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APRIL
13, 2000
THOMPSON
URGES OMB TO FULFILL ITS LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY ON RESULTS
ACT IMPLEMENTATION
Washington,
DC – Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred
Thompson (R-TN) today sent a letter to Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Director Jacob Lew, expressing disappointment with
OMB’s lack of leadership in complying with the Results Act.
Senator
Thompson voiced particular frustration with OMB’s own
performance report for fiscal year (FY) 1999. The report,
distributed March 31, at the same time agency reports were due
for the first time under the Government Performance and Results
Act (Results Act), was supposed to outline the success OMB had
in meeting goals.
While
pointing out several key deficiencies in the report, Senator
Thompson wrote, "The purpose of analyzing the content of
OMB’s FY ‘99 report is not to ensure compliance with the
technical requirements of the Results Act. I am more interested
in making an evaluation of your performance in addressing the
major management challenges that face our government.
Unfortunately, OMB’s FY 1999 Performance Report gives me no
basis on which to make such an evaluation."
Senator
Thompson also wrote in his letter to OMB Director Lew, "OMB
has a unique responsibility of leadership in implementing and
sustaining the move toward greater use of performance
information throughout the federal government. If you allow OMB
to be held publicly accountable for progress in addressing major
management challenges, agencies will be more likely to take such
accountability on themselves. Until that time, your ability to
lead in this area will be hampered substantially."
The
Results Act, passed in 1993, is designed to provide
policy-makers and the public with systematic, reliable
information about where federal programs and activities are
going, how they will get there, and how we will know when they
have arrived. Agencies have had mixed results complying with the
reporting requirements of the Act. The Act requires performance
reports to be filed by March 31st of each year, beginning this
year.
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view a copy of Senator Thompson’s letter to OMB Director Lew
click here |
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