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Opening Statement of Chairman Fred
Thompson (R-TN)
Committee on Governmental Affairs
Hearing on the Nomination of Sean O’Keefe
Tuesday, February 27, 2001
This morning we are holding a hearing to consider the
nomination of Mr. Sean O’Keefe to be Deputy Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
OMB has responsibility for implementing a number of statutes
aimed at ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the
government’s operations. As Deputy Director of OMB, the person
who assists the Director daily in his many responsibilities, you
can have a great impact in this area.
As I mentioned to Mitch Daniels when he was before the
committee, I believe that OMB’s responsibilities for the
management of the federal government have been neglected. I was
gratified by his February 14th memo to agency heads
asking that they set goals for achieving major governmentwide
management reforms in their FY 2002 Performance Plans. That same
memo made the point that agencies should have goals for
achieving any reforms that will significantly enhance the
administration and operation of the agency. That’s a great
start.
As you know, this committee is the recipient of endless
agency Inspector General and General Accounting Office reports
that detail the poor state of management today in the Executive
Branch. This mismanagement is not outrageous just because it
wastes scarce resources. More importantly, mismanagement means
that those resources are diverted from the purposes for which
they were appropriated. When a benefit program makes improper
payments, the intended beneficiaries suffer. When major
information technology projects are mismanaged, not only are tax
dollars wasted, but we miss opportunities to benefit from
greater efficiency and increased productivity. And the financial
management woes that befall most federal agencies mean that we
can’t say with any certainty that the American people got what
they paid for.
The IT area is a particular problem for the federal
government. The federal government finds it extremely difficult
to use information technology to enhance its efficiency and
effectiveness. The Federal Aviation Administration spent $4
billion on an air traffic modernization program that didn't
work, and was shut down before completion. The Internal Revenue
Service spent $7 billion on its Tax Systems Modernization
project, which it had to scrap. I recently met with Commissioner
Rossotti to discuss reform efforts at IRS and he reported to me
that after almost three years, they have just completed the
consolidation of its major systems, which is only the beginning
of IRS’ modernization program.
This Committee’s investigation also uncovered weaknesses in
government information systems that make them vulnerable to
computer attacks from international and domestic terrorists,
crime rings, and everyday "hackers." As a result,
Senator Lieberman and I worked to enact the Government
Information Security Act, a bill to provide a new framework for
protecting the security of the government’s computers from
outside attack by hackers. These weaknesses jeopardize
government operations and threaten the privacy of our citizens
and I hope OMB will help ensure the bill is implemented
properly.
Human Capital is also an area where the federal government
falls short. In recent years, the federal government reduced
staffing without cutting back on anything it does. Workforce
downsizing became just a numbers game, carried out randomly
rather than strategically. Consequently, many agencies now face
severe shortages of employees with the necessary skills and
experience to carry out agency missions. It’s quite clear,
based on the work of this Committee, especially Senator
Voinovich’s, there is mounting evidence that workforce
deficiencies are an impending crisis for the federal government.
We need your expertise and input in crafting solutions to these
problems.
Over the past decade, Congress enacted a number of laws
designed to change how Washington works. Foremost among them is
the Government Performance and Results Act, which seeks to
change the mind set in Washington from what government does –
spending money, issuing regulations, and so forth – to what
actual results those activities produce. Now, more than seven
years later, we still find that most agencies have difficulty
explaining what results they are trying to achieve and measuring
how well they are performing. Integrating budget and performance
information would be a step in the right direction of finding
out just how well our programs are working.
Mr. O’Keefe, I am heartened by the management experience
you bring to this position, especially the exposure you’ve had
to some of the government’s management statutes. I am
particularly interested to learn how you will leverage the power
of the purse to obtain some of the management improvements we
are seeking. The only answer to these problems is strong
leadership. I hope you will bring that to your stewardship of
the budget process and that we will see a marked improvement in
the efficiency of the government’s operations under your
watch.
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