I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2142 
To require the review of Government programs at least once every 5 years 
for purposes of assessing their performance and improving their oper-
ations, and to establish the Performance Improvement Council. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2009 
Mr. CUELLAR (for himself and Mr. MOORE of Kansas) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
A BILL 
To require the review of Government programs at least once 
every 5 years for purposes of assessing their performance 
and improving their operations, and to establish the Per-
formance Improvement Council. 
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 Effi-
ciency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act 
of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means— 
(A) an executive agency as defined in sec-
tion 105 of title 5, United States Code, other 
than the Government Accountability Office; and 
(B) the United States Postal Service and 
the Postal Regulatory Commission. 
(2) AGENCY PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OF-
FICER.—The term ‘‘agency performance improve-
ment officer’’ means an employee of an agency who 
is a member of the Senior Executive Service or 
equivalent service, and who is designated by the 
head of the agency to carry out the duties set forth 
in section 5 of this Act. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) A lack of efficiency, effectiveness, and ac-
countability in some Federal programs undermines 
the confidence of the American people in the Gov-
ernment and reduces the Federal Government’s abil-
ity 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-
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ually seek to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, 
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 program results. 
(4) The requirements of the Government Per-
formance and Results Act have produced an infra-
structure of outcome oriented strategic plans, per-
formance 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. 
(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 
ensure that programs are periodically evaluated in a 
systematic, consistent, and transparent manner, and 
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that performance information is used to inform con-
gressional decisionmaking in conducting program 
authorization, appropriation, and oversight. 
(7) Periodic performance assessments of Fed-
eral programs provide critical information on wheth-
er a program is achieving its performance objectives 
and help Congress and the executive branch identify 
the most pressing policy and program issues and de-
termine if specific operational, financial, or strategic 
reforms are needed to increase a program’s effi-
ciency and effectiveness. 
(8) Programs performing similar or duplicative 
functions that exist within a single agency or across 
multiple agencies should be identified and their per-
formance and results shared among all such pro-
grams to improve their performance and results. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To improve the Government Performance 
and Results Act of 1993 by implementing a program 
assessment process that seeks to assess each Federal 
program on a periodic basis with a particular focus 
on the following: 
(A) The clarity of purpose and objectives 
of the program. 
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