Thompson:
Challenges
Remain in Pursuit of Results-Oriented Government
September 19, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC – Today Senator Fred
Thompson (R-TN), Ranking Member of the Governmental Affairs
Committee, outlined challenges facing the federal government
as it strives to be more results-oriented. Thompson expressed
his concern that after almost 10 years since the adoption
of the Government Performance and Results Act, the
ability of federal agencies to develop performance goals and
to measure their performance against these goals has been
uneven at best.
In testimony submitted during a House joint
subcommittee hearing on linking federal agencies’ funding to
performance, Thompson outlined three main challenges that must
be overcome before agencies’ performance information can be
utilized in making funding decisions: accurately measuring
progress in achieving goals, identifying the effectiveness of
overlapping federal programs, and producing reliable
performance data.
Senator Thompson and Senator Joe Lieberman
(D-CT) recently asked the GAO to assess agencies’ progress
in achieving results in a variety of crosscutting programs in
fiscal year 2001 including financial institution regulation,
public health systems, family poverty, and drug control. The
GAO is expected to complete its work on these crosscutting
programs this Fall.
"We still have a long way to go in
making the federal government more results-oriented and
performance-based. However, I am encouraged by the President’s
unprecedented interest in, and the Office of Management and
Budget’s new focus on, integrating performance review with
budget decisions. Using information about program results will
allow Congress and the Administration to make better decisions
about which programs are effective and which need to be
reformed or possibly terminated," Thompson said.
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A copy of Senator Thompson’s
testimony can be obtained at www.thompson.senate.gov. |