103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 826

AN ACT

To provide for the establishment of strategic planeral Government, and for other purposes. ning and performance measurement in the Fed-
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 826

AN ACT

To provide for the establishment of strategic planning and

performance measurement in the Federal Government,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Perform5 ance and Results Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) waste and inefficiency in Federal programs

2 undermine the confidence of the American people in

3 the Federal Government and reduces the Federal

4 Government’s ability to address adequately vital

5 public needs;

6 (2) Federal managers are seriously disadvan7 taged in their efforts to improve program efficiency

8 and effectiveness, because of insufficient articulation

9 of program goals and inadequate information on

10 program performance; and

11 (3) congressional policymaking, spending deci12 sions, and program oversight are seriously handi13 capped by insufficient attention to program perform14 ance and results.

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

16 (1) improve the confidence of the American peo17 ple in the capability of the Federal Government, by

18 systematically holding Federal agencies accountable

19 for achieving program results;

20 (2) initiate program performance reform with a

21 series of pilot projects in setting program goals,

22 measuring program performance against those goals,

23 and reporting publicly on their progress;
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1 (3) improve Federal program effectiveness and

2 public accountability by promoting a new focus on

3 results, service quality, and customer satisfaction;

4 (4) help Federal managers improve service de5 livery, by requiring that they plan for meeting pro6 gram objectives and by providing them with informa7 tion about program results and service quality;

8 (5) improve congressional decisionmaking by

9 providing more objective information on achieving

10 statutory objectives, and on the relative effectiveness

11 and efficiency of Federal programs and spending;

12 and

13 (6) improve internal management of the Fed14 eral Government.

15 SEC. 3. STRATEGIC PLANNING.

16 Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is amended

17 by adding after section 305 the following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 306. Strategic plans

19 ‘‘(a) No later than September 30, 1997, the head of

20 each agency shall submit to the Director of the Office of

21 Management and Budget and the Congress a strategic

22 plan for program activities. Such plan shall contain—

23 ‘‘(1) a comprehensive mission statement cover24 ing the major functions and operations of the

25 agency;
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1 ‘‘(2) general goals and objectives, including out2 come-related goals and objectives, for the major

3 functions and operations of the agency;

4 ‘‘(3) a description of how the general goals and

5 objectives contained in the strategic plan are to be

6 achieved, including a description of the operational

7 processes, skills and technology, and the human,

8 capital, information, and other resources required to

9 meet those goals and objectives;

10 ‘‘(4) a description of how the performance goals

11 included in the plan for the agency required by sec12 tion 1115(a) of title 31 shall be related to the gen13 eral goals and objectives contained in the strategic

14 plan;

15 ‘‘(5) an identification of those key factors exter16 nal to the agency and beyond its control that could

17 significantly affect the achievement of the general

18 goals and objectives contained in the strategic plan;

19 and

20 ‘‘(6) a description of the program evaluations

21 used in establishing or revising general goals and ob22 jectives contained in the strategic plan, with a sched23 ule for future program evaluations.

24 ‘‘(b) The strategic plan shall cover a period of not

25 less than five years forward from the fiscal year in which
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1 it is submitted, and shall be updated and revised at least

2 every three years.

3 ‘‘(c) The performance plan required for an agency by

4 section 1115 of title 31 shall be consistent with the agen5 cy’s strategic plan. A performance plan may not be sub6 mitted for a fiscal year not covered by a current strategic

7 plan under this section.

8 ‘‘(d) When developing a strategic plan, an agency

9 shall consult with the Congress, and shall solicit and con10 sider the views and suggestions of those entities poten11 tially affected by or interested in such plan.

12 ‘‘(e) The functions and activities of this section shall

13 be considered to be inherently governmental functions.

14 The drafting of strategic plans under this section shall be

15 performed only by Federal employees.

16 ‘‘(f) For purposes of this section the term ‘agency’

17 means an Executive agency as that term is defined under

18 section 105, but does not include the Central Intelligence

19 Agency, the General Accounting Office, the Panama Canal

20 Commission, the United States Postal Service, and the

21 Postal Rate Commission.

22 ‘‘(g) For exemptions of agencies from the require23 ments of this section, see section 1117 of title 31, United

24 States Code.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.

2 (a) BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION TO CON3 GRESS.—Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code,

4 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

5 paragraph:

6 ‘‘(29) beginning with fiscal year 1999, a Fed7 eral Government performance plan for the overall

8 budget as provided for under section 1115.’’.

9 (b) PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.—Chapter

10 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding

11 after section 1114 the following new sections:

12 ‘‘§ 1115. Performance plans

13 ‘‘(a) In carrying out the provisions of section

14 1105(a)(29), the Director of the Office of Management

15 and Budget shall require each agency to prepare and sub16 mit to the Director an annual performance plan covering

17 each program activity set forth in the budget of such agen18 cy. Such plan shall—

19 ‘‘(1) establish performance goals to define the

20 level of performance to be achieved by a program

21 activity;

22 ‘‘(2) express such goals in an objective, quan23 tifiable, and measurable form unless authorized to

24 be in an alternative form under subsection (b);

25 ‘‘(3) briefly describe the operational processes,

26 skills, and technology, and the human, capital, infor-
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1 mation, or other resources required to meet the per2 formance goals;

3 ‘‘(4) establish performance indicators to be used

4 in measuring or assessing the relevant outputs, serv5 ice levels, and outcomes of each program activity;

6 ‘‘(5) provide a basis for comparing actual pro7 gram results with the established performance goals;

8 and

9 ‘‘(6) describe the means to be used to verify

10 and validate measured values.

11 ‘‘(b) If an agency, in consultation with the Director

12 of the Office of Management and Budget, determines that

13 it is not feasible to express the performance goals for a

14 particular program activity in an objective, quantifiable,

15 and measurable form, the Director of the Office of Man16 agement and Budget may authorize an alternative form.

17 Such alternative form shall—

18 ‘‘(1) include separate descriptive statements

19 of—

20 ‘‘(A) a minimally effective program, or

21 ‘‘(B) such alternative as authorized by the

22 Director of the Office of Management and

23 Budget,

24 with sufficient precision and in such terms that

25 would allow for an accurate, independent determina-
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1 tion of whether the program activity’s performance

2 meets the criteria of the description; or

3 ‘‘(2) state why it is infeasible or impractical to

4 express a performance goal in any form for the pro5 gram activity.

6 ‘‘(c) For the purpose of complying with this section,

7 an agency may aggregate or consolidate program activi8 ties, except that any aggregation or consolidation may not

9 omit or minimize the significance of any program activity

10 constituting a major function or operation for the agency.

11 ‘‘(d) An agency may submit with its annual perform12 ance plan an appendix covering any portion of the plan

13 that—

14 ‘‘(1) is specifically authorized under criteria es15 tablished by an Executive order to be kept secret in

16 the interest of national defense or foreign policy; and

17 ‘‘(2) is properly classified pursuant to such Ex18 ecutive order.

19 ‘‘(e) The functions and activities of this section shall

20 be considered to be inherently governmental functions.

21 The drafting of performance plans under this section shall

22 be performed only by Federal employees.

23 ‘‘(f) For purposes of this section, sections 1116

24 through 1119, and sections 9704 and 9705—
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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning that

2 term has in section 306(f) of title 5;

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘outcome measure’ means an as4 sessment of the results of a program activity com5 pared to its intended purpose;

6 ‘‘(3) the term ‘output measure’ means the tab7 ulation, calculation, or recording of activity or effort,

8 expressed in a quantitative or qualitative manner;

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘performance goal’ means a tar10 get level of performance expressed as a tangible,

11 measurable objective, against which actual achieve12 ment can be compared, including a goal expressed as

13 a quantitative standard, value, or rate;

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘performance indicator’ means a

15 particular value or characteristic used to measure

16 output or outcome;

17 ‘‘(6) the term ‘program activity’ means a spe18 cific activity or project as listed in the program and

19 financing schedules of the annual budget of the

20 United States Government; and

21 ‘‘(7) the term ‘program evaluation’ means an

22 assessment, through objective measurement and sys23 tematic analysis, of the manner and extent to which

24 Federal programs achieve intended objectives.
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1 ‘‘§ 1116. Program performance reports

2 ‘‘(a) No later than March 31, 2000, and no later than

3 March 31 of each year thereafter, the head of each agency

4 shall prepare and submit to the President and the Con5 gress, a report on program performance for the previous

6 fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(b)(1) Each report on program performance shall

8 set forth the performance indicators established in the

9 agency performance plan under section 1115, along with

10 the actual program performance achieved compared with

11 the performance goals expressed in the plan for that fiscal

12 year.

13 ‘‘(2) If performance goals are specified in an alter14 native form pursuant to section 1115(b), the results of

15 such program shall be described in relation to such speci16 fications.

17 ‘‘(c) The report on program performance for fiscal

18 year 2000 shall include actual results for the preceding

19 fiscal year, the report for fiscal year 2001 shall include

20 actual results for the two preceding fiscal years, and the

21 report for fiscal year 2002 and all subsequent reports shall

22 include actual results for the three preceding fiscal years.

23 ‘‘(d) Each report on program performance shall—

24 ‘‘(1) review the success of achieving the per25 formance goals of the fiscal year covered by the re26 port;
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1 ‘‘(2) evaluate the performance plan for the cur2 rent fiscal year relative to the performance achieved

3 toward the performance goals in each fiscal year

4 covered by the report;

5 ‘‘(3) explain and describe, where a performance

6 goal has not been met—

7 ‘‘(A) why the goal was not met;

8 ‘‘(B) those plans and schedules for achiev9 ing the established performance goal; and

10 ‘‘(C) if the performance goal is impractical

11 or infeasible, why that is the case and what ac12 tion is recommended;

13 ‘‘(4) describe the use and assess the effective14 ness in achieving performance goals of any waiver

15 under section 9704 of this title; and

16 ‘‘(5) include the summary findings of those pro17 gram evaluations completed during each fiscal year

18 covered by the report.

19 ‘‘(e) An agency head may include all program per20 formance information required annually under this section

21 in an annual financial statement required under section

22 3515 if any such statement is submitted to the Congress

23 no later than March 31 of the applicable fiscal year.

24 ‘‘(f) The functions and activities of this section shall

25 be considered to be inherently governmental functions.
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1 The drafting of reports on program performance under

2 this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.

3 ‘‘(g) For definitions applicable under this section, see

4 section 1115.

5 ‘‘§ 1117. Exemptions

6 ‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and

7 Budget may exempt from the requirements of sections

8 1115 and 1116 of this title and section 306 of title 5,

9 any agency with annual outlays of $20,000,000 or less.

10 ‘‘(b) For definitions applicable under this section, see

11 section 1115.’’.

12 SEC. 5. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY.

13 Chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, is amend14 ed by adding after section 9703 the following new section:

15 ‘‘§ 9704. Managerial accountability and flexibility

16 ‘‘(a) Beginning with fiscal year 1999, the perform17 ance plans required under section 1115 may include pro18 posals to waive administrative procedural requirements

19 and controls (other than requirements under section 553

20 of title 5), including specification of personnel staffing lev21 els, limitations on compensation or remuneration, and pro22 hibitions or restrictions on funding transfers among budg23 et object classification 20 and subclassifications 11, 12,

24 31, and 32 of each annual budget submitted under section

25 1105, in return for specific individual or organization ac-
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1 countability to achieve a performance goal. In preparing

2 and submitting the performance plan under section

3 1105(a)(29), the Director of the Office of Management

4 and Budget shall review and may approve any proposed

5 waivers. A waiver shall take effect at the beginning of the

6 fiscal year for which the waiver is approved.

7 ‘‘(b) Any such proposal under subsection (a) shall de8 scribe the anticipated effects on performance resulting

9 from greater managerial or organizational flexibility, dis10 cretion, and authority, and shall quantify the expected im11 provements in performance resulting from any waiver. The

12 expected improvements shall be compared to current ac13 tual performance, and to the projected level of perform14 ance that would be achieved independent of any waiver.

15 ‘‘(c) Any proposal waiving limitations on compensa16 tion or remuneration shall precisely express the monetary

17 change in compensation or remuneration amounts, such

18 as bonuses or awards, that shall result from meeting, ex19 ceeding, or failing to meet performance goals.

20 ‘‘(d) Any proposed waiver of procedural requirements

21 or controls imposed by an agency (other than the propos22 ing agency or the Office of Management and Budget) may

23 not be included in a performance plan unless it is endorsed

24 by the agency that established the requirement, and any
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1 such endorsement shall be included in the proposing agen2 cy’s performance plan.

3 ‘‘(e) A waiver shall be in effect for one or two years,

4 as specified by the Director of the Office of Management

5 and Budget in approving the waiver. A waiver may be re6 newed for a subsequent year. After a waiver has been in

7 effect for three consecutive years, the performance plan

8 prepared under section 1115 may propose that a waiver,

9 other than a waiver of limitations on compensation or re10 muneration, be made permanent.

11 ‘‘(f) For definitions applicable under this section, see

12 section 1115.’’.

13 SEC. 6. PILOT PROJECTS.

14 (a) PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.—Chapter

15 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding

16 after section 1117 (as added by section 4 of this Act) the

17 following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 1118. Pilot projects for performance goals

19 ‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and

20 Budget, after consultation with the head of each agency,

21 shall designate not less than ten agencies as pilot projects

22 in performance measurement for fiscal years 1994, 1995,

23 and 1996. The selected agencies shall reflect a representa24 tive range of Government functions and capabilities in

25 measuring and reporting program performance.
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1 ‘‘(b) Pilot projects in the designated agencies shall

2 undertake the preparation of performance plans under

3 section 1115, and program performance reports under sec4 tion 1116, other than section 1116(c), for one or more

5 of the major functions and operations of the agency. A

6 strategic plan shall be used when preparing agency per7 formance plans during one or more years of the pilot

8 period.

9 ‘‘(c) No later than May 1, 1997, the Director of the

10 Office of Management and Budget shall submit a report

11 to the President and the Congress which shall—

12 ‘‘(1) assess the benefits, costs, and usefulness

13 of the plans and reports prepared by the pilot agen14 cies in meeting the purposes of the Government Per15 formance and Results Act of 1993;

16 ‘‘(2) identify any significant difficulties experi17 enced by the pilot agencies in preparing plans and

18 reports; and

19 ‘‘(3) set forth any recommended changes in the

20 requirements of the provisions of Government Per21 formance and Results Act of 1993, section 306 of

22 title 5, sections 1105, 1115, 1116, 1117, 1119 and

23 9704 of this title, and this section.

24 ‘‘(d) For definitions applicable under this section, see

25 section 1115.’’.
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1 (b) MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND FLEXIBIL2 ITY.—Chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, is

3 amended by adding after section 9704 (as added by sec4 tion 5 of this Act) the following new section:

5 ‘‘§ 9705. Pilot projects for managerial accountability

6 and flexibility

7 ‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and

8 Budget shall designate not less than five agencies as pilot

9 projects in managerial accountability and flexibility for fis10 cal years 1995 and 1996. Such agencies shall be selected

11 from those designated as pilot projects under section 1118

12 and shall reflect a representative range of Government

13 functions and capabilities in measuring and reporting pro14 gram performance.

15 ‘‘(b) Pilot projects in the designated agencies shall

16 include proposed waivers in accordance with section 9704

17 for one or more of the major functions and operations of

18 the agency.

19 ‘‘(c) The Director of the Office of Management and

20 Budget shall include in the report to the President and

21 to the Congress required under section 1118(c)—

22 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the benefits, costs, and

23 usefulness of increasing managerial and organiza24 tional flexibility, discretion, and authority in ex-
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1 change for improved performance through a waiver;

2 and

3 ‘‘(2) an identification of any significant difficul4 ties experienced by the pilot agencies in preparing

5 proposed waivers.

6 ‘‘(d) For definitions applicable under this section, see

7 section 1115.’’.

8 (c) PERFORMANCE BUDGETING.—Chapter 11 of title

9 31, United State Code, is amended by adding after section

10 1118 (as added by section 6 of this Act) the following new

11 section:

12 ‘‘§ 1119. Pilot projects for performance budgeting

13 ‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and

14 Budget, after consultation with the head of each agency,

15 shall designate not less than five agencies as pilot projects

16 in performance budgeting for fiscal years 1998 and 1999.

17 At least three of the agencies shall be selected from those

18 designated as pilot projects under section 1118, and shall

19 also reflect a representative range of Government func20 tions and capabilities in measuring and reporting program

21 performance.

22 ‘‘(b) Pilot projects in the designated agencies shall

23 cover the preparation of performance budgets. Such budg24 ets shall present, for one or more of the major functions

25 and operations of the agency, the varying levels of per-
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1 formance, including outcome-related performance, that

2 would result from different budgeted amounts.

3 ‘‘(c) The Director of the Office of Management and

4 Budget shall include, as an alternative budget presen5 tation in the budget submitted under section 1105 for fis6 cal year 1999, the performance budgets of the designated

7 agencies for this fiscal year.

8 ‘‘(d) No later than March 31, 2001, the Director of

9 the Office of Management and Budget shall transmit a

10 report to the President and to the Congress on the per11 formance budgeting pilot projects which shall—

12 ‘‘(1) assess the feasibility and advisability of in13 cluding a performance budget as part of the annual

14 budget submitted under section 1105;

15 ‘‘(2) describe any difficulties encountered by the

16 pilot agencies in preparing a performance budget;

17 ‘‘(3) recommend whether legislation requiring

18 performance budgets should be proposed and the

19 general provisions of any legislation; and

20 ‘‘(4) set forth any recommended changes in the

21 other requirements of the Government Performance

22 and Results Act of 1993, section 306 of title 5, sec23 tions 1105, 1115, 1116, 1117, and 9704 of this

24 title, and this section.
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1 ‘‘(e) For definitions applicable under this section, see

2 section 1115.’’.

3 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT AND LEGISLATION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con5 strued as limiting the ability of the Congress to establish,

6 amend, suspend, or annul a performance goal. Any such

7 action shall have the effect of superseding that goal in the

8 plan submitted under section 1105(a)(29) of title 31,

9 United States Code, as amended by this Act.

10 (b) GAO REPORT.—No later than June 1, 1997, the

11 Comptroller General of the United States shall report to

12 the Congress on the implementation of this Act, including

13 the prospects for compliance by Federal agencies beyond

14 those participating as pilot projects under sections 1118

15 and 9705 of title 31, United States Code.

16 SEC. 8. TRAINING.

17 The Office of Personnel Management shall, in con18 sultation with the Director of the Office of Management

19 and Budget and the Comptroller General of the United

20 States, develop a strategic planning and performance

21 measurement training component for its management

22 training program and otherwise provide managers with an

23 orientation on the development and use of strategic plan24 ning and program performance measurement.
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1 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

2 No provision or amendment made by this Act may

3 be construed as—

4 (1) creating any right, privilege, benefit, or en5 titlement for any person who is not an officer or em6 ployee of the United States acting in such capacity;

7 or

8 (2) superseding any statutory requirement, in9 cluding any requirement under section 553 of title 5,

10 United States Code.

11 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

12 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

13 CODE.—The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 5,

14 United States Code, is amended by adding after the item

15 relating to section 305 the following:

‘‘306. Strategic plans.’’.

16 (b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 31, UNITED STATES

17 CODE.—

18 (1) AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 11.—The table

19 of sections for chapter 11 of title 31, United States

20 Code, is amended by adding after the item relating

21 to section 1114 the following:

‘‘1115. Performance plans.

‘‘1116. Program performance reports.

‘‘1117. Exemptions.

‘‘1118. Pilot projects for performance goals.

‘‘1119. Pilot projects for performance budgeting.’’.
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1 (2) AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 97.—The table

2 of sections for chapter 97 of title 31, United States

3 Code, is amended by adding after the item relating

4 to section 9703 the following:

‘‘9704. Managerial accountability and flexibility.

‘‘9705. Pilot projects for managerial accountability and flexibility.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives May 25, 1993.

Attest:

Clerk.

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