Examining the Government Performance and Results Act

I was pleased to be part of a Congressional request for the General Accounting Office to examine the effects that the Government Performance and Results Act has had on the Federal government. 

I commend the GAO for its work, and I feel it is very important for us in Congress to go back and analyze how the laws we pass are implemented, what effect they are having.  We need to make sure that GPRA is having a positive impact on agency management.  The findings of the report were encouraging.  GAO did find that GPRA has had an impact on the focus of the federal government, but it also identified some important areas for improvement, and we look forward to discussing these areas today.

By enacting GPRA, Congress put government reform in statute.  Because of this statutory framework, federal managers now look at the requirements for performance plans and strategic plans required by GPRA and know they are here to stay regardless of changes in Congress and the Executive Branch.  When the first round of strategic plans fell short of expectations, the reform effort was not scrapped-it was improved.  Now, ten years after GPRA was enacted, we have strategic plans that are more in line with what was envisioned.  We have seen slow, sustainable improvement.  The most important change has been the beginning of a shift in focus:  What agencies view as their goals has changed dramatically.  Adapting to the principles of GPRA should not be seen as an additional "cost of doing business," this type of strategic focus should be an integral part of doing business the right way.  Over time, the proper implementation of GPRA will, in fact, reduce the cost of government.

Many of the successes we've seen under the President's Management Agenda-including the evolution of the Program Assessment Rating Tool-could not have happened without the foundation established by GPRA.

Congress must resist the temptation to ignore management reforms.  Such efforts are not the most exciting issues, and they rarely make headlines.  But in reality, there are few matters more important for Congress to focus on than ensuring that the federal government is well run and results-oriented.

Today we will hear from a panel of experts including the author of the GAO report, Pat Dalton, and others who have spent a good deal of time examining the effects of GPRA on the way the federal government operates.