H. R. 2142 
One Hundred Eleventh Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten 
An Act 
To require quarterly performance assessments of Government programs for purposes 
of assessing agency performance and improvement, and to establish agency per-
formance improvement officers and the Performance Improvement Council. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘GPRA Mod-
ernization Act of 2010’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Strategic planning amendments. 
Sec. 3. Performance planning amendments. 
Sec. 4. Performance reporting amendments. 
Sec. 5. Federal Government and agency priority goals. 
Sec. 6. Quarterly priority progress reviews and use of performance information. 
Sec. 7. Transparency of Federal Government programs, priority goals, and results. 
Sec. 8. Agency Chief Operating Officers. 
Sec. 9. Agency Performance Improvement Officers and the Performance Improve-
ment Council. 
Sec. 10. Format of performance plans and reports. 
Sec. 11. Reducing duplicative and outdated agency reporting. 
Sec. 12. Performance management skills and competencies. 
Sec. 13. Technical and conforming amendments. 
Sec. 14. Implementation of this Act. 
Sec. 15. Congressional oversight and legislation. 
SEC. 2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AMENDMENTS. 
Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 
section 306 and inserting the following: 
‘‘§ 306. Agency strategic plans 
‘‘(a) Not later than the first Monday in February of any year 
following the year in which the term of the President commences 
under section 101 of title 3, the head of each agency shall make 
available on the public website of the agency a strategic plan 
and notify the President and Congress of its availability. Such 
plan shall contain— 
‘‘(1) a comprehensive mission statement covering the major 
functions and operations of the agency; 
‘‘(2) general goals and objectives, including outcome-ori-
ented goals, for the major functions and operations of the 
agency; 
‘‘(3) a description of how any goals and objectives contribute 
to the Federal Government priority goals required by section 
1120(a) of title 31;
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‘‘(4) a description of how the goals and objectives are to 
be achieved, including— 
‘‘(A) a description of the operational processes, skills 
and technology, and the human, capital, information, and 
other resources required to achieve those goals and objec-
tives; and 
‘‘(B) a description of how the agency is working with 
other agencies to achieve its goals and objectives as well 
as relevant Federal Government priority goals; 
‘‘(5) a description of how the goals and objectives incor-
porate views and suggestions obtained through congressional 
consultations required under subsection (d); 
‘‘(6) a description of how the performance goals provided 
in the plan required by section 1115(a) of title 31, including 
the agency priority goals required by section 1120(b) of title 
31, if applicable, contribute to the general goals and objectives 
in the strategic plan; 
‘‘(7) an identification of those key factors external to the 
agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect 
the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and 
‘‘(8) a description of the program evaluations used in estab-
lishing or revising general goals and objectives, with a schedule 
for future program evaluations to be conducted. 
‘‘(b) The strategic plan shall cover a period of not less than 
4 years following the fiscal year in which the plan is submitted. 
As needed, the head of the agency may make adjustments to the 
strategic plan to reflect significant changes in the environment 
in which the agency is operating, with appropriate notification 
of Congress. 
‘‘(c) The performance plan required by section 1115(b) of title 
31 shall be consistent with the agency’s strategic plan. A perform-
ance plan may not be submitted for a fiscal year not covered 
by a current strategic plan under this section. 
‘‘(d) When developing or making adjustments to a strategic 
plan, the agency shall consult periodically with the Congress, 
including majority and minority views from the appropriate author-
izing, appropriations, and oversight committees, and shall solicit 
and consider the views and suggestions of those entities potentially 
affected by or interested in such a plan. The agency shall consult 
with the appropriate committees of Congress at least once every 
2 years. 
‘‘(e) The functions and activities of this section shall be consid-
ered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of stra-
tegic plans under this section shall be performed only by Federal 
employees. 
‘‘(f) For purposes of this section the term ‘agency’ means an 
Executive agency defined under section 105, but does not include 
the Central Intelligence Agency, the Government Accountability 
Office, the United States Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory 
Commission.’’. 
SEC. 3. PERFORMANCE PLANNING AMENDMENTS. 
Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
striking section 1115 and inserting the following:
H. R. 2142—3 
‘‘§ 1115. Federal Government and agency performance plans 
‘‘(a) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE PLANS.—In carrying 
out the provisions of section 1105(a)(28), the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget shall coordinate with agencies to 
develop the Federal Government performance plan. In addition 
to the submission of such plan with each budget of the United 
States Government, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall ensure that all information required by this subsection 
is concurrently made available on the website provided under sec-
tion 1122 and updated periodically, but no less than annually. 
The Federal Government performance plan shall— 
‘‘(1) establish Federal Government performance goals to 
define the level of performance to be achieved during the year 
in which the plan is submitted and the next fiscal year for 
each of the Federal Government priority goals required under 
section 1120(a) of this title; 
‘‘(2) identify the agencies, organizations, program activities, 
regulations, tax expenditures, policies, and other activities 
contributing to each Federal Government performance goal 
during the current fiscal year; 
‘‘(3) for each Federal Government performance goal, iden-
tify a lead Government official who shall be responsible for 
coordinating the efforts to achieve the goal; 
‘‘(4) establish common Federal Government performance 
indicators with quarterly targets to be used in measuring or 
assessing— 
‘‘(A) overall progress toward each Federal Government 
performance goal; and 
‘‘(B) the individual contribution of each agency, 
organization, program activity, regulation, tax expenditure, 
policy, and other activity identified under paragraph (2); 
‘‘(5) establish clearly defined quarterly milestones; and 
‘‘(6) identify major management challenges that are 
Governmentwide or crosscutting in nature and describe plans 
to address such challenges, including relevant performance 
goals, performance indicators, and milestones. 
‘‘(b) AGENCY PERFORMANCE PLANS.—Not later than the first 
Monday in February of each year, the head of each agency shall 
make available on a public website of the agency, and notify the 
President and the Congress of its availability, a performance plan 
covering each program activity set forth in the budget of such 
agency. Such plan shall— 
‘‘(1) establish performance goals to define the level of 
performance to be achieved during the year in which the plan 
is submitted and the next fiscal year; 
‘‘(2) express such goals in an objective, quantifiable, and 
measurable form unless authorized to be in an alternative 
form under subsection (c); 
‘‘(3) describe how the performance goals contribute to— 
‘‘(A) the general goals and objectives established in 
the agency’s strategic plan required by section 306(a)(2) 
of title 5; and 
‘‘(B) any of the Federal Government performance goals 
established in the Federal Government performance plan 
required by subsection (a)(1);
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‘‘(4) identify among the performance goals those which 
are designated as agency priority goals as required by section 
1120(b) of this title, if applicable; 
‘‘(5) provide a description of how the performance goals 
are to be achieved, including— 
‘‘(A) the operation processes, training, skills and tech-
nology, and the human, capital, information, and other 
resources and strategies required to meet those perform-
ance goals; 
‘‘(B) clearly defined milestones; 
‘‘(C) an identification of the organizations, program 
activities, regulations, policies, and other activities that 
contribute to each performance goal, both within and 
external to the agency; 
‘‘(D) a description of how the agency is working with 
other agencies to achieve its performance goals as well 
as relevant Federal Government performance goals; and 
‘‘(E) an identification of the agency officials responsible 
for the achievement of each performance goal, who shall 
be known as goal leaders; 
‘‘(6) establish a balanced set of performance indicators to 
be used in measuring or assessing progress toward each 
performance goal, including, as appropriate, customer service, 
efficiency, output, and outcome indicators; 
‘‘(7) provide a basis for comparing actual program results 
with the established performance goals; 
‘‘(8) a description of how the agency will ensure the 
accuracy and reliability of the data used to measure progress 
towards its performance goals, including an identification of— 
‘‘(A) the means to be used to verify and validate meas-
ured values; 
‘‘(B) the sources for the data; 
‘‘(C) the level of accuracy required for the intended 
use of the data; 
‘‘(D) any limitations to the data at the required level 
of accuracy; and 
‘‘(E) how the agency will compensate for such limita-
tions if needed to reach the required level of accuracy; 
‘‘(9) describe major management challenges the agency 
faces and identify— 
‘‘(A) planned actions to address such challenges; 
‘‘(B) performance goals, performance indicators, and 
milestones to measure progress toward resolving such chal-
lenges; and 
‘‘(C) the agency official responsible for resolving such 
challenges; and 
‘‘(10) identify low-priority program activities based on an 
analysis of their contribution to the mission and goals of the 
agency and include an evidence-based justification for desig-
nating a program activity as low priority. 
‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE FORM.—If an agency, in consultation with 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, determines 
that it is not feasible to express the performance goals for a par-
ticular program activity in an objective, quantifiable, and measur-
able form, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
may authorize an alternative form. Such alternative form shall— 
‘‘(1) include separate descriptive statements of—
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‘‘(A)(i) a minimally effective program; and 
‘‘(ii) a successful program; or 
‘‘(B) such alternative as authorized by the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget, with sufficient 
precision and in such terms that would allow for an 
accurate, independent determination of whether the pro-
gram activity’s performance meets the criteria of the 
description; or 
‘‘(2) state why it is infeasible or impractical to express 
a performance goal in any form for the program activity. 
‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—For the purpose of 
complying with this section, an agency may aggregate, disaggregate, 
or consolidate program activities, except that any aggregation or 
consolidation may not omit or minimize the significance of any 
program activity constituting a major function or operation for 
the agency. 
‘‘(e) APPENDIX.—An agency may submit with an annual 
performance plan an appendix covering any portion of the plan 
that— 
‘‘(1) is specifically authorized under criteria established 
by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of 
national defense or foreign policy; and 
‘‘(2) is properly classified pursuant to such Executive order. 
‘‘(f) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.—The functions 
and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently 
governmental functions. The drafting of performance plans under 
this section shall be performed only by Federal employees. 
‘‘(g) CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICERS.—With respect to each 
agency with a Chief Human Capital Officer, the Chief Human 
Capital Officer shall prepare that portion of the annual performance 
plan described under subsection (b)(5)(A). 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section and sections 
1116 through 1125, and sections 9703 and 9704, the term— 
‘‘(1) ‘agency’ has the same meaning as such term is defined 
under section 306(f) of title 5; 
‘‘(2) ‘crosscutting’ means across organizational (such as 
agency) boundaries; 
‘‘(3) ‘customer service measure’ means an assessment of 
service delivery to a customer, client, citizen, or other recipient, 
which can include an assessment of quality, timeliness, and 
satisfaction among other factors; 
‘‘(4) ‘efficiency measure’ means a ratio of a program 
activity’s inputs (such as costs or hours worked by employees) 
to its outputs (amount of products or services delivered) or 
outcomes (the desired results of a program); 
‘‘(5) ‘major management challenge’ means programs or 
management functions, within or across agencies, that have 
greater vulnerability to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanage-
ment (such as issues identified by the Government Account-
ability Office as high risk or issues identified by an Inspector 
General) where a failure to perform well could seriously affect 
the ability of an agency or the Government to achieve its 
mission or goals; 
‘‘(6) ‘milestone’ means a scheduled event signifying the 
completion of a major deliverable or a set of related deliverables 
or a phase of work;
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‘‘(7) ‘outcome measure’ means an assessment of the results 
of a program activity compared to its intended purpose; 
‘‘(8) ‘output measure’ means the tabulation, calculation, 
or recording of activity or effort that can be expressed in a 
quantitative or qualitative manner; 
‘‘(9) ‘performance goal’ means a target level of performance 
expressed as a tangible, measurable objective, against which 
actual achievement can be compared, including a goal expressed 
as a quantitative standard, value, or rate; 
‘‘(10) ‘performance indicator’ means a particular value or 
characteristic used to measure output or outcome; 
‘‘(11) ‘program activity’ means a specific activity or project 
as listed in the program and financing schedules of the annual 
budget of the United States Government; and 
‘‘(12) ‘program evaluation’ means an assessment, through 
objective measurement and systematic analysis, of the manner 
and extent to which Federal programs achieve intended objec-
tives.’’. 
SEC. 4. PERFORMANCE REPORTING AMENDMENTS. 
Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
striking section 1116 and inserting the following: 
‘‘§ 1116. Agency performance reporting 
‘‘(a) The head of each agency shall make available on a public 
website of the agency and to the Office of Management and Budget 
an update on agency performance. 
‘‘(b)(1) Each update shall compare actual performance achieved 
with the performance goals established in the agency performance 
plan under section 1115(b) and shall occur no less than 150 days 
after the end of each fiscal year, with more frequent updates of 
actual performance on indicators that provide data of significant 
value to the Government, Congress, or program partners at a 
reasonable level of administrative burden. 
‘‘(2) If performance goals are specified in an alternative form 
under section 1115(c), the results shall be described in relation 
to such specifications, including whether the performance failed 
to meet the criteria of a minimally effective or successful program. 
‘‘(c) Each update shall— 
‘‘(1) review the success of achieving the performance goals 
and include actual results for the 5 preceding fiscal years; 
‘‘(2) evaluate the performance plan for the current fiscal 
year relative to the performance achieved toward the perform-
ance goals during the period covered by the update; 
‘‘(3) explain and describe where a performance goal has 
not been met (including when a program activity’s performance 
is determined not to have met the criteria of a successful 
program activity under section 1115(c)(1)(A)(ii) or a cor-
responding level of achievement if another alternative form 
is used)— 
‘‘(A) why the goal was not met; 
‘‘(B) those plans and schedules for achieving the estab-
lished performance goal; and 
‘‘(C) if the performance goal is impractical or infeasible, 
why that is the case and what action is recommended;
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‘‘(4) describe the use and assess the effectiveness in 
achieving performance goals of any waiver under section 9703 
of this title; 
‘‘(5) include a review of the performance goals and evalua-
tion of the performance plan relative to the agency’s strategic 
human capital management; 
‘‘(6) describe how the agency ensures the accuracy and 
reliability of the data used to measure progress towards its 
performance goals, including an identification of— 
‘‘(A) the means used to verify and validate measured 
values; 
‘‘(B) the sources for the data; 
‘‘(C) the level of accuracy required for the intended 
use of the data; 
‘‘(D) any limitations to the data at the required level 
of accuracy; and 
‘‘(E) how the agency has compensated for such limita-
tions if needed to reach the required level of accuracy; 
and 
‘‘(7) include the summary findings of those program evalua-
tions completed during the period covered by the update. 
‘‘(d) If an agency performance update includes any program 
activity or information that is specifically authorized under criteria 
established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest 
of national defense or foreign policy and is properly classified pursu-
ant to such Executive Order, the head of the agency shall make 
such information available in the classified appendix provided under 
section 1115(e). 
‘‘(e) The functions and activities of this section shall be consid-
ered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of agency 
performance updates under this section shall be performed only 
by Federal employees. 
‘‘(f) Each fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget 
shall determine whether the agency programs or activities meet 
performance goals and objectives outlined in the agency perform-
ance plans and submit a report on unmet goals to— 
‘‘(1) the head of the agency; 
‘‘(2) the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate; 
‘‘(3) the Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform 
of the House of Representatives; and 
‘‘(4) the Government Accountability Office. 
‘‘(g) If an agency’s programs or activities have not met perform-
ance goals as determined by the Office of Management and Budget 
for 1 fiscal year, the head of the agency shall submit a performance 
improvement plan to the Office of Management and Budget to 
increase program effectiveness for each unmet goal with measurable 
milestones. The agency shall designate a senior official who shall 
oversee the performance improvement strategies for each unmet 
goal. 
‘‘(h)(1) If the Office of Management and Budget determines 
that agency programs or activities have unmet performance goals 
for 2 consecutive fiscal years, the head of the agency shall— 
‘‘(A) submit to Congress a description of the actions the 
Administration will take to improve performance, including 
proposed statutory changes or planned executive actions; and
H. R. 2142—8 
‘‘(B) describe any additional funding the agency will obli-
gate to achieve the goal, if such an action is determined appro-
priate in consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, for an amount determined appropriate by 
the Director. 
‘‘(2) In providing additional funding described under paragraph 
(1)(B), the head of the agency shall use any reprogramming or 
transfer authority available to the agency. If after exercising such 
authority additional funding is necessary to achieve the level deter-
mined appropriate by the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget, the head of the agency shall submit a request to 
Congress for additional reprogramming or transfer authority. 
‘‘(i) If an agency’s programs or activities have not met perform-
ance goals as determined by the Office of Management and Budget 
for 3 consecutive fiscal years, the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget shall submit recommendations to Congress on 
actions to improve performance not later than 60 days after that 
determination, including— 
‘‘(1) reauthorization proposals for each program or activity 
that has not met performance goals; 
‘‘(2) proposed statutory changes necessary for the program 
activities to achieve the proposed level of performance on each 
performance goal; and 
‘‘(3) planned executive actions or identification of the pro-
gram for termination or reduction in the President’s budget.’’. 
SEC. 5. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS. 
Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding after section 1119 the following: 
‘‘§ 1120. Federal Government and agency priority goals 
‘‘(a) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIORITY GOALS.— 
‘‘(1) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
shall coordinate with agencies to develop priority goals to 
improve the performance and management of the Federal 
Government. Such Federal Government priority goals shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) outcome-oriented goals covering a limited number 
of crosscutting policy areas; and 
‘‘(B) goals for management improvements needed 
across the Federal Government, including— 
‘‘(i) financial management; 
‘‘(ii) human capital management; 
‘‘(iii) information technology management; 
‘‘(iv) procurement and acquisition management; 
and 
‘‘(v) real property management; 
‘‘(2) The Federal Government priority goals shall be long- 
term in nature. At a minimum, the Federal Government priority 
goals shall be updated or revised every 4 years and made 
publicly available concurrently with the submission of the 
budget of the United States Government made in the first 
full fiscal year following any year in which the term of the 
President commences under section 101 of title 3. As needed, 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may 
make adjustments to the Federal Government priority goals 
to reflect significant changes in the environment in which the
H. R. 2142—14 
‘‘(A) advise and assist the head of the agency and 
the Chief Operating Officer to ensure that the mission 
and goals of the agency are achieved through strategic 
and performance planning, measurement, analysis, regular 
assessment of progress, and use of performance information 
to improve the results achieved; 
‘‘(B) advise the head of the agency and the Chief Oper-
ating Officer on the selection of agency goals, including 
opportunities to collaborate with other agencies on common 
goals; 
‘‘(C) assist the head of the agency and the Chief Oper-
ating Officer in overseeing the implementation of the 
agency strategic planning, performance planning, and 
reporting requirements provided under sections 1115 
through 1122 of this title and sections 306 of title 5, 
including the contributions of the agency to the Federal 
Government priority goals; 
‘‘(D) support the head of agency and the Chief Oper-
ating Officer in the conduct of regular reviews of agency 
performance, including at least quarterly reviews of 
progress 
achieved 
toward 
agency 
priority 
goals, 
if 
applicable; 
‘‘(E) assist the head of the agency and the Chief Oper-
ating Officer in the development and use within the agency 
of 
performance 
measures 
in 
personnel 
performance 
appraisals, and, as appropriate, other agency personnel 
and planning processes and assessments; and 
‘‘(F) ensure that agency progress toward the achieve-
ment of all goals is communicated to leaders, managers, 
and employees in the agency and Congress, and made 
available on a public website of the agency. 
‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Performance 
Improvement Council, consisting of— 
‘‘(A) the Deputy Director for Management of the Office 
of Management and Budget, who shall act as chairperson 
of the Council; 
‘‘(B) the Performance Improvement Officer from each 
agency defined in section 901(b) of this title; 
‘‘(C) other Performance Improvement Officers as deter-
mined appropriate by the chairperson; and 
‘‘(D) other individuals as determined appropriate by 
the chairperson. 
‘‘(2) FUNCTION.—The Performance Improvement Council 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be convened by the chairperson or the designee 
of the chairperson, who shall preside at the meetings of 
the Performance Improvement Council, determine its 
agenda, direct its work, and establish and direct subgroups 
of the Performance Improvement Council, as appropriate, 
to deal with particular subject matters; 
‘‘(B) assist the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget to improve the performance of the Federal 
Government and achieve the Federal Government priority 
goals; 
‘‘(C) assist the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget in implementing the planning, reporting, and