
included in S. 929 in the 104th Congress which was reported out of the 
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee under my chairmanship.
  To make clear our objectives, this legislation includes specific 
goals for reducing costs and improving the performance.
  These goals include: a 35-percent reduction in the costs of 
administration, a tenfold increase in the timeliness of service 
delivery, a compound annual improvement in productivity of 6 percent, 
and customer service levels comparable to the private sector.
  The Commission's reorganization plan must include no more than 10 
Cabinet Departments--a reduction from 14--and a substantial reduction 
in the number of agencies and subdepartmental bureaus, offices, 
divisions, and other program operating units to eliminate duplication 
and fragmentation. It is also required to achieve a reduction in the 
layers of organizational hierarchy and a substantial reduction in the 
total number of midlevel supervisory, administrative, and political 
positions.
  The Commission is charged with considering the consolidation of 
program service delivery functions into operating units that are 
independent of individual executive departments, to maximize service 
coordination, and whether the heads of such program operating units 
should be nonpolitical, noncareer appointments hired for a fixed-term 
under an employment contract with specific, measurable program 
performance goals, to maximize accountability.
  There will be nine Commission members: Two each appointed by the 
President, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate majority leader, 
and one each by the House and Senate minority leaders. The Chairman 
shall be appointed by agreement of the President, the Speaker, and the 
Senate majority leader. The Commission is authorized an appropriation 
of $5 million for fiscal year 1998.
  The Commission shall report its recommendations in a single 
legislative package by June 1, 1998. The act provides for fast-track 
consideration of this legislation. In the Senate, there is no time 
limit on debate, and only germane amendments will be order. In the 
House, there will be 10 hours of general debate followed by 20 hours of 
debate on all amendments.
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