IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2142 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 17, 2010 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To require quarterly performance assessments of Government 
programs for purposes of assessing agency performance 
and improvement, and to establish agency performance 
improvement officers and the Performance Improvement 
Council. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance 
Improvement 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. Findings and purposes. 
Sec. 3. Agency defined. 
Sec. 4. Sense of Congress regarding the need for increased consultation be-
tween Congress and Federal agencies on performance manage-
ment issues. 
Sec. 5. Performance assessments. 
Sec. 6. Strategic planning amendments. 
Sec. 7. Improving Government performance. 
Sec. 8. Assessments and reports. 
Sec. 9. Additions to performance plan. 
Sec. 10. Savings. 
Sec. 11. Funding. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Weaknesses in established management 
processes pertaining to the use of information about 
the performance of Federal agencies undermine the 
confidence of the American people in the Govern-
ment and reduce the Federal Government’s ability to 
adequately address public needs. 
(2) To restore the confidence of the American 
people in its Government and to increase the Fed-
eral Government’s ability to adequately address vital 
public needs, the Federal Government must contin-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
ually seek to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, 
and accountability of Federal programs. 
(3) With the passage of the Government Per-
formance and Results Act of 1993, Congress di-
rected the executive branch to seek improvements in 
the performance and accountability of Federal pro-
grams by having agencies focus on strategic objec-
tives and annual results. 
(4) The requirements of the Government Per-
formance and Results Act of 1993 have produced an 
infrastructure of outcome-oriented strategic plans, 
performance measures, and accountability reporting 
that serve as a solid foundation for agencies working 
with Congress to achieve long-term strategic goals 
and improve the performance of Federal programs; 
use of those plans and reports to improve outcomes 
has, however, been limited. 
(5) Congressional policy making, spending deci-
sions, and program oversight have been handicapped 
by insufficient attention to program performance 
and results. 
(6) While improvements have been made in the 
development of outcome-oriented strategic plans, 
performance measures, and accountability reporting 
for individual programs, progress is still needed to 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
ensure that agency leaders, employees, and delivery 
partners regularly use performance information to 
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of govern-
ment operations and to communicate performance 
information coherently and candidly to inform con-
gressional decision-making in conducting program 
authorization, appropriation, and oversight. 
(7) Regular performance assessments, com-
plemented by periodic assessments of Federal pro-
grams, provide critical information on whether pro-
grams are achieving specific performance objectives, 
help Congress and the executive branch identify the 
most pressing policy and program issues, and deter-
mine if specific legislative, operational, financial, or 
strategic reforms are needed to increase program ef-
fectiveness and efficiency. 
(8) Programs performing similar or duplicative 
functions within a single agency or across multiple 
agencies should be identified and their performance 
and results shared among all such programs to im-
prove coordination or possible consolidation and, ul-
timately, performance and results. 
(9) The performance reporting requirements of 
the Government Performance and Results Act of 
1993, along with individual performance and ac-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
countability reporting requirements contained in leg-
islation, are in some cases redundant, and steps 
should be taken to eliminate duplicative performance 
policies and to streamline outdated and unused re-
ports. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To improve the Government Performance 
and Results Act of 1993 by implementing perform-
ance assessment processes that seek to assess Fed-
eral programs on a periodic basis with a particular 
focus on the following: 
(A) Identification by agency leaders of 
clear priorities and setting of outcome-focused, 
measurable, ambitious targets for those prior-
ities. 
(B) Regular goal-focused, data driven per-
formance assessments to measure progress and 
adjust strategies. 
(C) Accountability expectations that en-
courage managers to innovate, informed by evi-
dence and analysis of experience. 
(D) Transparent, coherent, and candid 
communication of results. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
(2) To use relevant performance and related in-
formation to help agencies make informed manage-
ment decisions, improve the effectiveness of agency 
and program operations (particularly for those pro-
grams, projects, and activities that are deemed poor-
ly performing), and submit funding requests based 
on evidence and other relevant information. 
(3) To provide congressional policy makers with 
information needed to conduct more effective over-
sight and assist in the improvement of agency oper-
ations, and to make performance-informed and re-
sults-based authorization and appropriation deci-
sions that improve the effectiveness of program op-
erations. 
(4) To establish the Performance Improvement 
Council as a body that will assist in the development 
of performance measurement and management 
standards and assessment methodologies, identify 
best practices in Federal performance management, 
facilitate the exchange of information among agen-
cies on these practices, and collaborate on and 
strengthen the effectiveness of agency performance 
improvement efforts. 
(5) To establish agency performance improve-
ment officers to institutionalize and enhance the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
strategic and performance management activities of 
Federal agencies. 
SEC. 3. AGENCY DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘agency’’ means an executive 
agency as defined in section 306 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED FOR 
INCREASED CONSULTATION BETWEEN CON-
GRESS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ON PER-
FORMANCE MANAGEMENT ISSUES. 
It is the sense of Congress that the head of each Fed-
eral agency should make every effort to consult with the 
committees with jurisdiction over the agency and other in-
terested members of Congress each fiscal year regarding 
the performance plan and priorities of the agency (re-
quired by sections 1115 and 1120 of title 31, United 
States Code). 
SEC. 5. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT
FOR
PERFORMANCE
ASSESS-
MENTS.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1120. Performance assessments 
‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-PRIORITY PERFORM-
ANCE GOALS.—For the purpose of improving agency per-
formance, the head of each Federal agency, in consultation 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
with the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et, shall identify near-term and long-term high-priority 
goals for purposes of this section. In identifying such 
goals, the head of the agency shall— 
‘‘(1) rely on the agency’s mission, strategic plan 
and objectives, and statutory directives; 
‘‘(2) consult with Congress, including each ap-
propriate committee of Congress; 
‘‘(3) select goals that— 
‘‘(A) clearly identify agency priorities and 
have performance outcomes that can be clearly 
and objectively assessed and measured; 
‘‘(B) are ambitious targets that have high 
direct value to the public; 
‘‘(C) involve indicators for which the agen-
cy can collect reliable and timely data that may 
be used in performance assessments to measure 
progress and adjust strategies; and 
‘‘(D) involve multiple programs, including 
programs within and across multiple agencies 
that are performing similar functions, serve 
similar populations, have similar purposes, or 
share common objectives, for purposes of identi-
fying common challenges, exemplary goals and 
practices, common measures of performance, 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
and potential opportunities for more effective 
and efficient means of achieving goals, includ-
ing through the integration and consolidation of 
Federal functions; and 
‘‘(4) with respect to a subcomponent of the 
agency, ensure the goals are consistent with the 
goals of the entire agency. 
‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS.—The head of 
each Federal agency, in consultation with the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget, shall, not less 
often than quarterly for high-priority goals identified in 
subsection (a), and on a semi-annual basis for perform-
ance goals established pursuant to section 1115(a)(1) of 
this title— 
‘‘(1) assess progress toward achieving the goals 
identified under subsection (a) and toward achieving 
the annual performance goals for each program ac-
tivity established pursuant to section 1115(a)(1) of 
this title; 
‘‘(2) assess whether relevant agency programs 
and initiatives are contributing as expected toward 
the goals identified under subsection (a) and the an-
nual performance goals for each program activity es-
tablished pursuant to section 1115(a)(1) of this title; 
and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
‘‘(3) identify prospects and strategies for per-
formance 
improvement, 
including 
any 
needed 
changes to agency programs or initiatives. 
‘‘(c) 
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—In conducting an assessment of agency progress 
toward achieving the goals identified under subsection (a) 
and toward achieving the annual performance goals for 
each program activity established pursuant to section 
1115(a)(1) of this title, the head of a Federal agency, in 
consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, shall— 
‘‘(1) coordinate with relevant personnel within 
and outside the agency who contribute to the accom-
plishment of the goals; and 
‘‘(2) encourage innovation and hold leaders and 
managers accountable for effective and efficient im-
plementation based on evidence and continuing anal-
ysis of experience. 
‘‘(d) TRANSPARENCY OF GOALS AND PERFORMANCE 
ASSESSMENTS.—The Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget shall— 
‘‘(1) make available, as part of the President’s 
budget submission and through the Office of Man-
agement and Budget website and other relevant 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
websites, and provide to the congressional commit-
tees described in subsection (i)— 
‘‘(A) a list of goals identified under sub-
section (a) and reviewed by the Director; 
‘‘(B) consistent with section 1115 of this 
title, annual goals defined by objectively meas-
urable outcomes for each program administered 
in whole or in part by the agency; 
‘‘(C) the methods that will be used to 
make progress toward achieving the goals iden-
tified under subparagraphs (A) and (B); 
‘‘(D) the expected contribution that dif-
ferent agency programs and initiatives will 
make toward achieving the goals identified 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) and the ex-
pected timeline for achieving those goals; and 
‘‘(E) the approach that will be used by 
agencies to assess progress toward achieving 
the goals identified under subparagraphs (A) 
and (B); 
‘‘(2) provide a mechanism for interested per-
sons, including the general public and members and 
committees of Congress, to submit comments on the 
goals being assessed under subsection (a) and the 
annual performance goals for each program activity 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
established pursuant to section 1115(a)(1) of this 
title and the methods that will be used to make 
progress toward achieving those goals; 
‘‘(3) provide a mechanism for agency delivery to 
and consideration of comments provided under para-
graph (2) by each relevant agency and adjustment 
of goals under subsection (a) and the annual per-
formance goals for each program activity established 
pursuant to section 1115(a)(1) of this title based on 
the comments, with approval of the Director; and 
‘‘(4) make available through the Office of Man-
agement and Budget website a summary of com-
ments received under paragraph (2), any adjustment 
of goals under paragraph (3), and any changes to 
goals required by the Office of Management and 
Budget. 
‘‘(e) TRANSPARENCY OF PERFORMANCE RESULTS.— 
(1) The head of an agency shall ensure that all results 
of the assessments conducted under this section by the 
agency during a fiscal year shall be readily accessible to 
and easily found on the Internet by the public and mem-
bers and committees of Congress in a searchable, machine 
readable format, in accordance with guidance provided by 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget that 
ensures such information is provided in a way that pre-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
sents a coherent picture of the performance of Federal 
agencies. At a minimum, the results of the assessments 
conducted under this section shall be available on the 
website of the Office of Management and Budget and also 
may be made available on any other website considered 
appropriate by the agency or the Director. The Director 
shall also notify the appropriate committees of Congress 
when quarterly assessments become available on the Inter-
net. 
‘‘(2) The performance information related to the as-
sessments of goals in this section and section 1115 of this 
title shall— 
‘‘(A) include— 
‘‘(i) a brief summary of the problem or op-
portunity being addressed and reasons for iden-
tifying these agency goals as well as key find-
ings of the assessments; 
‘‘(ii) a list of each program and agency 
contributing to achievement of the goal and the 
time frame for such contributions; 
‘‘(iii) an assessment of the quality of the 
performance measures, and the extent to which 
necessary performance data are collected; 
‘‘(iv) a description of how leaders and 
managers are held accountable for achieving 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
program results, and the extent to which strong 
financial management tools are in place; 
‘‘(v) contextual indicators that provide a 
sense of external factors that can influence per-
formance trends related to key outcomes; 
‘‘(vi) as appropriate, indicators that pro-
vide information about the population being 
served and to the extent possible, the impact on 
disadvantaged and minority communities and 
individuals; 
‘‘(vii) factors affecting the performance of 
programs, projects, and activities and how they 
are impeding or contributing to failures or suc-
cesses of the programs, projects, and activities, 
and the reasons for any substantial variation 
from the targeted level of achievement of the 
goals; 
‘‘(viii) the process used by the agency to 
assess progress made toward achieving the 
goals; and 
‘‘(ix) such other items and adjustments as 
may be specified by the Director; 
‘‘(B) describe the extent to which any trends, 
developments, or emerging conditions affect the need 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
to change the mission of programs being carried out 
to achieve the goal; 
‘‘(C) identify, as part of any performance as-
sessment, practices that resulted in positive out-
comes, and the key reasons why such practices re-
sulted in positive outcomes; and 
‘‘(D) include recommendations for actions to 
improve results, including opportunities that might 
exist for the coordination, consolidation, or integra-
tion of programs to improve service or generate cost 
savings. 
‘‘(3) The head of each agency shall— 
‘‘(A) use, as necessary and appropriate, a vari-
ety of assessment methods to support performance 
assessments, including methods contained in reports 
from evaluation centers, in assessments by States, 
and in available Federal program assessments; 
‘‘(B) maintain an archive of information re-
quired to be disclosed under this section that is, to 
the maximum extent practicable, readily available, 
accessible, and easily found by the public; and 
‘‘(C) consider the relevant comments submitted 
under subsection (d)(2). 
‘‘(f) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—(1) With respect to 
performance assessments conducted during a fiscal year 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
that contain classified information, the President shall 
submit— 
‘‘(A) each quarterly performance assessment 
(including the classified information), to the appro-
priate committees of Congress; and 
‘‘(B) an appendix containing a list of each af-
fected goal and the committees to which a copy of 
the performance assessment was submitted under 
subparagraph (A), to the congressional committees 
described in subsection (i). 
‘‘(2) Upon request from a congressional committee 
described in subsection (i), the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall provide to the Committee 
a copy of— 
‘‘(A) any performance assessment described in 
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) (including any 
assessment not listed in any appendix submitted 
under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph); and 
‘‘(B) any appendix described in subparagraph 
(B) of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘classified informa-
tion’ refers to matters described in section 552(b)(1)(A) 
of title 5. 
‘‘(g) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.— 
The functions and activities authorized or required by this 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
section shall be considered inherently governmental func-
tions and shall be performed only by Federal employees. 
‘‘(h) REPORT STREAMLINING.—To eliminate redun-
dancy, the head of an agency may determine each year, 
subject to the approval of the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget and provided that it meets the 
requirements of this section and sections 1115, 1116, 
1117, 1121, and the first 9703 of this title, that the per-
formance information provided to the public on the Inter-
net is sufficient to meet the planning and reporting re-
quirements of such sections. 
‘‘(i) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The congres-
sional committees described in this subsection are the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) The Committee on Oversight and Govern-
ment Reform of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(2) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
‘‘(3) The Committees on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate. 
‘‘(4) The Committees on the Budget of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate. 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) AGENCY
PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT 
OFFICER.—The term ‘agency performance improve-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
ment officer’ means a senior executive of an agency 
who is designated by the head of the agency, and re-
ports to the head of the agency, the agency Deputy 
Secretary, or such other agency official designated 
by the head of the agency, to carry out the require-
ments of this section. 
‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE INFORMATION.—The term 
‘performance information’ means the results of as-
sessments conducted under this section. 
‘‘(k) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed as requiring the head of an agency to per-
form impact evaluations that estimate quantitatively, for 
one or more variables, the effect a program or policy had 
compared to what may have otherwise happened.’’. 
(b) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS TO BE CONSID-
ERED
IN EVALUATING SENIOR EXECUTIVES.—Section 
4313 of title 5, United States Code, is amended (in the 
matter before paragraph (1)) by striking ‘‘organizational 
performance,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘organizational 
performance (including such reviews of agency perform-
ance, conducted under section 1120 of title 31, as are rel-
evant),’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 11 of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘1120. Performance assessments.’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
HR 2142 RFS
SEC. 6. STRATEGIC PLANNING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) CHANGE IN DEADLINE FOR STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
Subsection (a) of section 306 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘No later than September 
30, 1997,’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than September 30 
of the second year following a year in which an election 
for President occurs, beginning with September 30, 
2010,’’. 
(b) CHANGE IN PERIOD OF COVERAGE OF STRA-
TEGIC PLAN.—Subsection (b) of section 306 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) Each strategic plan shall cover the four-year pe-
riod beginning on October 1 of the second year following 
a year in which an election for President occurs.’’. 
SEC. 7. IMPROVING GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE. 
(a) IMPROVING
GOVERNMENT
PERFORMANCE.— 
Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, as amended 
by section 5, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 1121. Improving Government performance 
‘‘(a) DUTIES OF AGENCY PERFORMANCE IMPROVE-
MENT OFFICERS.—Subject to the direction of the head of 
the agency, each agency performance improvement officer 
shall— 
‘‘(1) advise and assist the head of the executive 
agency and other agency officials to ensure that the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:35 Jun 18, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2142.RFS
H2142
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS