FY 2002 Annual Performance Plan

3. Strategic Goals and The FY 2002 Budget—A 21^st Century Department of Labor

3.1 Introduction

The President and the new administration are determined to see that no worker is left behind in today’s rapidly changing high-technology environment. In carrying this theme forward, the Department of Labor is committed to offering hope by giving all Americans the training and skills needed to succeed now and into the future. The Department of Labor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 budget request was developed with those outcomes in mind.

The FY 2002 budget reflects the amounts necessary for continued efforts to meet the difficult challenges posed by a changing economy and American workforce. This budget maintains the Department’s commitment that all workers have the opportunity to find and hold jobs under reasonable working conditions, with good wages, reliable pensions, health benefits, and opportunity to improve their skills in the 21^st Century Workplace.

In response to this commitment, the total request for the Department in FY 2002 is $44.4 billion in budget authority and 17,483 full-time equivalent (FTE). The request for discretionary programs is $11.3 billion in budget authority, which is $564 million below the FY 2001 level.

In this Annual Performance Plan, the Department has for the first time linked budget authority and outlays to both the strategic and outcome goals. The budget resources are displayed in tables in the introduction to each strategic and outcome goal discussion in Chapter 4 of the plan. Appendix B displays an overview of the linkage between the budget activities that support the Department’s outcome goals, and Appendix C presents a cross-walk of Congressional Committees to strategic goals. The method for assigning full costs in terms of budget authority and outlays to outcome goals mirrors that used by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in the allocation of costs to outcome goals in the Department’s financial statement. While the financial statement ascribes costs at the Agency level, this plan uses the budget activity level as the unit of analysis for analyzing the deployment of their resources. Agencies estimated the proportion of their spending that contributed directly to the accomplishment of outcome goals for each of the four years covered by this plan. These factors were applied to the net budget authority and outlay figures contained in the President’s Budget. Indirect costs for program support activities were added to agency budget authority and outlay figures based on usage estimates. As such, spending for the Departmental Management Program Direction and Support activity, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer are scored against the accomplishment of the major outcome goals. Charges for centrally administered administrative services billed through the Working Capital Fund are included in the agency budget activity figures and are likewise scored against the outcome goals.

3.2 Budget Highlights

21^st Century Workforce

With an eye toward the 21^st Century Workforce, the Department’s FY 2002 budget provides over $5 billion to support youth and adult training activities. To succeed in the 21^st century, we must be prepared to adapt to changes in our economy—in how we work, where we work, and how we balance our professional and family lives. The Department of Labor cannot and must not simply react to changes. We must anticipate—thus equipping every worker to have as fulfilling and financially-rewarding a career as they aspire to have.

The Department will continue to use the Workforce Investment Act as the primary vehicle to guide our investment in America’s Workforce—but new ideas are needed, along with fresh approaches and new partnerships. Many jobs go unfilled because employers can’t find workers with the necessary skills and training. Another challenge will be to make sure that an adequate workforce is available to meet the demands of a continually growing economy. To face these challenges, the Department will create a new Office of the 21^st Century Workforce to bring focus and solutions to the challenges that face America’s workers. Later this Spring, the Department will convene a group of leaders from business, labor unions, and government to address the structural changes that are affecting the workforce and economy. The Office of the 21^st Century Workforce will assist those Americans who have been left behind—particularly those who have been laid-off from jobs due to technological changes or foreign competition.

Office of Disability Employment Policy

The Administration is also committed to assisting those individuals who have been denied the opportunity and right to have a productive, meaningful work life because of a disability. The new Office of Disability Employment Policy will carry out the President’s New Freedom Initiative, providing technology and other tools to Americans with disabilities, so that they can enter the economic mainstream. An additional $20.3 million and 10 FTE have been added in FY 2002 for this purpose. The 2002 budget also continues to fund work incentive grants—$20 million annually—to help make One-Stop Centers fully accessible to people with disabilities. It is not only important to give people with disabilities training and assistive technology— but also the hope and the ability to become more active citizens in their communities.

Worker Protection

Labor laws will be enforced—and workers will be protected—to ensure the safety of every workplace, to guarantee an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, to stop discrimination, to protect workers from coercion and intimidation, and to protect every worker’s pension. The laws will be enforced using common sense—not just a reflexive, one-size-fits-all approach. The Department’s 2002 budget maintains labor law enforcement agencies at FY 2001 levels and the Department will put more emphasis than ever before on prevention and compliance assistance—not just after-the-fact enforcement. The Department will continue to explore new ways to use technology and related interventions to improve and expand the reach of its compliance assistance.

Redirected Resources

The Department’s FY 2002 budget reallocates resources from lower-priority activities to areas where there are demonstrated needs. The Department’s budget supports a sustained effort in core job training programs. Where training resources are redirected, State and local governments and communities will be able to continue to serve participants based upon the availability of funding already in the system.

In the area of international labor activities, funding was provided at FY 2000 levels and the Department remains committed to the fundamentals of removing children from abusive and dangerous working environments. The FY 2002 budget also continues both multi-lateral assistance through the International Labor Organization (ILO) and bilateral assistance with the Department’s agencies to assist developing countries as they implement and administer labor standards and social safety net programs. The budget also continues the new Global HIV/AIDS Workplace initiative to provide multi-cultural assistance through the ILO to support health education and HIV prevention in the workplace.

Labor Statistics

An increase of $8.1 million and 40 FTE is requested for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to fundamentally change the manner in which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is revised and updated. Historically, major revisions of the CPI have been made every ten years. Beginning in FY 2002, expenditure weights in the CPI will be updated every two years—the first step toward revising and updating the CPI on a continuous basis to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the index.

Information Technology

A total of $80 million—an increase of $43 million over FY 2001—is requested for the centralized Information Technology (IT) account to fund the Department's IT investments within the following four crosscutting areas: $40.5 million for Enterprise Architecture; $10.6 million for a Common Office Automation Suite; $19.7 million for Security and Privacy; and $9.1 million for Common Administrative Systems.

With the establishment of the centralized IT investment fund, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) will ensure, through the IT Capital Investment Management process, accountability for the management of the Department’s IT resources. The existence of the centralized IT fund has increased the level of awareness throughout the Department of the important role information technology plays to provide vital services to its customers. The IT Capital Investment Management process and centralized IT investment fund provides the management tools necessary to implement the requirements outlined in the Clinger-Cohen Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, the Computer Security Act, the Government Performance and Results Act, and the President's policy on the management of information resources and technology within the Department. These investments will continue to enable the Department to implement sound IT investment strategies to eliminate interoperability and incompatibility issues and to improve overall mission-critical program effectiveness.

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act—Administrative Surcharge

The FY 2002 Budget proposes the establishment of an administrative surcharge on the amount billed to other Federal agencies for workers’ compensation benefits. The Secretary of Labor will use this surcharge to finance the Department’s administrative expenses for the Federal Workers’ Compensation program including the cost related to management, operations, and legal support. The program surcharge provides $80 million in offsetting collections for budget authority for this program. Most importantly, the surcharge will ensure that each Federal agency contributes an equitable share of the administrative cost of managing the program and boost the incentive of Federal agencies to improve the safety of their workplaces.

Program Accountability of Grants

The Department is requesting a total of $1.8 million in FY 2002 to accelerate efforts to modernize grants management and accountability systems to improve overall administration of funds. The Employment and Training Administration will require $1.5 million to improve grants monitoring and technical assistance by providing a specialized unit of staff to oversee and assist “at risk” grantees. Also, emphasis will be placed on developing analytical tools and specified reports and linkages with the Department’s centralized accounting system. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer will use the balance of these funds to oversee developmental efforts and to ensure overall compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act.

3.3 Summary

The Department of Labor is prepared for the 21^st Century. Not only will it meet its first responsibility to protect workers by enforcing the Nation’s labor laws, but it will increase its focus on common-sense approaches to prevention and compliance assistance. The Department will seek out new solutions to the challenges that face American workers, assist those who have been left behind, and provide hope to all who yearn for a better life.

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