5 steps for government reform

A prevailing public sentiment these days seems to be “government is broken and federal employees should be fired.” Frankly, it’s an idea that has been around for a very long time—I remember President Reagan saying, “The most terrifying nine words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’” 

Recent polling by my organization, the Partnership for Public Service, shows this idea has generally permeated public opinion, with just 23% of Americans saying they trust the federal government, down from 35% in 2022.

The problem is that this distrust leads people to conclude that the solution is to break the government apart. It also compels them to ignore that mission-driven, qualified people serve our country through federal jobs, providing programs and services that people across the U.S. and around the world rely on.

It may sound trite, but the reality is that federal agencies ensure our national security, protect our food and water supply, and make it possible to travel safely. And it’s the federal government that issues passports, provides Social Security and Medicare benefits, and delivers veterans’ health services. 

The real answer is to make federal agencies work better, not dismantle parts of the government or allow political appointees to arbitrarily fire civil servants and replace them with individuals deemed loyal to the White House, a proposal from the last administration that has regained currency.

Every time I hear blanket statements such as “you can’t fire federal employees,” “agencies are unaccountable and underperforming” or “government has bad customer service,” it makes me think about my house. When parts of it need fixing, I make repairs. 

What I would not do is bulldoze the whole thing.

Undermining and politicizing the federal workforce would wreak havoc on our government. The next administration, in cooperation with Congress when needed, should take a more constructive approach—particularly in the many areas that are still bound by laws that haven’t been updated since the 1970s and 80s. 

Fixing these systemic issues would maximize the impact of agencies and career civil servants already doing amazing work every day. Just look at our Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® winners and finalists honored annually for their outstanding public service. 

These stories only scratch the surface. It’s high time that we work together—Congress, political leaders, career professionals and external stakeholders—to reduce burdensome laws and processes that hamper effective government and appropriately resource the areas that need improving. 

That’s why we recently released a reform agenda. It’s a call to action to focus on a few core areas where fixes would lead to better outcomes—for the government and for all of us. 

These certainly aren’t the only places where change is necessary. But we must start somewhere, and we must prioritize foundational areas that enable agency missions to happen. The following actions are most critical. 

• Modernize leadership requirements: All federal executives and managers, including political appointees, need to meet a new standard for leadership that holds them accountable for running healthy and high-performing agencies. The government should adopt a framework that requires leaders to prioritize and demonstrate skills essential to effective federal service, including the foundational value of being a steward of the public good.
• Make it easier to hire and keep great public servants: Leaders should prioritize fixing the broken hiring process. Agencies should evaluate current hiring processes to discover where they are not working for applicants, hiring managers and human resources specialists.
• Hold poor performers accountable: Managers should use probationary periods to evaluate employees, and they should be trained and provided with support to use disciplinary and removal procedures. 
• Make better use of artificial intelligence, technology and data to achieve positive outcomes for the public: Congress must work with federal agencies on a long-term funding strategy to modernize outdated technology systems, plan for future technological needs and develop uniform rules around the responsible use of emerging technologies like AI. Agencies and Congress also must make better use of data to inform federal policies, services and programming.
• Build modern, customer-friendly services: Agency leaders should be held accountable for providing a first-rate customer experience. Agencies should identify senior officials to lead customer experience work, fund and staff customer experience teams, and encourage the adoption of best practices.

Congress and the next president should prioritize this reform agenda to support the federal workforce and promote practical ways to improve our government’s performance and accountability. Only then will our government keep up with the pressing challenges facing our nation and regain the public’s trust. 

Jenny Mattingley is the vice president for government affairs at the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, an organization dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy.