Government Performance and Results Act: Implementation During 1997 and Issues of Possible Concern, 105th Congress, Second Session Page: 2 of 6
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CRS-2
attached Timetable). Federal agencies initiated over 75 performance planning pilot
projects, estimated to cover $50 billion worth of federal programs. After analyzing
problems with the pilots, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established
interagency groups to share information and urged agencies to begin implementation as
soon as possible to develop procedures needed to meet the law's mandates. OMB
modified Circular A-11 to require agencies to accelerate using performance and outcome
measures in budgets and to give agencies precise instructions to use when developing
strategic plans and performance plans. OMB reported to Congress in May 1997 on
implementation of the pilot projects, but did not recommend any changes in the statute.2
In June 1997, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported to Congress on agency
readiness for full-scale implementation beyond the pilot project phase.3 It concluded that
federal agencies' implementation activities varied in quality, utility, and responsiveness to
the law, but that it was possible for agencies to make improvements.
During FY1997, agencies developed strategic plans and, while preparing them, were
to solicit information from stakeholders and consult with Congress. Final strategic plans,
that were sent to Congress on September 30, 1997, were to include
(1) a comprehensive mission statement covering the major functions and operations of
the agency;
(2) general goals and objectives, including outcome-related goals and objectives, for the
major functions and operations of the agency;
(3) a description of how the goals and objectives are to be achieved, including a
description of the operational processes, skills and technology, and the human, capital,
information, and other resources required to meet those goals and objectives;
(4) a description of how the performance goals included in the plan... shall be related
to the general goals and objectives in the strategic plan;
(5) an identification of those key factors external to the agency and beyond its control
that could significantly affect the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and
(6) a description of the program evaluations used in establishing or revising general
goals and objectives, with a schedule for future program evaluations.
Early in the 105h Congress, the House majority leadership created an organizationalstructure to help Congress interact with the agencies to implement the law. To oversee the
work, the leadership named the chairmen of the Appropriations Committee, the Budget
Committee, and the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Staff from those
committees have met regularly with the 24 bicameral and bipartisan agency-specific
congressional staff teams (based on Chief Financial Officers Act agencies) that were
2 Office of Management and Budget, The Government Performance and Results Act, Report
to the President and the Congress From the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, 19 May 1997: 31 pp., plus attachments.
3 General Accounting Office, The Government Performance and Results Act, 1997
Government-wide Implementation Will Be Uneven, Report to Congressional Committees, June
1997, GAO/GGD-97-109: 115 pp.
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Knezo, Genevieve J. Government Performance and Results Act: Implementation During 1997 and Issues of Possible Concern, 105th Congress, Second Session, report, March 6, 1998; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs658/m1/2/?q=%22executive+departments%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.