IIA
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 826
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 26 (legislative day, APRIL 19), 1993
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
To provide for the establishment of strategic planning and
performance measurement in the Federal Government,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Perform-
ance and Results Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) waste and inefficiency in Federal programs
undermine the confidence of the American people in
the Federal Government and reduces the Federal
Government’s ability to address adequately vital
public needs;
(2) Federal managers are seriously disadvan-
taged in their efforts to improve program efficiency
and effectiveness, because of insufficient articulation
of program goals and inadequate information on
program performance; and
(3) congressional policymaking, spending deci-
sions, and program oversight are seriously handi-
capped by insufficient attention to program perform-
ance and results.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) improve the confidence of the American peo-
ple in the capability of the Federal Government, by
systematically holding Federal agencies accountable
for achieving program results;
(2) initiate program performance reform with a
series of pilot projects in setting program goals,
measuring program performance against those goals,
and reporting publicly on their progress;
(3) improve Federal program effectiveness and
public accountability by promoting a new focus on
results, service quality, and customer satisfaction;
(4) help Federal managers improve service de-
livery, by requiring that they plan for meeting pro-
gram objectives and by providing them with informa-
tion about program results and service quality;
(5) improve congressional decisionmaking by
providing more objective information on achieving
statutory objectives, and on the relative effectiveness
and efficiency of Federal programs and spending;
and
(6) improve internal management of the Fed-
eral Government.
SEC. 3. STRATEGIC PLANNING.
Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by adding after section 305 the following new section:
‘‘§ 306. Strategic plans
‘‘(a) No later than September 30, 1997, the head of
each agency shall submit to the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Congress a strategic
plan for program activities. Such plan shall contain—
‘‘(1) a comprehensive mission statement cover-
ing the major functions and operations of the
agency;
‘‘(2) general goals and objectives, including out-
come-related goals and objectives, for the major
functions and operations of the agency;
‘‘(3) a description of how the general goals and
objectives contained in the strategic plan are to be
achieved, including a description of the operational
processes, skills and technology, and the human,
capital, information, and other resources required to
meet those goals and objectives;
‘‘(4) a description of how the performance goals
included in the plan for the agency required by sec-
tion 1115(a) of title 31 shall be related to the gen-
eral goals and objectives contained in the strategic
plan;
‘‘(5) an identification of those key factors exter-
nal to the agency and beyond its control that could
significantly affect the achievement of the general
goals and objectives contained in the strategic plan;
and
‘‘(6) a description of the program evaluations
used in establishing or revising general goals and ob-
jectives contained in the strategic plan, with a sched-
ule for future program evaluations.
‘‘(b) The strategic plan shall cover a period of not
less than five years forward from the fiscal year in which
it is submitted, and shall be updated and revised at least
every three years.
‘‘(c) The performance plan required for an agency by
section 1115 of title 31 shall be consistent with the agen-
cy’s strategic plan. A performance plan may not be sub-
mitted for a fiscal year not covered by a current strategic
plan under this section.
‘‘(d) When developing a strategic plan, an agency
shall consult with the Congress, and shall solicit and con-
sider the views and suggestions of those entities poten-
tially affected by or interested in such plan.
‘‘(e) The functions and activities of this section shall
be considered to be inherently governmental functions.
The drafting of strategic plans under this section shall be
performed only by Federal employees.
‘‘(f) For purposes of this section the term ‘agency’
means an Executive agency as that term is defined under
section 105, but does not include the Central Intelligence
Agency, the General Accounting Office, the Panama Canal
Commission, the United States Postal Service, and the
Postal Rate Commission.
‘‘(g) For exemptions of agencies from the require-
ments of this section, see section 1117 of title 31, United
States Code.’’.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.
(a) BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION TO CON-
GRESS.—Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(29) beginning with fiscal year 1999, a Fed-
eral Government performance plan for the overall
budget as provided for under section 1115.’’.
(b) PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.—Chapter
11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding
after section 1114 the following new sections:
‘‘§ 1115. Performance plans
‘‘(a) In carrying out the provisions of section
1105(a)(29), the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall require each agency to prepare and sub-
mit to the Director an annual performance plan covering
each program activity set forth in the budget of such agen-
cy. Such plan shall—
‘‘(1) establish performance goals to define the
level of performance to be achieved by a program
activity;
‘‘(2) express such goals in an objective, quan-
tifiable, and measurable form unless authorized to
be in an alternative form under subsection (b);
‘‘(3) briefly describe the operational processes,
skills, and technology, and the human, capital, infor-
mation, or other resources required to meet the per-
formance goals;
‘‘(4) establish performance indicators to be used
in measuring or assessing the relevant outputs, serv-
ice levels, and outcomes of each program activity;
‘‘(5) provide a basis for comparing actual pro-
gram results with the established performance goals;
and
‘‘(6) describe the means to be used to verify
and validate measured values.
‘‘(b) 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
particular program activity in an objective, quantifiable,
and measurable form, the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget may authorize an alternative form.
Such alternative form shall—
‘‘(1) include separate descriptive statements
of—
‘‘(A) a minimally effective 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 determina-
tion of whether the program 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 pro-
gram activity.
‘‘(c) For the purpose of complying with this section,
an agency may aggregate or consolidate program activi-
ties, 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.
‘‘(d) An agency may submit with its annual perform-
ance plan an appendix covering any portion of the plan
that—
‘‘(1) is specifically authorized under criteria es-
tablished 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 Ex-
ecutive order.
‘‘(e) 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.
‘‘(f) For purposes of this section, sections 1116
through 1119, and sections 9704 and 9705—
‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning that
term has in section 306(f) of title 5;
‘‘(2) the term ‘outcome measure’ means an as-
sessment of the results of a program activity com-
pared to its intended purpose;
‘‘(3) the term ‘output measure’ means the tab-
ulation, calculation, or recording of activity or effort,
expressed in a quantitative or qualitative manner;
‘‘(4) the term ‘performance goal’ means a tar-
get level of performance expressed as a tangible,
measurable objective, against which actual achieve-
ment can be compared, including a goal expressed as
a quantitative standard, value, or rate;
‘‘(5) the term ‘performance indicator’ means a
particular value or characteristic used to measure
output or outcome;
‘‘(6) the term ‘program activity’ means a spe-
cific activity or project as listed in the program and
financing schedules of the annual budget of the
United States Government; and
‘‘(7) the term ‘program evaluation’ means an
assessment, through objective measurement and sys-
tematic analysis, of the manner and extent to which
Federal programs achieve intended objectives.
‘‘§ 1116. Program performance reports
‘‘(a) No later than March 31, 2000, and no later than
March 31 of each year thereafter, the head of each agency
shall prepare and submit to the President and the Con-
gress, a report on program performance for the previous
fiscal year.
‘‘(b)(1) Each report on program performance shall
set forth the performance indicators established in the
agency performance plan under section 1115, along with
the actual program performance achieved compared with
the performance goals expressed in the plan for that fiscal
year.
‘‘(2) If performance goals are specified in an alter-
native form pursuant to section 1115(b), the results of
such program shall be described in relation to such speci-
fications.
‘‘(c) The report on program performance for fiscal
year 2000 shall include actual results for the preceding
fiscal year, the report for fiscal year 2001 shall include
actual results for the two preceding fiscal years, and the
report for fiscal year 2002 and all subsequent reports shall
include actual results for the three preceding fiscal years.
‘‘(d) Each report on program performance shall—
‘‘(1) review the success of achieving the per-
formance goals of the fiscal year covered by the re-
port;
‘‘(2) evaluate the performance plan for the cur-
rent fiscal year relative to the performance achieved
toward the performance goals in each fiscal year
covered by the report;
‘‘(3) explain and describe, where a performance
goal has not been met—
‘‘(A) why the goal was not met;
‘‘(B) those plans and schedules for achiev-
ing the established performance goal; and
‘‘(C) if the performance goal is impractical
or infeasible, why that is the case and what ac-
tion is recommended;
‘‘(4) describe the use and assess the effective-
ness in achieving performance goals of any waiver
under section 9704 of this title; and
‘‘(5) include the summary findings of those pro-
gram evaluations completed during each fiscal year
covered by the report.
‘‘(e) An agency head may include all program per-
formance information required annually under this section
in an annual financial statement required under section
3515 if any such statement is submitted to the Congress
no later than March 31 of the applicable fiscal year.
‘‘(f) The functions and activities of this section shall
be considered to be inherently governmental functions.
The drafting of reports on program performance under
this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.
‘‘(g) For definitions applicable under this section, see
section 1115.
‘‘§ 1117. Exemptions
‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget may exempt from the requirements of sections
1115 and 1116 of this title and section 306 of title 5,
any agency with annual outlays of $20,000,000 or less.
‘‘(b) For definitions applicable under this section, see
section 1115.’’.
SEC. 5. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY.
Chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding after section 9703 the following new section:
‘‘§ 9704. Managerial accountability and flexibility
‘‘(a) Beginning with fiscal year 1999, the perform-
ance plans required under section 1115 may include pro-
posals to waive administrative procedural requirements
and controls (other than requirements under section 553
of title 5), including specification of personnel staffing lev-
els, limitations on compensation or remuneration, and pro-
hibitions or restrictions on funding transfers among budg-
et object classification 20 and subclassifications 11, 12,
31, and 32 of each annual budget submitted under section
1105, in return for specific individual or organization ac-
countability to achieve a performance goal. In preparing
and submitting the performance plan under section
1105(a)(29), the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall review and may approve any proposed
waivers. A waiver shall take effect at the beginning of the
fiscal year for which the waiver is approved.
‘‘(b) Any such proposal under subsection (a) shall de-
scribe the anticipated effects on performance resulting
from greater managerial or organizational flexibility, dis-
cretion, and authority, and shall quantify the expected im-
provements in performance resulting from any waiver. The
expected improvements shall be compared to current ac-
tual performance, and to the projected level of perform-
ance that would be achieved independent of any waiver.
‘‘(c) Any proposal waiving limitations on compensa-
tion or remuneration shall precisely express the monetary
change in compensation or remuneration amounts, such
as bonuses or awards, that shall result from meeting, ex-
ceeding, or failing to meet performance goals.
‘‘(d) Any proposed waiver of procedural requirements
or controls imposed by an agency (other than the propos-
ing agency or the Office of Management and Budget) may
not be included in a performance plan unless it is endorsed
by the agency that established the requirement, and any
such endorsement shall be included in the proposing agen-
cy’s performance plan.
‘‘(e) A waiver shall be in effect for one or two years,
as specified by the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget in approving the waiver. A waiver may be re-
newed for a subsequent year. After a waiver has been in
effect for three consecutive years, the performance plan
prepared under section 1115 may propose that a waiver,
other than a waiver of limitations on compensation or re-
muneration, be made permanent.
‘‘(f) For definitions applicable under this section, see
section 1115.’’.
SEC. 6. PILOT PROJECTS.
(a) PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.—Chapter
11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding
after section 1117 (as added by section 4 of this Act) the
following new section:
‘‘§ 1118. Pilot projects for performance goals
‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, after consultation with the head of each agency,
shall designate not less than ten agencies as pilot projects
in performance measurement for fiscal years 1994, 1995,
and 1996. The selected agencies shall reflect a representa-
tive range of Government functions and capabilities in
measuring and reporting program performance.
‘‘(b) Pilot projects in the designated agencies shall
undertake the preparation of performance plans under
section 1115, and program performance reports under sec-
tion 1116, other than section 1116(c), for one or more
of the major functions and operations of the agency. A
strategic plan shall be used when preparing agency per-
formance plans during one or more years of the pilot
period.
‘‘(c) No later than May 1, 1997, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget shall submit a report
to the President and the Congress which shall—
‘‘(1) assess the benefits, costs, and usefulness
of the plans and reports prepared by the pilot agen-
cies in meeting the purposes of the Government Per-
formance and Results Act of 1993;
‘‘(2) identify any significant difficulties experi-
enced by the pilot agencies in preparing plans and
reports; and
‘‘(3) set forth any recommended changes in the
requirements of the provisions of Government Per-
formance and Results Act of 1993, section 306 of
title 5, sections 1105, 1115, 1116, 1117, 1119 and
9704 of this title, and this section.
‘‘(d) For definitions applicable under this section, see
section 1115.’’.
(b) MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND FLEXIBIL-
ITY.—Chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by adding after section 9704 (as added by sec-
tion 5 of this Act) the following new section:
‘‘§ 9705. Pilot projects for managerial accountability
and flexibility
‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall designate not less than five agencies as pilot
projects in managerial accountability and flexibility for fis-
cal years 1995 and 1996. Such agencies shall be selected
from those designated as pilot projects under section 1118
and shall reflect a representative range of Government
functions and capabilities in measuring and reporting pro-
gram performance.
‘‘(b) Pilot projects in the designated agencies shall
include proposed waivers in accordance with section 9704
for one or more of the major functions and operations of
the agency.
‘‘(c) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall include in the report to the President and
to the Congress required under section 1118(c)—
‘‘(1) an assessment of the benefits, costs, and
usefulness of increasing managerial and organiza-
tional flexibility, discretion, and authority in ex-