The House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill requiring federal agencies to redo their strategic plans under the Government Performance and Results Act.
The bill, H.R. 2883, would give agencies until Sept. 30 to submit new five-year strategic plans to Congress. The Results Act required agencies to submit strategic plans last September. Revised strategic plans are due every three years. H.R. 2883 would retain the three-year rule, but also would require plan revisions by this September.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., also would require agencies to add new elements to their strategic plans, including discussions of program overlap with other agencies, a description of how agencies collect data for performance measurement purposes, and lists of major management problems. Cabinet departments would also have to submit strategic plans for each of the bureaus and agencies under their control.
The bill would require the Office of Management and Budget to issue a governmentwide performance report each year describing the federal government's progress toward meeting its goals. While each agency is required under the Results Act to submit performance plans and progress reports annually, OMB is only required to create a governmentwide performance plan each year.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., tacked an amendment onto H.R. 2883 requiring the Federal Reserve to comply with the Results Act.
The bill passed on partisan lines, with 221 Republicans and 21 Democrats voting for it and 167 Democrats and one independent member opposing it. The Senate now will take the measure up, but the Clinton administration has already expressed opposition to the bill.
"The net result of having agencies concurrently prepare revised strategic plans, revised plans for fiscal year 1999 and initial plans for fiscal year 2000, would be to diminish substantially the quality of all three products," said Office of Management and Budget acting deputy director G. Edward DeSeve at a House hearing last month. "This is not the time for this legislation."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, introduced an amendment that would have applied the Results Act to Congress. Kucinich's amendment was rejected.
NEXT STORY: OSHA Employee Goals Limited