Appropriators wary of requiring OMB to rate programs

A bill to require the Office of Management and Budget to conduct its ongoing review of government programs is caught up in a dispute between the House Government Reform Committee and the Appropriations Committee, delaying floor action on the White House-backed measure.

Appropriators "are ambivalent" about the legislation (H.R. 185), which would require OMB to rate federal programs at least once every five years and submit those reports to Congress with the president's budget request.

OMB is doing that now at the president's direction. Appropriators contend the legislation might give the administration justification to cut programs important to lawmakers.

"These things are often used to support administration priorities at the expense of congressional priorities," said a spokesman for the Appropriations Committee.

Government Reform Government Management Subcommittee Chairman Todd Platts, R-Pa., the bill's sponsor, has consulted with appropriators, who say they will continue negotiating the bill before it moves to the floor. "It's a nice thing to keep the folks at OMB busy, but it's not the end all, be all," the Appropriations Committee spokesman said.

House Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who voted against the measure at the panel's markup in March, said he still has concerns despite working with Platts.

"This bill authorizes OMB to effectively overrule Congress and set the goals for federal agency activities," Waxman said in a statement. "It would shift oversight power and responsibility from Congress to the White House."

House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and Platts consider the legislation a top priority, spokesmen for both lawmakers said.

"This process -- evaluating effectiveness program-by-program -- is necessary to ensure the best use of tax dollars," Davis' spokesman said. "We are open to suggestions to alleviate any potential concerns by those with an interest in the [bill], and we will continue to work hard to bring it to the floor as soon as possible."

A spokesman for Platts noted the measure does not codify OMB's Performance Assessment Rating Tool, or PART, which has come under criticism from some lawmakers for low rating given to some programs. The legislation gives each administration the flexibility to create its own mechanism, while providing a general outline to make the ratings process more predictable for federal agencies, he said.

Davis and Platts could have an ally in Senate Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who would like to see the OMB reports taken into account during the appropriations process.

"We would be eager to see the legislation and possibly work with the chairmen on the House side," a Coburn spokesman said. "These reports, which are very well done, are not valuable unless elected officials are willing to act on them, and Dr. Coburn is willing to act on them."