By Jason Mercier
Special to the PostGlobe
With the threat from federal budget deficits growing each day, it appears President Barack Obama is turning to the promise of performance-based budgeting as a solution.
Consider this June 11 memo to agency and department heads issued by Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag:
“Our goal is to build a transparent, high-performance government capable of addressing the challenges of the 21st century. The American people deserve a government that works, where the public interest is prioritized, where the impact of government spending is transparent and held to high, objective standards, and where results and good management matter. ... To be successful, we must focus resources on our highest national priorities, including investments in health reform, clean energy and education. At the same time, we must enforce fiscal discipline, making sure that we invest in what works, do not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that do not work or are duplicative, and improve performance across the board.”
One of the ways Orszag hopes to accomplish that is to focus agency attention on high-priority performance goals:
“Identification of agency high-priority performance goals is a first step toward developing the president’s agenda for building a high-performing government. There will be regular reviews of the progress agencies are making to improve performance in priority areas including problems they encountered and plans to address those problems. To prepare for these reviews, each agency is asked to identify a limited a number of high-priority goals and begin to define the strategies and means to achieve them. ... The agency goals identified for this purpose should generally have:
- High direct value to the public or reflect achievement of key agency missions, as opposed to being focused on internal agency management or other administrative priorities.
- Congressional authorization and appropriations required for successful implementation; though additional legislative changes may also be identified to contribute to success.
- Coordination, operational or other implementation challenges including across multiple agencies that once resolved, will likely lead to improved effectiveness or efficiency.
- Performance outcomes which can be clearly evaluated, and are quantifiable and measureable in a timely fashion.
- Significant challenges unlikely to be overcome without a concerted focus of agency resources.”
Perhaps with an eye toward the spending problem in D.C., the memo goes on to direct agencies to prepare two alternative budget requests based on a freeze in spending and a 5 percent reduction.
Whether or not Obama’s proposed budget next year actually reflects that process, the information provided by agencies in response could prove to be invaluable for congressional budget writers – should they take the initiative to review it.
As we’ve previously recommended, Washington state lawmakers also should focus on agency performance when making budget decisions. Providing those who control the purse strings with that type of information allows them to make informed decisions on which purchases will deliver the highest results for taxpayers and those who rely on essential services.
Jason Mercier is the director of the Center for Government Reform at the Washington Policy Center. He is a voting member on the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and is a contributing editor of the Heartland Institute’s Budget & Tax News. Mercier also serves as treasurer on the board of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and was an adviser to the 2002 Washington State Tax Structure Committee.
