As politicians blast the Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayer abuses described at recent Senate hearings, the House Republican leadership signaled this week they will use the Government Performance and Results Act to conduct similar probes of other agencies' operations.
On Tuesday, the final day for agencies to submit strategic plans to Congress under the Results Act, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, issued a warning to federal agencies. "Last week's Senate hearings on the Internal Revenue Service really hit a nerve, exposing a threatening, excessive bureaucracy. Real compliance with the Results Act assures there's more to come," Armey said.
In an op-ed piece in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday, Armey promised that Congress will use the strategic plans agencies have created to "audit the entire federal government... by digging deep into the inner workings of federal agencies. Agencies with outdated missions, that lack focus, that are redundant, or provide no public benefit will be exposed and held accountable."
In August, Republican leaders issued failing grades for most agencies' strategic plans, saying they had a long way to go before being in full compliance with the Results Act. Armey said agencies will be graded on their final plans by the first week in November.
In addition, Armey said Results Act hearings are being scheduled for many agencies.
"If we find that the [strategic plans] do not establish the right goals and measures, we will take action to require that they be resubmitted," Armey said.
To find out more about the Government Performance and Results Act and what it means for agencies, see Govexec.com's Results Report.
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