House passes agency performance bill

The House approved a bill to improve the tracking of federal agency performance late Tuesday after some procedural maneuvers.

The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (H.R. 2142) fell short of the two-thirds majority required for approval under the suspension of House rules on Dec. 17. But, the House Rules committee issued a rule Tuesday morning that allowed the legislation to pass with a simple majority.

The Senate approved the measure unanimously Dec. 16.

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 House Republicans had voted against the most recent version of the legislation because they said the Senate had stripped the bill of GOP-added provisions. These provisions included an amendment by California Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, thanked House members for enabling the bipartisan bill to pass.

“As I've said many times before, 'If it's not perfect, make it better,' and I think this bill will go a long way in improving the results and transparency of the federal government's work for the American people,” Carper said in a statement. “Given our mind boggling federal deficit, the American people deserve to know that every dollar they send to Washington is being used wisely.”

The legislation would require federal agencies to set measurable performance goals, improve coordination to avoid duplicative programs and post regular performance updates on a public website.

The bill also calls for each agency to designate a chief operating officer and a performance improvement officer to oversee its effort to improve management functions at the agency and across the government.

The legislation is the first significant update of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.