Agency performance reform becomes law

President Barack Obama has signed a bipartisan bill into law to strengthen the tracking of federal agency performance and prevent overlapping programs.

The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, signed Jan. 4, requires all agencies to designate a chief operating officer and a performance improvement officer to oversee their efforts to improve management and administrative functions, including purchasing, at the agency and across the government.

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The law further sets a first-year goal of a 10 percent reduction in the number of little-used or outdated reports mandated by previous administrations or Congresses.

“Given the nation's mind-boggling federal budget deficit, we need a clear and honest picture of how taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), one of the bill’s original sponsors. “This law strengthens and improves the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 to not only show what they're doing with taxpayers' money but also show what the American people are actually getting out of it.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said the new law will increase the transparency of government priorities and “help ensure that these strategic efforts are not a feckless paperwork exercise but meaningful tools to promote efficiency and effectiveness in day-to-day operations.”

Congress passed the bill in December, despite objections from some House Republicans who said the Senate had stripped it of GOP-added provisions.