Raines Memo on GPRA

M-97-03
MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

FROM: Franklin D. Raines /s/
Director

SUBJECT: Congressional Consultations on the Implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

As the deadlines for the submission of the strategic plans and performance plans required under the Government Performance and Results Act approach, I would like to encourage all executive departments and agencies to consult with the relevant Congressional authorizing and appropriations committees on the progress being made towards full implementation of GPRA requirements. GPRA requires such consultations regarding the development of strategic plans, and I suggest also including the development of performance measures in the discussion. Sharing this information with the Congress at an early stage, and actively seeking Congressional input into the process will increase the likelihood that the Congressional authorizers and appropriators will look at program performance as a key factor when making programmatic and budget decisions.

OMB can play an important role in helping departments and agencies prepare for Congressional consultations by:

• providing a broader Congressional context to agencies, including the interests of the government oversight and budget committees; and
• helping agencies to ensure that their presentations are generally consistent with those of other agencies.

To make Congressional consultations as useful as possible, departments and agencies should coordinate with their OMB Resource Management Office (RMO) before consultations take place to develop the most effective presentations, and to incorporate any lessons and examples learned from the experiences of other agencies. In addition, all substantive documents related to strategic plans should be provided to OMB beforehand, and OMB comments ensuring consistency with national program and budget policies should be incorporated before the documents are given to Congress.

Finally, a set of briefings for Congressional staff are presently being conducted jointly by the Congressional Institute and the National Academy for Public Administration. These briefings are likely to generate queries from Committee staff on when agencies will be scheduling the required consultation with Congress.

I and my staff look forward to working with you on GPRA implementation during the next year.