Budget Issues: Assessing Executive Order 12837 on Reducing Administrative
Expenses (Letter Report, 11/17/93, GAO/AIMD-94-15).

The public, Congress, and the Administration are all concerned about the
costs of the federal government--both in terms of persistently high
deficits and the costs of delivering programs and services.  Executive
Order 12837 attempts to address these concerns by prescribing
across-the-board reductions of administrative expenses.  These required
reductions, however, will probably not significantly reduce the budget
deficit or improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of government
programs.  Although it supports giving agency managers the flexibility
to apply reductions within their agencies, GAO believes that a
governmentwide rethinking and reengineering of agency operations would
be a better approach to deficit control and productivity improvement.
This report specifically examines (1) efforts by the Office of
Management and Budget and executive agencies to define administrative
expenses, (2) reviews the presentation of fiscal year 1994
administrative expense budgets, and (3) analyzes potential budgetary and
management implications of the required administrative cost reductions.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  AIMD-94-15
     TITLE:  Budget Issues: Assessing Executive Order 12837 on Reducing 
             Administrative Expenses
      DATE:  11/17/93
   SUBJECT:  Executive orders
             Budget cuts
             Administrative costs
             Expense allowances
             Deficit reduction
             Budget administration
             Public administration
             Cost control
             Budget apportionment
             Budget obligations
IDENTIFIER:  National Performance Review
             OMB Budget Preparation System
             
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