At a news conference yesterday, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said Congress is "bitterly disappointed" with the strategic plans that agencies are drafting under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act.
House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., said at the news conference that he would call hearings if federal agencies failed to submit final plans by Sept. 30, the deadline set by the law.
Burton said hearings could commence "within a month or two, but certainly by the beginning of next year."
Armey, Burton, and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, presented a report detailing what they said was the overall failure of most agencies to draw up adequate strategic plans.
The congressmen focused on the problem of overlap among agencies' programs, citing the numerous job training programs maintained at various agencies as an example of government waste. In its review of agency strategic plans, the congressional report graded agencies on ten factors. Agencies earned the lowest marks on dealing with cross-cutting functions with other agencies and on setting realistic performance measures.
If the plans remain below par, Burton said he might call agency officials before Congress even if the plans are submitted by Sept. 30, saying he would consult with subcommittee chairmen on whether they would hold separate hearings.
Armey held out the prospect that appropriations could be affected by a determination that agencies had failed to comply with the act. He added he is not "in the crime and punishment mode," but did warn agencies that Congress will make them revise and re-revise their strategic plans until they satisfy congressional evaluators.
Armey also unveiled a new Web site, which includes a version of the report, called "The Results Act: Setting a New Course." To read the report, click here.
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