White House sends program review legislation to Hill

The Office of Management and Budget on Thursday sent lawmakers legislation that would authorize two types of commissions to evaluate the performance of federal programs regularly.

The 2005 Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement Act, written by White House officials, would require the president to appoint a seven-member, bipartisan sunset commission to review federal programs and agencies within a 10-year period and recommend ways to improve poor performers. The commission also could recommend abolishing programs or agencies deemed ineffective or duplicative.

OMB's proposed legislation also allows for the establishment of seven-member "results" commissions to assess how well single programs, or groups of programs addressing a single issue such as homelessness, are meeting their mission. The president would initiate the creation of such commissions, and would ask them to evaluate recommendations for restructuring the agencies or programs involved. The president could then decide to send Congress legislation implementing the results commission's final suggestions.

These commissions would "institutionalize a focus on results" at federal agencies and help the "government spend taxpayers' money more wisely," said Clay Johnson, OMB deputy director for management, in a statement. The Bush administration announced in January that it would like to create such commissions.

Once Congress signs the authorization act, the president would have 180 days to appoint members to the sunset commission. The Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, Speaker of the House and House minority leader would each help select one member, and members would serve three years unless reappointed.

The results commissions would have a similar makeup, but members would be appointed within 60 days, and would serve over the nine months granted to review the president's proposal for improving the program or group of programs in question.

As part of the President's Management Agenda, OMB has emphasized the linking of program performance to budget decisions. Administration officials complete formal program evaluations each budget cycle, and so far have assessed 607 federal programs-60 percent of the total.

The sunset commission may consider OMB's evaluations in making its recommendations, but could also hold hearings and consider input from other organizations. By Aug. 1 of each year, the commission would send a report on how each program evaluated that year fared.

Before suggesting the elimination of a program, however, the commission should consider holding hearings and gathering input from the affected agency and from the public, OMB noted.

"An agency would be abolished two years after the date the president submits recommendations along with the report of the sunset commission . . . to Congress unless the agency or program is subsequently reauthorized by law," OMB stated. That deadline could be extended up to two years.

Legislative proposals generated from the commission's work would be referred to the House Government Reform and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees for expedited review.