Washington, DC – Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson (R-TN) and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) announced today that the full committee will hold a hearing about structuring government to meet the challenges of the millennium. Comptroller General David Walker will testify about the major management challenges facing the federal government in the 21st century.

Chairman Thompson and Senator Lieberman, who continue to be active proponents of improving government management and efficiency, will introduce legislation this week to establish a commission to take a fundamental look at the size, structure, and organization of the federal government and make recommendations for reform. The bill is the Government in the 21 st Century Act, S. 2306.

At the hearing, Chairman Thompson will also release a GAO report that he requested which will provide greater detail about the problems associated with fragmentation and overlap in the federal government and will propose solutions to those issues.

Mr. Walker will offer his opinion about the report and the Thompson/Lieberman commission bill. In his testimony, he will discuss major trends that are likely to affect the well-being and security of the United States in the 21st century and how to achieve the effective and efficient federal government necessary to confront those trends. He will discuss the forces shaping the U.S. and its place in the world, particularly globalization, security, demographics, quality of life, technological innovation, and government performance and accountability.

The hearing will be broadcast live via the Internet at

http://gov_affairs.senate.gov