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The
Performance Institute |
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The Executive-Legislative Budget Summit on Program Performance and the FY04 Budget Process was hosted by The Performance Institute, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and a coalition of good-government groups determined to open a dialogue between the two branches. "The President has committed to make the federal government - and the federal budget process - more transparent and more accountable through his use of performance standards." Performance Institute President Carl DeMaio said in remarks delivered at the Summit. "In order for that intention to become a reality, equal dedication to transparency and performance accountability is required on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue… and in every agency in between." First utilized in conjunction with the FY04 Budget process, the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) was used by OMB to evaluate the managerial success and mission-aligned results of 20 percent of all federal programs. The main premise is that budgets of programs deemed "ineffective" or that can not demonstrate their results would face increased scrutiny and likely be reduced. Programs whose demonstrated results are in line with their mission would be eligible for a more substantial budget increase. "The PART is not designed to be a system of arbitrary reward or punishment," DeMaio said. "It is a tool designed to inform the federal budget process and focus attention not just on money spent, but results achieved." Among those in attendance were majority and minority staff from both chambers of Congress, program managers and senior agency officials from the Executive Branch, as well as experts from non-profits and good-government groups. The Performance Institute, a private government reform think tank based in Arlington, Va., is a national authority on performance-based management in government. Since the debut of the PART in 2002, the Institute has emerged as a definitive voice in the ongoing discussion of its proper implementation. TransparentGovernment.org, a web site created by the Performance Institute and launched to coincide with the release of the President's proposed FY04 Budget, is commonly cited and referenced by OMB officials as a valuable resource for government managers - and American taxpayers. # # # |
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WASHINGTON
- Integrating performance data generated by a new Office of Management
and Budget evaluation tool into the Congressional appropriations
process was the focus of a morning-long summit hosted today on Capitol
Hill.