Mark R. Warner
U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia
“I strongly believe in the principle that ‘what gets measured gets done.’ This may not be the most glamorous or exciting stuff, but I am eager to get to work with my colleagues on the challenge of helping federal agencies and programs perform better through quality measurements, greater transparency and public accountability.”
Senator Warner, 10/30/2009
In October 2009, Senator Warner was selected by then Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad to lead a bipartisan Task Force on Governmental Performance. The group continues to look at how the government measures the cost-effectiveness of federal agencies and programs. The goal is to boost efficiency and find cost savings for taxpayers. Chairman Conrad said he selected Senator Warner to serve as chairman of the task force based on his experience as a business leader and as the former governor of Virginia.
Senator Warner's Progress:
- In September 2012, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA), bipartisan legislation to improve and expand federal fiscal accountability by requiring standardized reporting of federal spending to be more readily available to citizens and agencies.
- In July 2012, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced bipartisan legislation to establish, monitor, and improve customer service delivery across federal agencies. The Government Customer Service Improvement Act would make the federal agency customer service process more transparent and efficient, increase accountability, and reduce the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) chronic backlogs in processing retirement benefits.
- In March 2012, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced the Civilian Property Realignment Act, bipartisan legislation to sell excess federal real property that could save billions to support deficit reduction.
- In February 2012, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced the Reforming and Consolidating Government Act of 2012 that would restore authority for the President to develop re-organization plans and submit them to Congress for expedited review.
- In December 2011, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced bipartisan legislation directing the U.S. Department of Transportation to partner with states and metropolitan areas to develop better performance-based standards to more accurately measure the effectiveness of transportation planning, funding and project management.
- In November 2011, Senator Warner chaired a Senate Budget Committee Government Performance Task Force hearing to examine whether the United Kingdom’s recent regulatory reforms could provide lessons applicable to Congress’ current regulatory reform debate.
- In April 2011, Senator Warner sponsored legislation to ensure that federal workers receive retroactive pay for the duration of a potential government shutdown.
- In April 2011, Senators Warner (D-VA) and Coburn (R-OK) introduced a bipartisan amendment directing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to find at least $5 billion in savings identified in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on reducing government duplication.
- In April 2011, Sen. Warner, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee’s bipartisan Task Force on Government Performance convened a hearing on duplicative and inefficient federal programs that included testimony from GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Center for American Progress president and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, and former Bush Administration Associate OMB Director Robert Shea.
- In January 2011, the President signed into law Senator Warner’s Government Performance and Results Modernization Act, requiring federal agencies to identify their top priorities, publicly report results, and identify ineffective and overlapping programs for possible consolidation or elimination.
- In December 2010, Senator Warner successfully added four amendments to the Food Safety Modernization Act. The amendments will improve performance metrics and data and promote better coordination between the Departments of Agriculture and Homeland Security in inspecting food and reducing duplication of effort.
- In April 2010, Senator Warner successfully amended the FY2011 Budget Resolution to require performance measurements for stimulus spending and health care reform, and cut funding for programs identified for elimination by the Office of Management and Budget.
- In March 2010, the Senate approved a major jobs bill that included a bipartisan amendment submitted by Senator Warner that would fix gaps in how the federal government is tracking stimulus spending.
- In October 2009, Senator Warner held the first meeting of the Task Force and questioned President Obama's Chief Performance Office, Jeff Zients, on how the administration is tracking government performance.
- Since the panel's first meeting, Senator Warner invited the public to submit their ideas on how to improve government performance. Click here to share your suggestions.
Recent News on Government Performance
Here is what Senator Warner has been doing recently with the Senate Budget Committee's Task Force on Government Performance:
April 2012
- 04/23/12 -Federal pension "tsunami" is comingWith a current backlog of 63,000 cases, and up to 100,000 new retirements expected through proposed reforms to the Postal Service business model, Senator Warner is working to fix the federal government’s broken retirement process.
February 2012
- 02/02/12 -Backlog plagues fed government's pension systemBacklogs and delays continue to plague the federal government's pension system. Retirees wait an average of five months to receive their first full pension check -- but delays of a year or more are common. The Office of Personnel Management says it has plan to hire more people to process a backlog of 64,000 paper records, but it could take 18 months or more to solve the problem.
November 2011
- 11/17/11 -Improving regulatory performance: lessons from the UKSenator Warner chaired a Senate Budget Committee Government Performance Task Force hearing yesterday to discuss the United Kingdom’s recent regulatory reform efforts and distill lessons that might be applicable to the current regulatory reform debate in Congress.
July 2011
- 07/11/11 -A Trillion-Dollars in Potential SavingsPaul Light, founder of NYU’s Global Center on Public Service, appeared on Fox Business News today to discuss his government reform initiative that could save $1 trillion by reforming and streamlining the way the federal government operates. Light’s work on the project was praised by Senator Warner and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker when it was unveiled last month.
June 2011
- 06/21/11 -A Once-in-a-Generation OpportunitySenator Warner joined former Fed chair Paul Volcker today in highlighting a government reform blueprint prepared by Paul Light, founder of NYU's Global Center on Public Service. The report, "Creating High Performance Government: A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity," outlines a plan to save one trillion dollars over the next decade by focusing on performance and accountability in the federal bureaucracy.
March 2011
- 03/24/11 -Great new video on reducing federal waste and duplicationBig-versus-small? How about effective. Senator Warner’s work on improving federal agency performance and reducing waste and duplication is the focus of a new Federal Times video. The two-minute clip includes Senator Warner’s appearance at last month’s Center for American Progress event and a recent hearing of the Budget Committee’s Government Performance Task Force.
- 03/01/11 -A step toward reducing wasteToday the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report outlining more than 80 ways we can reduce waste, modernize operations and eliminate duplication across the entire federal government. “This report confirms what we all know – that there is room to trim back our government spending, but we’ve got to do it carefully,” Senator Warner said in response to the report.
February 2011
- 02/03/11 -Warner: “Biggest little bill no one’s heard about”Look for a renewed focus on effective government now that the President has signed Senator Warner’s Government Performance & Results Modernization Act of 2010.
January 2011
- 01/18/11 -Sen. Warner on the Administration’s new regulatory strategySenator Warner, who recently called for a “pay as you go” approach to reduce unnecessary, duplicative and outdated government regulations, offered support today for the President’s Executive Order outlining a new regulatory strategy and urged the Administration to move even more aggressively to cut unnecessary government red tape.
December 2010
- 12/17/10 -Senate unanimously adopts Sen. Warner's legislation on gov't transparency and accountabilityThe Senate has unanimously adopted Senator Warner’s bipartisan legislation requiring federal agencies to identify their top priorities, publicly report program results, and identify ineffective and overlapping federal programs for possible consolidation or elimination.
