Agencies' performance plans get mixed reviews

In their third year of preparing annual performance plans, most federal agencies have yet to establish plans that link all of their performance measures to strategic goals, according to a new series of General Accounting Office reports.

GAO this year took on the task of evaluating the 24 major agencies' performance plans at the request of Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. The fiscal 2001 performance plans lay out agencies' goals for next year. The senators received GAO's feedback in late June, but the reports were not released to the public until this week.

Under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act, agencies must prepare annual performance plans. Two years ago, a massive grading effort spearheaded by House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, resulted in failing grades for most agencies.

This time around, GAO had mixed responses to the reports, concluding that many agencies do a good job of setting goals and measures for some, but not all, of their management challenges. For example, GAO applauded the Agriculture Department for clearly spelling out how it plans to reduce farm loan delinquencies, but noted that the agency did not mention how it plans to address the information technology challenges associated with its service center modernization project.

GAO also found that some agencies are using the information they turn in to Congress each year to improve their goals and plans. The Veterans Affairs Department, for example, overhauled its performance plan for 2001 to make its goals more realistic. Since the agency missed its 1999 goal of processing veterans' benefits claims in 99 days by about 65 days on average, the 2001 plan contains a more realistic goal of 142 days.

On the other hand, GAO's analysis turned up many weaknesses in agencies' plans. The General Services Administration was chastised for failing to adequately address security issues with federal buildings. GSA replaced a 1999 goal that used cost measurements of security services with one that measures customer satisfaction.

GAO's report on GSA said the agency needs to develop better security goals and measures quickly, "in light of the recent problems GSA has had with its security program and the potentially hostile environment in which we live," GAO said.

GAO officials wouldn't comment on how the 2001 plans compare to previous years, but are planning to release a report summarizing their findings later this year. The Governmental Affairs Committee is also analyzing the reports and plans to release a summary of their findings at a later date.

Below is a look at some of the comments GAO made about the 24 largest federal agencies' reports.

GAO's Evaluations of Agencies' Fiscal 2001 Performance Plans