I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5064 
To require government-wide application of continuous process improvement 
methods to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of the Federal 
Government, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2014 
Mr. LATHAM (for himself, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. 
HALL, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. BURGESS, and Mr. RICE of 
South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To require government-wide application of continuous process 
improvement methods to reduce waste and improve the 
effectiveness of 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 ‘‘Lean and Responsive 
Government Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Nearly 100 major United States corpora-
tions, countless small businesses, and many govern-
ment entities around the world have reduced waste 
in their operations and improved the quality of the 
goods and services they provide by implementing 
continuous 
process 
improvement 
methodologies, 
most commonly lean six sigma. 
(2) Use of this methodology has resulted in av-
erage cost reductions greater than 25 percent while 
also improving the quality of goods and services. 
(3) The use of continuous process improvement 
lean six sigma within the Department of Defense 
and several other departments and agencies has 
demonstrated that it can successfully be applied 
across the Federal Government. 
(4) Continuous process improvement is essential 
for Federal agencies to be successful in setting and 
meeting performance goals and is a key component 
that is missing from current statutory requirements 
for performance improvement efforts. 
(5) Clear direction and authority from Congress 
is needed to ensure this innovative management 
process from the private sector is applied across the 
Federal Government to achieve waste reduction and 
optimal efficiency. 
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(b) CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT
OF POLICY.—It 
shall be the policy of the United States— 
(1) to reduce waste and improve the effective-
ness of the Federal Government through the use of 
continuous process improvement methods; 
(2) to require each Federal agency to imple-
ment the necessary capabilities to fully institu-
tionalize such methods within such agency to reduce 
waste while maintaining or improving the level of 
services provided by the Federal Government; and 
(3) that the savings from such methods may be 
used to justify agency funding requests. 
SEC. 3. CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) CONTINUOUS
PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT
DE-
FINED.—Section 1101 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(3) ‘continuous process improvement’ means a 
management methodology (commonly referred to as 
lean six sigma) that combines tools to improve proc-
ess speed, reduce waste, and incorporate require-
ments with data driven project analysis to provide 
products and services with improved quality at lower 
cost.’’. 
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(b) AGENCY
PERFORMANCE
REPORTING.—Sub-
section (c) of section 1116 of such title is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6)(E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(8) describe the implementation of continuous 
process improvement, including information on each 
of the following: 
‘‘(A) The extent to which employees have 
received continuous process improvement train-
ing appropriate to the position of such em-
ployee, and its relation to the deployment goals 
in a typical application of continuous process 
improvement. 
‘‘(B) A description of the application of 
continuous process improvement in cost-reduc-
tion projects, including any performance or 
quality improvements and cost savings realized 
as a result of such application.’’. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS.—Subsection (c) of 
section 1122 of such title is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(10) a description of the results of the govern-
ment-wide implementation of continuous process im-
provement.’’. 
(d) CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER REQUIREMENT.— 
Subsection (b) of section 1123 of such title is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) implement continuous process improve-
ment within the agency.’’. 
(e) PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT
OFFICER
RE-
QUIREMENT.—Paragraph (2) of section 1124(a) of such 
title is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
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(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(G) advise and assist the head of the 
agency and the Chief Operating Officer on im-
plementing the continuous process improvement 
within the agency.’’. 
(f) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL.—Sub-
section (b) of section 1124 of such title is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
and (D) as (D) and (E), respectively; and 
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B), 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) an appropriate expert designated by 
the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget pursuant to paragraph (4);’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) DESIGNATION OF EXPERT ON CONTINUOUS 
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.—The Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget shall appoint a 
highly-qualified expert on continuous process im-
provement to serve as a member of the Performance 
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Improvement Council to advise on the implementa-
tion of continuous process improvement across agen-
cies.’’. 
SEC. 4. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR CONTINUOUS PROC-
ESS IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 1126. Center of excellence for continuous process 
improvement 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall designate a center of excel-
lence for continuous process improvement training, from 
within the Department of Defense. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Director shall ensure that 
the center designated under subsection (a) provides agen-
cies with a common set of approaches to training and de-
ployment of continuous process improvement.’’. 
(b) DESIGNATION.—The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall designate the center of ex-
cellence required under section 1126(a) of title 31, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of contents for chapter 11 of title 31, United 
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States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 1125 the following new item: 
‘‘1126. Center of excellence for continuous process improvement.’’. 
SEC. 5. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS REQUESTS TO THE PRESIDENT. 
Paragraph (1) of section 1108(b) of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The head of each agency shall include informa-
tion on the results of continuous process improvement 
projects in each relevant appropriation request for the 
agency. The head of an agency may submit a proposal on 
alternate uses of the funds that have not been used as 
a result of continuous process improvement projects.’’. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided under this 
Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
Æ 
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