broken budgeting: a view of federal budget making from the trenches

7/31/2019 Broken Budgeting: A View of Federal Budget Making from the Trenches

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Broken Budgeting

A View o Federal Budget Making rom the Trenches

Scott Lilly and Eleanor Hill August 2012

www.americanprogress.o


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Broken BudgetingA View o Federal Budget Making rom the Trenches

Scott Lilly and Eleanor Hill August 2012


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Contents 1 Forward

5 Introduction

7 Deterioration and distress

10 Use of information

13 The issue of time

17 The high cost of poorly conceived experiments

in performance-based budgeting

23 Top-down government

27 Looking for perspective

30 About the authors

31 Acknowledgements

32 Endnotes


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1 Center or American Progress | Broken Budgeting

Forward

Some ime ago he Cener or American Progress was approached abou doing

research on expanding he use o perormance-based analysis in he ederal budge-

making process. In response we launched an iniiaive called, Doing Wha Works.

Budge makers look a a variey o daa in reaching decisions abou program and

agency unding levels. Perormance-based inormaion is only one caegory. Anoher

is known as oupu daa, which measures how much aciviy ook place bu no nec-

essarily how much was accomplished. Oupu daa are used simply because measur-ing wha was accomplished is oen subjecive and dicul o deermine.

Tis problem suraces, or example, in eors o evaluae he Head Sar pro-

gram. Expensive long-erm sudies reach dieren conclusions abou he impac

ha Head Sar has on he underprivileged children who enroll. Even wihin he

research communiy, here is disagreemen abou how he daa should be iner-

preed. While hose who make budge policy wih respec o programs like Head

Sar are generally inormed abou his debae, hey seek more concree daa

showing year-o-year changes in Head Sar aciviy. Tese daa migh include he

answers o quesions such as:

How is he number o children enrolled in he program changing over ime? How many insrucional personnel are engaged in helping hese children mee

program goals and objecives?Wha are he rends in he educaional preparaion o program sa?

Tis is wha is reerred o as oupu daa. While i does no answer he ulimae

quesion ha a policymaker would like he answer o, i does give hem a sense o

how much eor is being made wih he unds provided o atain saed goals.

In many insances, policymakers are orced o rely enirely on oupu daa. Tis

may be because a program is oo new o have been exensively evaluaed or i may

be because a paricular program by law provides sae and local governmen wih


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broad exibiliy in deermining wha problems will be addressed under he pro-

gram or he ype o approach o be used in atacking he problem. And in a grea

many oher insances, we lack perormance inormaion simply because no one

has fgured ou wha o measure or wha hose measuremens ulimaely mean.

Is he U.S. Border Parol doing a beter job when arress o illegal border crossers goup or is i a sign o success ha he number o illegal crossings appears o be going

down? Furhermore, rom he perspecive o budge policy, should you cu unding

or he Border Parol i arress are going down because hey appear o need less sa

or should you increase i because hey appear o be doing a good job?

I is because budge policy sa in boh he execuive and legislaive branches

mus rely heavily on oupu daa or a very large porion o he decisions hey

mus make ha we direced one Doing Wha Works research projec o review he

inormaion available o budge policy sa. Specifcally, we decided o do wha

no one else appears o have done previouslyinerview such sa and ge heirpercepions abou he ollowing:

Wha kind o inormaion do you ge in preparing budge recommendaions? o wha exen does inormaion drive resource allocaion decisions?Wha aws do you see in he inormaion ha you work wih in making budge

decisions?Wha kind o inormaion would you like o have ha you do no have?

o conduc his research CAP asked me o parner wih Eleanor Hill, a parner a

he law frm o King & Spalding who had worked or many years as sa direcor

o he Permanen Subcommitee on Invesigaions o he Senae Governmenal

Aairs Commitee, and subsequenly as inspecor general o he U.S. Deparmen

o Deense. I was hough ha he wo o us would bring a variey o perspecives o

he projec, including experience in boh he execuive and legislaive branches, boh

houses o Congress, and in boh he auhorizing and he appropriaions processes.

Our ask was o ideniy sa and policymakers in boh branches who played key

roles in he ormulaion and enacmen o spending auhorizaions and annual

appropriaion measures and o inerview hem wih respec o he quesions raisedabove. Te 32 people we ulimaely spoke wih consised o a sampling o people

who had long been par o he governmen culure o budge making and were in

ouch wih a broad specrum o budge proessionals on a regular basis. We eared


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a he ouse ha i would be dicul o obain inerviews wih senior budge sa

and policymakers; ha hey would be reicen o speak openly on sensiive ma-

ers and ha opinions would be sharply divided based on insiuional aliaions.

Virually none o hose concerns proved o be correc. A very high percenage

o hose who were asked o paricipae agreed o do so. For he mos par heyseemed appreciaive o he opporuniy o alk abou issues ha hey ound very

roubling. Teir commens were brually rank and here was remarkable unanim-

iy in he opinions expressed regardless o insiuional aliaion. Te inerview-

ers promised all individuals who agreed o be inerviewed ha heir names and

ideniying characerisics would be kep confdenial in order o maximize he

openness and candor o he discussions.

Te ormal inerviews were compleed in he all o 2010 bu a number o hose

inerviewed were conaced or clarifcaions or urher commens since hen.

Considerable ime has been devoed since he inerviews o conducing researchino he hisory o budge reorm and he implemenaion o various program

evaluaion proposals so as o provide a uller undersanding o he commens

made by inerviewees and give a broader conex o hose commens.

I is expeced ha he resuls o hese inerviews will be conroversial. Te resuls

provide a sharp criicism o he managemen o he execuive branch over he

course o recen adminisraions and perhaps an even sharper criique o Congress

over hose same years, especially wih respec o how Congress has handled is

responsibiliies or oversigh and resource allocaion. Te inerviewees pain a pic-

ure o a governmen ha has become very op down in is managemen sylea

governmen ha uses he skills o is expers o jusiy decisions made by higher

auhoriies raher han as resources or developing more inelligen policies.

Congress, which in earlier imes oen orced deparmen heads and agency direc-

ors o documen ha hey were proceeding based on well-ounded inormaion-

based policy, has apparenly los he capaciy o deal wih he execuive branch

on ha level o deail. While he budge jusifcaions sen o Congress in suppor

o deparmen and agency spending requess have become ar more voluminous,

hey or he mos par conain less and less useul inormaion. Inerviewees con-frmed ha, in imporan insances, Congress is oen no ully aware o he scope

o aciviies or which requesed unds will be used or he exen o which unded

aciviies are ruly eecive.


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In ha conex, he ailure o he execuive branch o ideniy and provide useul

program inormaion, and he ailure o Congress o orce a more houghul and

deliberae process wihin he execuive branch, seriously undercus he inegriy

and eeciveness o he enire budgeary process. Tis paper deails hese wo

endemic problems in he ederal budge-making process bu does no propose

any possible soluions. In he coming weeks, I will in he spiri o Doing WhaWorks publish a second paper oering a number o possible remedies o he

problems idenifed in hese inerviews.

Scot Lilly, Senior Fellow, Cener or American Progress


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Introduction

Improving he decisions ha are made in consrucing he annual ederal budge

has been a cenral goal o reormers in his counry or a leas a cenury and a

hal. Major reorms were implemened in he lae 1860s, wih he creaion o he

congressional appropriaions commitees o debae and approve all governmen

spending, independen o he congressional commitees ha auhorize he spend-

ing. In 1921 he passage o he Budge and Accouning Ac esablished he execu-

ive branch budge process, and in 1974 he passage o he Congressional Budge

Ac creaed a mechanism by which Congress could atemp o improve he coordi-naion beween ax policy, discreionary spending, and enilemen spending.

Te 1974 ac has been amended repeaedly since i frs became law. I has been

widely criicized as a ailure bu here is a divergence o opinion as o wha

changes would be necessary in order o make i eecive.1 Boh he Clinon and

George W. Bush adminisraions underook major execuive branch iniiaives

o require large-scale sandardized daa reporing by agencies, which hey argued

would improve he inormaion available o hose charged wih allocaing govern-

men resources. As we underook his research projec, he Obama adminisra-

ion was jus puting ogeher is own plans or revising he requiremens or how

ederal agencies collec and repor daa used in budge preparaion.

I is in his conex ha we conduced he research described in his paper. While

many o hose demanding reorm were arguing ha governmen should be run

more like a business, we noed ha no one had done wha he gurus o privae-

secor managemen reorm advocaedpeople such as W. Edwards Deeming and

Peer Drucker, who championed objecive-oriened, perormance-based manage-

men, based on deailed inormaion abou he operaions o business gahered

rom he employees o frms.

In shor, he promoers o business pracices in governmen had no walked he

ederal governmens equivalen o he plan oor and sough he advice o is

producion workers.


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We decided ha inormaion should no be le unapped. We sough ou he per-

specive o hose who had hands-on, everyday experience in analyzing ederal pro-

gram objecives, measuring program perormance, and deermining how available

resources should be divided among compeing governmen prioriies. Specifcally,

we waned o know wha role inormaion played in heir decision making, wha

inormaion hey used, how hey evaluaed ha inormaion, and wha addiionalinormaion hey would like o have.

Te group we seleced o speak wih had a wide range o experience in governmen

budgeing. Tere was a oal o 32 people, he large majoriy o whom were currenly

employed as budge proessionals in eiher he execuive or legislaive branch o

governmen. A ew were recen reirees. Among he inerviewees wihin he execu-

ive branch, some were a he agency level, ohers a he deparmenal level, and sill

ohers were a he Oce o Managemen and Budge, which oversees he execu-

ive branch budgeing process. Among hose in he legislaive branch, some were

employees o he House and ohers employees o he Senae. Te group included sarom auhorizing commitees, as well as he appropriaions commitee, and rom he

Governmen Accounabiliy Oce, he invesigaive arm o Congress. Also included

were wo members o Congress wih signifcan roles in oversigh and budge.

Mos o he budge proessionals had played muliple roles during heir careers. Six

had, a some poin in heir career, been a he Oce o Managemen and Budge,

while 19 had served a some poin in a deparmenal budge oce, and 13 had

been in an agency budge oce. A oal o 22 had worked a one ime or anoher or

Congress. Alogeher he group had more han 600 years o governmen service in

he feld o budgeing. Te inerviewers promised all individuals who agreed o be

inerviewed ha heir names and ideniying characerisics would be kep confden-

ial in order o maximize he openness and candor o he discussions.

We ound he inerviewees o be an impressive group o individuals. By and large

hey displayed an exraordinary breadh o knowledge, and nearly all o our iner-

views provided us wih numerous peneraing and houghul insighs. For he

mos par, hese individuals were nonpoliical. Mos, in ac, had careers ha, over

ime, required hem o work or leaders in boh poliical paries. While hey deal

wih he ederal budge rom a variey o insiuional perspecives, hey saw heevoluion o he process by which he governmen makes spending decisions in

ways ha were remarkably similar.

Tis paper presens heir view o he ederal governmens acory oor and

producion processes. I is no a prety picure.


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Deterioration and distress

Clearly he mos disurbing aspec o he inerviews we conduced revealed he

very srong sense conveyed by a large majoriy o hose we spoke wih ha he

sysem by which governmen makes decisions on resource allocaion has seriously

deerioraed over he pas decade or so. Many inimaed ha he porion o he

sysem hey deal wih was bordering on dysuncion.

One deparmenal budge direcor saed ha he el his sysem was collapsing

around him. He said ha he deparmens planning and evaluaion sa had beenwhitled away by budge cus over he years, seriously reducing wha was known

abou he perormance and eeciveness o various programs wihin his depar-

men. Equally desrucive, he argued, were he onerous and useless daa reporing

requiremens ha consumed he ime o he small sa ha remained.

A ormer senior employee a he Deparmen o Deenses Oce o he Comproller

old us:

Te real problem sems om he lack o real rigor in he process. Te deparmen

is renowned worldwide or he Planning Programming and Budgeing Sysem

[a budgeing sysem creaed a he deparmen in he 1960s]. Every counry in

he world wans o model i, and we keep screwing wih i and making i worse.

Every ime we mess wih i, we make i worse han i was beore, and usually we

make i easier or people o ge around i.

Anoher perspecive on ha deparmen came rom an individual who had

worked on deense budge accouns a boh he Oce o Managemen and

Budge and on Capiol Hill:

I you didn provide bonuses, i you didn do XYZ, you weren supporing he

roops. Ta menaliy undercu he need or analyzing programs and managing

hem eecively. Fiscal discipline wen ou he window. In addiion, we were doing

ve bills a year. We weren buil o do ha. You are asking people o do bills every


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wo monhs. Analysis simply goes ou he window. [Former Secreary o Deense

Donald] Rumseld and crowd oally broke down he Planning Programming and

Budgeing Sysem so ha i became dysuncional. Everyhing was ad hoc.

An individual who had worked in a number o Penagon budge oces, as well as

on he Hill, old us:

We have changed he srucure o he accouns; we have added a quadrennial

review. Every service now has a perpeual sa ha works or our years o make

sure ha hey will no lose one dime in he nex review. We wen o a wo-year

budge processwe did ha wice or hree imes. We are ino coninual change,

bu wha inormaion are we geting? Te process is op-down. Tere is no

botom-up. Tere is no accounabiliy. You have jus creaed daa, mounains

and mounains o daa, bu here is no inormaion, and here is nobody here

using inormaion.

A Hill employee who is a veeran o he Deense Deparmens Comprollers

Oce said ha a dramaic decline occurred in he qualiy and experience o per-

sonnel in ha oce during he previous decade. According o his individual, he

average enure o he sa dropped rom 18 years o 13 monhs, and ha change

ook place in a period o only fve years.

A curren senior Penagon ocial conceded:

We do make an incredible number o decisions based on a igheningly small

amoun o inormaion, wo lines on a power poin, and some o hese hings can

be large, hundreds o millions even. Tere is an atemp o muser inormaion.

A senior budge ocial a one o he larges governmen deparmens dealing wih

domesic issues said:

My usraion is ha i seems almos overwhelming o make he righ decision

on how you allocae scarce resources. Te presiden does a discreionary eeze,

and ha number is no necessarily realisici may be or may no be. I is hard

o ge ou o jus repeaing las year. I am working all he ime, bu I am no nd-ing hose answers. [Te deparmenal evaluaions sa] have some really smar

people. Tey are obviously sudying issues ha relae o our programs. Tey

should inorm he budge process. Tey don! We are oo ied up on oo many

oher issues wih oo many people direcing he process.


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Use of information

A concern expressed by budge-process reormers ouside o governmen is

ha he curren process is no sucienly based on inormaionin paricu-

lar, inormaion regarding program perormance. I ha is rue, an explanaion

migh be ha hose in governmen who make such decisions are no compeen

in collecing and analyzing such inormaion, or ha hey allow oher consider-

aionssuch as parochial poliicso become he dominan consideraion in

congressional, agency, or deparmenal budge decisions. Tis concernha he

role o parochial poliics ouweighs he use o relevan inormaion in congres-sional deliberaionsis no only held by hose ouside o governmen bu also by

many execuive branch ocials.

We ound some evidence o suppor his noion, bu we also ound evidence ha

his view is grealy oversaed. Based on he inerviews we conduced, budge proes-

sionals in boh he execuive and he legislaive branches are by and large avid con-

sumers o inormaion abou he programs hey und and he perormance o hose

programs. When possible, hey make unding decisions based on such inormaion.

Ta does no mean ha all decisions are based on evidence and inormaion.

Useul inormaion may no be available, or, in some cases, oher acors or priori-

ies may aec he unding decision. One Senae saer old us:

I is a pe prioriy o a member, hen hey are going o do i regardless o he

daa. I hink we would all eel beter i he decisions we were making on und-

ing were grounded in beter inormaion, bu I hink hey are no parly because

has par o he poliical process ha people have an agenda, and hen also oo

oen good inormaion is lacking.

A colleague o his, who had saed a separae subcommitee, said:

Many decisions are made based on who is asking. Ta is no a uncion o

inormaion. Bu in he broader scheme o hings, he chairmans hreshold or


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decision making is low. He relies on his sa o make 95 percen, 96 percen, 97

percen o he decisions. And hose decisions were made based on inormaion.

Anoher House saer, whose career was spen largely as a career civil servan in a

deparmenal budge oce, made recommendaions o he subcommitee chair-

man ha were all based on he bes inormaion available o he sa. Accordingo he saer, all o hose recommendaions had been included in he legislaion

repored by he commitee wihou change.

Based on our inerviews, inormaion plays an imporan role in congressional

decisions abou spending. While some provisions o hose bills are based on

poliical imperaives raher han inormaion abou programmaic needs or per-

ormance, i appears ha mos provisions wihin a given appropriaion measure

reec inormaion colleced and analyzed by sa who usually have lenghy

proessional backgrounds in evaluaing programs. As a senior saer a he Oce

o Managemen and Budge described his congressional counerpars o us, Weare all cu rom he same cloh.

Te individuals we inerviewed relied on wide array o sources o ge he inorma-

ion necessary o make decisions on resource allocaion. Tese included:

Agency budge jusifcaions Formal program evaluaions perormed or he governmen by ouside conracors Governmen Accounabiliy Oce repors Deparmenal inspecor general repors Ouside expersAgency personnel Repors and analyses commissioned rom he Naional Academy o Science

Based on he individuals ha we inerviewed, all seemed commited, well-rained,

and reasonably curren in erms o heir knowledge o major program evaluaions

relaed o he spending accouns or which hey were responsible.

Quality of information

Despie he wide array o sources o inormaion, none o he people we iner-

viewed el ha hey had he inormaion ha hey should have o bes perorm

heir job. Tey cied a variey o reasons or his. One Hill saer saed ha he


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was unable o ge basic acs rom one execuive branch deparmen or which he

was responsible because he execuive sa hemselves had been unable o collec

hose acs. Tis saer, rom a major auhorizing commitee, said, Te hardes

hing we do is geting accurae inormaion, ciing he impac o deparmenal

agendas and he need or more objecive inormaion.

Oher governmen ocials wih a broader porolio said ha he qualiy o inor-

maion varied widely across governmen agencies. Repeaedly, he inelligence

agencies go he wors reviews. One saer repored ha i was no uncommon o

ge budge documens rom he inelligence agencies ha conained columns o

numbers ha added o oals dieren rom he oals conained in he documens.

Many complained ha agencies were deliberaely wihholding inormaion. An

Oce o Managemen and Budge ocial, or example, described he deparmen

he deal wih as no even rying o be hones, jus rying o ge more money.

While some in he execuive branch disagreed, ohers indicaed inormaion hadbeen wihheld increasingly in recen years, despie warnings rom agency and

deparmenal budge sa ha he consequences could be disasrous. One depar-

menal budge ocer saed ha he ransparency o budge and perormance daa

communicaed o Capiol Hill had declined markedly in he pas decade.

Indeed, Deparmen o Deense budge sa old us here had been a serious

decline in he level o inormaion shared wih Congressa decline ha hey

largely atribued o Congresss unwillingness o be more demanding. A saer

rom a major auhorizing commitee complained ha, as a resul, Congress

is losing he power o he purse. Compounding he problem, said one ormer

Hill saer, who had also been a senior ocial a he Oce o Managemen and

Budge, is ha Congress had beter access o Deense Deparmen inormaion

han was available o he Oce o Managemen and Budge.


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The issue of time

No issue came up more oen in he inerviews han he quesion o ime. Wihou

ime, budge sa canno demand he inormaion necessary o make inelligen

decisions, and wihou ime, hey canno read and analyze such inormaion even

when i is made available. Several acors have seriously eroded he ime available

o governmen sa or engaging in inormaion-based budge decisions.

Chaos in the budget cycle

Perhaps he mos requenly menioned o hese is he chaoic naure o he bud-

ge process ha has evolved over he pas decade and a hal. For decades here was

a very regular rhyhm o he governmens budge decision making. Aer 8 o 10

monhs o weighing opions, he execuive branch would send a budge reques o

Congress in January. Ta reques would be ollowed by several monhs o airly

inensive hearings. By May he House Appropriaions Commitee would sar

reporing bills o he oor o he chamber. By he end o June, nearly all o he dozen

or so appropriaion bills (he number has changed over ime) would have been

passed by he House, and in July mos would have moved hrough he Senae.

I all wen well, conerence commitee agreemens beween designaed House and

Senae commitee members were reached in Sepember or early Ocober. Ta le

hree imporan monhs or he in-deph review o problem agencies or rapidly

growing programs. Ta ime period gave sa and members a solid inormaional

background around which o plan and ocus he coming round o hearings on he

key problems acing each agency.

Ta sysem ell apar or several reasons. Increased parisanship in he Houselimied he abiliy o he Appropriaions Commitee o build he broad consensus

necessary or expediious consideraion and adopion o annual spending legisla-

ion. More imporanly, growing parisanship in he Senae resuled in he more

requen use o he flibusereven when he bill in quesion was no paricularly


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conroversial. In recen decades, a bill can oen be blocked rom consideraion i a

senaor simply noifes he leadership ha he will no cooperae in he procedural

moions needed o bring legislaion o a fnal voe.

By he early par o he pas decade, Senae leaders o boh paries became unwill-

ing o give up enough ime on Senae oor calendar o allow consideraion omore han a handul o he annual appropriaion bills, due o hreaened flibus-

ers. Acion on hose bills was oen delayed unil a ew weeks beore adjourn-

menusually in Decemberwhen he Senae would insis on an omnibus bill

or a series o omnibus bills conaining appropriaions never considered under

regular order on he Senae oor.2

Anoher change ha grealy reduced he ime o budge proessionals in boh he

execuive and legislaive branches or obaining and examining inormaion on

programmaic needs and perormance was he decision o he George W. Bush

adminisraion o und wha came o be known as he global war on error. Tewar was unded hrough supplemenal appropriaion measures, which resuled in

Congress simulaneously sruggling o pass he regular appropriaion measures

alongside massive requess or addiional spending ha oen included no only

unding or he wars in Aghanisan and Iraq and oher anierroris operaions bu

also money o address a variey o domesic needs.

Beween 2001 and he beginning o 2009 (beore he consideraion o he American

Recovery and Reinvesmen Ac o 2009), more han $1 rillion was appropriaed

ouside he annual appropriaion measuresabou 10 imes he amoun considered

in such measures in he previous eigh-year period. A Senae saer old us:

Wih he wars, here is always a supplemenal coming around he corner. Ta

mean ha here is always an opporuniy [ or someone in he process o advo-

cae] or more money, and so you are always geting sucked ino i in one way or

anoher. Ta is an exremely imporan poin.

A Hill and ormer Deparmen o Deense employee (who we previously

cied wih respec o he rapid pace o personnel urnover in he deparmen

Comprollers Oce) poined ou ha he chaoic process generaed by repea-edly unding huge chunks o governmen aciviy hrough supplemenal appro-

priaions aeced he execuive branch, as well as Congress. According o his

individual, he unending workload or deense budge analyss was a key acor in

why so many le governmen service.


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Earmarking

Anoher acor was he pracice o earmarking. While Congress seriously curailed

earmarking in 2009 and eliminaed i alogeher in 2011, he explosion ha ook

place in he pracice beween 1995 and 2009 had a powerul impac on boh he

desire and capaciy o Congress o perorm oversigh and demand he inormaionnecessary o engage in oversigh. While he pracice o earmarking has vanished,

is eecs appear o linger.

In 1995 many o he 13 appropriaion bills conained no earmarks a all, and he

pracice was airly limied even in bills where earmarks were allowed. In he lae

1990s he pracice exploded. Subcommitee sas ha had no earmarks o deal wih

in he mid-1990s were dealing wih as many as 10,000 member requess or ear-

marks by 2004, wih more han 1,800 such requess included in he fnal legislaion

sen o hen-Presiden George W. Bush.3 Tis consumed a huge porion o he ime

previously spen weighing program perormance and conducing agency oversigh.

One saer, who had recenly served on wo separae subcommitees heavily

impaced by he growh o earmarking, characerized he problem as ollows:

Te bigges single problem [wih] he prolieraion o earmarks is no he

wasing o money [on he earmarked projec] bu he complee drain on he

atenion o sa and members. You could be seriously reviewing more han

1,000 separae earmarks on a single subcommitee. I is a remendous drain

on sa ime, and as he process evolved, projecs drove ou programs. A one

ime members were ineresed in programs. Now he quesion is, Wha did I

ge? So much o heir atenion has shied om Wha does he bill do? o

Wha did I ge?

Anoher appropriaions saer old us:

Tere is no quesion ha earmarks are so ar ou o hand, he sheer numbers o

hem, and he concern o membershere was a ime when members asked abou

programs. Tey don anymore. No one o he subcommitee will ask a single ques-

ion abou even hings I would hink hey genuinely care abou. Tey eel hey gowhaever$10,000 or $100,000 in earmarks ha are ar more imporan han a

billion-dollar program in ha bill. When hey come and ask you wha is in he bill,

ha is wha hey are asking abou. And ha is a sea change.


19/36


A Senae saer old us very much he same hing:

Is unorunae ha a lo o he ime, ha is wha so many members care abou.

We would like o hear abou members programmaic prioriies, bu oo oen

hey only care abou earmarks.


20/36


The high cost of poorly conceived

experiments in performance-based

budgeting

While he legislaive branch was sacrifcing opporuniies o make inormed

budge decisions because o is obsession wih earmarking, he execuive branch

was, according o many o our inerviewees, squandering budge policymaking

resources on oher misguided iniiaives. Ironically, he execuive branch misseps

grew rom eors specifcally aimed a improving he qualiy o inormaion avail-

able o ederal budge makers.

Te frs came in he 1990s. Vice Presiden Al Gore reerred o his eor as reinven-ing governmen.4 As ha eor was underway, Congress passed he Governmen

Perormance Resuls Ac, which, among oher hings, was inended o hold govern-

men accounable by measuring program perormance in erms o achieving program

goals. Te second missep was inroduced during he adminisraion o Presiden

George W. Bush and labeled he Program Assessmen Raing ool by his budge

direcor, Mich Daniels. Te ool was inended o improve agency planning under he

Governmen Perormance Resuls Ac by sysemically linking perormance-based

measuremens mandaed under ha law wih he budge process.

We were sunned by he almos universal negaiviy wih which boh eors were

viewed by he budge proessionals we inerviewed in boh he execuive and

legislaive branches. A senior evaluaion exper working or he execuive branch

a he deparmenal level old us ha any eor o measure perormance is more

complex han eiher o hese iniiaives recognized. Te exper said neiher program

recognized ha he Oce o Managemen and Budge-level uncionaries direcing

he daa collecion and reporing needed o build a consensus among sakeholders,

including program managers, abou wha was o be measured and why:

Wha do you measure? Wha do you hink you have learned om he hings youmeasure? One o he problems is ha we measure a lo o hings ha he people

who acually run he programs don paricularly care abou. Tey are no he

way ha hey measure heir own perormance, and so hey don manage o hose

measures. Tey repor he measures, people yell a hem abou hose measures, bu


21/36


hey are no he hing ha hey care abou. Tey have every incenive o make he

measures rivial and unineresing and unimporan because, as ar as hey are con-

cerned, i is pure make-work, and hey don really use hem. And so i is se up as a

ension. We would like o sar ou organically and say, Wha do we need o know

o deermine i he organizaion is working well? Bu we can do ha.

Tis individual also saed ha perormance-based reporing measures required

by he Oce o Managemen and Budge were, in realiy, no associaed wih he

achievemens o he program or lack o achievemens o he program ha hey

were supposed o help evaluae:

Tere is a big push o go o measures ha are broad and are oucome-based,

even when i is unrealisic o imagine ha he program could achieve hose

oucome-based objecives. Even i hose hings happened, i would be random.

A congressional saer wih responsibiliy over he budge o a group o healhprograms amplifed ha exac poin wih specifc examples:

One program has he long-erm objecive o increasing he number o women

who ge mammograms every wo years. Anoher is o reduce per-capia cigarete

consumpion in he Unied Saes, and anoher is o increase he number o

people screened or diabees. Bu women are geting mammograms independen

o his program; here are a lo o acors aecing cigarete consumpion besides

one small program; and he same is rue o diabees. Are we assessing he suc-

cess o his program, or are we assessing he healh o he Unied Saes? Is his

program yielding ha resul? Is here any correlaion beween ha rend and

expendiures or his program?

Te execuive branch evaluaion exper concluded:

Tere is a real misundersanding beween a managemen measure, which

is somehing ha you do conrol and could be held accounable or, and an

oucome ha very much depends on oher hings going on in he world. Even

i [he program] were operaing on a large scale, here are a lo o hings ou

here ha you would wan o be conrolling or beore you would wan oatribue hese numbers o he success or ailure o he program. So on he one

hand, OMB has his big ineres in randomized rials and doing everyhing

om an evaluaion perspecive very eleganly, and, on he oher hand, hey


22/36


wan very global measures ha we can be held o, bu hese wo hings are dia-

merically opposed o one anoher, hese careully conrolled sudies compared

o hese very broad oucome measures.

In Sepember 2002 Oce o Managemen and Budge Direcor Mich Daniels

appeared beore he House Oversigh and Governmen Reorm Commitee andsaed:

Nearly 10 years have passed since he Governmen Perormance and Resuls Ac

was enaced. Agencies spend an inordinae amoun o ime preparing repors o

comply wih i, producing volumes o inormaion o quesionable value.

While Daniels may have correcly seen he olly in he law, he did no relax

reporing requiremens, and he iniiaion o he new Program Assessmen

Raing ool (his conribuion) merely layered more make-work on op o

wha was already required. According o hose we inerviewed, agencies su-ered under no one bu wo separae burdensome, cosly, and ime-consuming

daa-collecion requiremens ha conribued litle or nohing o eiher he

managemen o programs or he abiliy o budge policymakers o improve

heir decisions. In addiion o he hundreds o millions o dollarsor perhaps

morespen in paying he salaries o hose charged wih collecing his largely

useless daa, we were old ha here were oher major coss o he governmen

as a resul o hese perhaps well-inended bu misguided iniiaives.

Firs, his so-called perormance daa was drowning boh branches o govern-

men wih paper and obscuring, i no replacing, inormaion ha was relevan o

beter managemen and resource allocaion. A senior ederal budge exper a he

Governmen Accounabiliy Oce old us his:

One hing ha was very clear o me was ha you break he sysem by over-

whelming i wih demands so ha insead o concenraing on he congressional

budge jusicaion, he agencies were responding o slicing and dicing, and we

are going o do hings or PAR and Perormance and, oh yes, we have o do

a congressional budge jusicaion. We are expecing cuback aer cuback. I

you look a he laundry lis o hings he agencies are expeced o do or he 2012budge and a he same ime cu back 5 percen or more han ha, and none

o he hings ha I see on ha laundry lis are necessarily hings ha agencies

would pick as a prioriy.


23/36


For a grea many decades, he congressional budge jusifcaion was he principle

ool in he annual appropriaion process or weighing he needs o paricular

agencies and he programs wihin hose agencies. Is conens had been negoi-

aed over many years in repeaed conronaions wih he relevan commitees o

Congress. Various ables reecing sang levels, gran awards, conrac aciv-

iy, and expendiures or each discree aciviy wihin he agency were included.Measures deemed relevan o oupu and perormance were required, and he

relevance o hose measures o he agencys perormance were discussed a lengh

in he annual hearing on he agencys budge reques.

Te Governmen Accounabiliy Oce noed his in a 2005 repor:

Mos congressional commitee sa we spoke wih did no nd eiher he PAR

inormaion or he way i was communicaed suied o heir needs. Many had

concerns abou he useulness o he goals and measures OMB used o assess

program perormance and some quesioned he unis o analysis used or hePAR as well as he design o he ool isel.5

Some migh describe ha language as undersaemen. Congress had been com-

plaining or some ime abou he reams o so-called perormance daa ha was

clogging he ow o inormaion necessary or budgeing and oversigh. Much

o ha daa was viewed no only as useless bu also as being sen wih he direc

inenion o overloading he sysem and obscuring inormaion rom Congress

ha he execuive branch did no wan Congress o have. In 2004 hose com-

plains reached he boiling poin when he House ransporaion and reasury

Appropriaions Subcommitee (which, a he ime, also unded he Whie House

and he Oce o Managemen and Budge) insered exraordinary language in he

repor accompanying annual appropriaions:

Many o he deailed ables providing breakdowns o requesed unds by aciviy

or by ofce have been disconinued. Discussions o specic increases and decreases

o prior unding levels have been minimized or eliminaed, along wih breakdowns

o changes in safng levels. In he place o criical budge-jusiying maerial, he

Commitee is provided reams o narraive ex expounding on he perormance

goals and achievemens o he various agencies. Tis requires he Commitee oexpend unnecessary eor o ge he inormaion i needs, and o weed hrough

mounains o inormaion unrelaed o he budge in he hope o nding somehing

useul. perormance-relaed inormaion may be submited under separae


24/36


cover. i he Ofce o Managemen and Budge or individual agencies do no

heed he Commitees direcion, he Commitee will assume ha individual budge

ofces have excess resources ha can be applied o oher, more criical missions.

Te subcommitee ook he urher sep o cuting he budge requesed by he

Oce o Managemen and Budge or he ollowing fscal year by nearly $9 mil-lion, or almos 12 percen, during a period in which he Whie House and he

House o Represenaives were boh under Republican conrol.

By 2010 here appeared o be litle noable improvemen in he qualiy o mos

agency jusifcaions. Te sa o a separae subcommitee idenifed one agency

under heir jurisdicion as an example o he problems hey aced in geting he

inormaion needed o perorm he commitees due diligence on he programs

hey were supposed o und:

I am sruck by how litle useul inormaion he commitee now ges in makingunding decisions. We are geting more and more pages. Tere has cerainly been

no decrease in he number o pages. Bu he amoun o useul inormaion is

really very litle. Tis agency is a prety good example. We appropriae excess o

$10 billion each year.

Look a he jusicaion, and see i you can gure ou how hey spend heir

money. Youve go a lo o alk abou perormance measures and objecives and

all kinds o su ha lls up pages, bu wha do hey do wih ha operaing

money? I know ha hey have eld ofces; hey have hearing judges; hey have

a huge inormaion echnology budge; bu how much do hey spend on hose

iems? How much have hose expendiures grown? Where is he growh concen-

raed? We are dealing wih a $10 billion black box.

Generaing massive amouns o virually useless inormaion had one oher con-

sequence. I exhaused he capaciy o conduc program evaluaions a he agency

and deparmenal level even when he Congress, agency heads, or deparmenal

program evaluaion sa el such evaluaions were needed. One inerviewee

expressed he problem as ollows:

I we said o our evaluaion sa, I wan o know, hese 20 programs ha we are

running, we really have no sense, are hey doing any good? Wha would be he clos-

es we could comegoing cheap and cheerul, no ou o conracors, no o ge he

absolue disposiive answerjus ell me, does his look like i is working or no?


25/36


And hen I can say o somebody, You know, his doesn look like i is working.

Show me why do you hink his is working? And maybe he will say o me, No,

you haven done a good enough sudy. Here you really need a wo-year sudy.

You need o go o a conracor and do i properly. And ha is OK. Ta is he

righ way o go someimes.

Bu he key is o do some research up on. We don do up on! You can do

up on when you are locked ino he very sandardized kinds o requiremens

like hose conained in he Governmen Perormance Resuls Ac.


26/36


Top-down government

For 132 years he presiden played almos no role in deermining he spending

levels o he various deparmens and agencies under his direcion. Each agency

would deermine how much unding i waned or he coming year, and i would

go direcly o he Congress o seek appropriaions wihou consuling he Whie

House. Te Budge and Accouning Ac o 1921 creaed, or he frs ime, a

mehod o reviewing and coordinaing execuive branch budge requess beore

hey were sen o Congress. Ta uncion was enrused o he Bureau o he

Budge, which was no placed under he direc conrol o he Whie House or hepresiden bu delegaed o he Deparmen o reasury.

Presiden Franklin D. Roosevel was able o move he bureau o he Execuive

Oce o he Presiden in 1939, and in 1970 he bureau was given managemen

auhoriy, as well as budgeary auhoriy, over he various deparmens and

agencies o he execuive branch. Eleven years laer anoher dramaic change

ook place. Presiden Ronald Reagans new budge direcor, ormer Rep. David

Sockman (R-MI), was charged wih making massive reducions in he domes-

ic side o he ederal budge. He apparenly ran he newly named Oce o

Managemen and Budge wih litle consulaion and in much he same way he

had managed his congressional oce.

Te book,Inside OMB: Poliics and Process Inside he Presidens Budge Ofce by

Shelley Lynne omkin and Sephen Wayne, describes he ransormaion:

I became eviden ha Sockman already had a clear vision o wha he waned

o accomplish. Since he [Reagan] adminisraion had deermined ha reduc-

ion o domesic programs was o consiue a cenral prioriy, policy and policy

developmen in OMB became op-down as opposed o botom up, and policyguidance om OMBs poliical appoinees became increasingly more specic.

Tis change in OMBs communicaions dynamics was one o he mos sriking

insiuional reversals a rend had been se in moion or budge examiners


27/36


o be used o jusiy or ll in deails on decisions ha had already been reached

by poliical appoinees raher han o provide advice and inormaion o suppor

decision making in progress.

Don Moran, a legislaive aid o Sockman while he served in he House and a

depuy o him a he Oce o Managemen and Budge, described he process oChicago ribune reporer Bill Neikirk:

op-down budgeing mean ha he budge ofce wroe he budges or he

deparmens. Budges were lierally shoved down he hroas o he deparmens;

hey could appeal o he presiden, o course, bu hey were seldom vicorious.

One o our inerviewees, who had spen mos o his career a he Oce o

Managemen and Budge, winessed his period as a young budge ocer a he

Deparmen o Healh and Human Services. He old us ha his boss a ha ime,

HHS Secreary and ormer Sen. Dick Schweiker (R-PA), despie having jus beenappoined o run he deparmen by Presiden Reagan:

had o read abou he HHS budge in he paper. Sockman gave him nohing.

He jus was pale. He couldn believe his was happening. Bu i happened.

ever since 1981 he abiliy o have governmen where your creaive govern-

ing was happening a deparmenal levels disappeared, and i has never come

back. I is all op line. You go your policy ino his number. In my mind cabine

governmen where your creaive governing was happening a he cabine level

disappeared in 1981, and i has never come back.

Tiry years laer op-down budgeing is an issue o serious concern o mos

o he people we inerviewed. Mos el i was a serious impedimen o he ow

o accurae inormaion. Some indicaed ha he execuive budge process has

become more o an exercise aimed a jusiying decisions made a a higher level

wihou he benef o complee inormaionhan one ha atemps o produce

qualiy inormaion upon which he bes decisions can be made.

One appropriaions commitee saer provided an example o how a op-down

budge process corruped he inormaion necessary or raional resource alloca-ion. According o his saer, by he all o 2009 he chairmen and ranking members

o he Commerce, Jusice, and Science subcommitees o he House and Senae

Appropriaions commitees had reached he end o heir rope in dealing wih he

U.S. Bureau o Prisons. I seemed he bureau was clueless in anicipaing uure-year


28/36


expenses. Te previous summer, he wo subcommitees had been orced o appeal

o heir respecive leaders o have $178 million added o an emergency supplemen-

al spending measure o ake care o unanicipaed medical care and uiliy expenses.

In addiion, hey were orced o diver $109 million ha had been appropriaed o

oher Deparmen o Jusice programs o deal wih he shorall.

Furher, he House and Senae appropriaion subcommitees had o ake

$160 million ou o oher prioriies in heir 2009 appropriaion legislaion o

und an anicipaed shorall in he bureaus budge or he coming year. Te

wo Democras and wo Republicans signed a join leter o he Governmen

Accounabiliy Oce demanding ha i ge o he botom o hese perpeual

budgeary shoralls.

Aer a grea deal o back-and-orh beween he Governmen Accounabiliy

Oce, he Deparmen o Jusice, and he budge oce o he Bureau o Prisons,

i was deermined ha he problem had been going on since a leas 2004. Buconrary o wha some had suspeced, i was no a ailure in agency-level number

crunching. Te House Appropriaions saer explained:

I urns ou ha he Bureau o Prisons is remarkably accurae a esimaing wha

he prison populaion is going o be [bu] hey are so used o OMB manipula-

ing heir reques ha hey have sopped guring ou wha a decen relaionship is

beween he populaion and [he amoun] hey are requesing. Tey jus don even

ask or i anymore. my sense is hey are old wha heir number [budge reques

in dollars] will be. Tey build a sory based om ha number. Tey sill go hrough

he process o guring ou wha he populaion is, bu we can nd no mahemaical

correlaion beween ha number and he reques.

Tis paricular inciden came o ligh because here was simply no way o fnesse

he shorall. Te Bureau o Prisons has o process and incarcerae he convics

ha he cours senence. Tere is very litle ha i can do o conrol coss. Is bud-

ge is no based on wha hose coss are expeced o be, bu raher on a number

ha someone a he Oce o Managemen and Budge wan he coss o be. In he

end, he axpayers had o pay he bill anyway, hrough emergency appropriaions.

Te inciden provides disurbing insigh ino how litle impac cos and oher

relevan inormaion oen has in he allocaion o resources in he curren execu-

ive budge process. Te chie budge ocer a one execuive branch deparmen

described his Oce o Managemen and Budge counerpars as:


29/36


Brigh peoplebu supercial. Tey don undersand programs like hey

should. Tey have become more difcul o deal wih. Tey have very litle exper-

ise bu wan o ell us wha o do.

His counerpar in anoher deparmen said much he same hing:

Te oher issue ha I nd ha is ridiculous is ha you have someone on he Hill

and someone a OMB, you know hese young kids, who are making a lo o

hese decisions ha don have a clue.

While op-down decisions abou annual budge levels seemed o be a he cener

o his conroversy, some o he budge proessionals we inerviewed also raised

objecions o he increasing workload placed on hem and heir sas. Some

atribued he increased workload no only o Oce o Managemen and Budge

direcives bu also o deparmenal poliical appoinees or reasons hey con-

sidered largely poliical and sel-promoing. One deparmenal budge ocercommened:

Tere has been a dumbing down o analyic and inellecual capabiliies. Knowledge

o how governmen works has deerioraed. People here hink in erms o press

releases. Tey announce hings beore hey fgure ou how o implemen hem. Tere

are more and more poliical appoinees, and hey are no concerned wih execuing.

Te negaive eelings were no limied o career civil servans. One poliical

appoinee in a very senior deparmenal posiion requiring Senae conrmaion

reerred o he people she deal wih a he Ofce o Managemen and Budge as

he young punks ha hink hey know everyhing.


30/36


Looking for perspective

Our inerviews wih hese 32 budge proessionals rom across he execuive and

legislaive branches were conduced in he spring, summer, and all o 2010. A

number o imporan hings have changed since hen. Te Obama adminisra-

ion announced in he spring o 2009 ha i would disconinue he Program

Assessmen Raing ool. I has also announced an iniiaive o reorm he peror-

mance evaluaion requiremens o he Governmen Perormance Resuls Ac. I is

oo early o deermine wha impac hose reorms will have.

Congress has also made numerous reorms and reducions in earmarking, con-

cluding wih a complee abandonmen o he pracice in 2011a leas or he

ime being. Te chairmen o he House and Senae Appropriaions commitees

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)were able, agains con-

siderable odds, o break he impasse and pass a FY 2012 omnibus appropriaion

bill his pas December, giving appropriaions sa more ime o ocus on problem

programs and agencies in heir respecive bills.

I is no clear ye wheher his will lead o a greaer emphasis on program evalu-

aion and oversigh. A cursory review o deparmenal budge jusifcaions,

however, does no give promise o he possibiliy ha eiher he execuive branch

has willingly moved o providing more reliable and useul inormaion or ha

Congress has acceped is responsibiliy o demand i. As one o he people we

alked o a he Governmen Accounabiliy Oce observed:

One o he hings ha I remember when I was a OMB, I remember when I was

a an agency, you didn mess wih appropriaors. I was asounded wih he Bush

adminisraion and heir blaan disregard or an exremely imporan docu-

men, which was he congressional budge jusicaions.

I is no clear ha many o he curren members and sa o he appropriaions

commitees are even aware o ha heriage, much less have he gri o demand he

inormaion hey have a responsibiliy o possess and o acually si down and read

he inormaion when hey ge i.


31/36


32/36


Governmen budge proessionals have no, or some ime, had he inorma-

ion hey believe hey need o make reliable, raional, and well-inormed und-

ing decisions.Years o experience wih unding decisions under numerous adminisraions and

congresses have made hese proessionals highly skepical abou he budge process.

Such srongly held views and rusraions should, a minimum, be used oinorm and enlighen he nex generaion o budge reorm eors.


33/36


About the authors

Scott Lilly has served as a Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progress since

2004. Prior o ha, he worked or 31 years wih Congress, where he served as sa o

boh he House Appropriaions Commitee and House Budge Commitee. In 1985

he became execuive direcor o he Congressional Join Economic Commitee, andin 1988 he became execuive direcor o a congressional in-house hink ank known

as he Democraic Sudy Group. He le ha posiion in 1994 o become clerk and

sa direcor o he House Appropriaions Commitee and served as minoriy sa

direcor on ha commitee rom 1995 o 2004. Since coming o he Cener or

American Progress, he has auhored more han 150 repors and opinion pieces on

opics ranging rom legislaive process o he economy, he fring o U.S. atorneys by

he Bush adminisraion o oversigh o governmen conracing.

Eleanor Hill is a parner a he law frm o King & Spalding, represening corporae

and individual cliens in congressional, inspecor general, and inernal invesiga-ions, and in various legislaive, compliance, and homeland securiy maters. She

has exensive invesigaive and oversigh experience. In Congress, she served as

sa direcor or he Join Congressional Inquiry on he Sepember 11h atacks,

as sa direcor and chie counsel o he Senaes Permanen Subcommitee on

Invesigaions, and as liaison counsel or he join House-Senae invesigaion

o he Iran/Conra aair. As inspecor general or he Deparmen o Deense,

Hill led audis and invesigaions covering Deense and Miliary Deparmen

operaions. She was co-chair o boh he Presidens Council on Inegriy and

Eciency and he Inelligence Communiy Inspecor General Forum, served on

he Atorney Generals Council on W hie Collar Crime, and was awarded wo

deparmenal Disinguished Service Medals. She is also an experienced ederal

prosecuor and rial lawyer, having been an assisan U.S. atorney and a special

atorney wih he Jusice Deparmens Organized Crime Srike Force.


34/36


Acknowledgements

We would like o hank all hose who ook ime rom heir busy schedules o alk

wih us and or he candor and insigh hey brough o he discussion. Our coun-

ry has litle appreciaion o he skill, proessionalism, and remarkable work ehic

such people bring o he eors hey make every day o improve he reurn haaxpayers ge on heir invesmen. We would also like o hank Anne Shoup a he

Cener or American Progress, who arranged mos o he inerviews, managed he

ranscrips, and helped in numerous oher ways o make his projec happen.


35/36


Endnotes

1 For a sampings o vies on the Congressiona BudgetAct and approaches to reorming it, see: H.R. 114 Biennia Budgeting and Appropriations Act o 2011,avaiabe at http://rues.house.gov/legisation/hear-ings_detais.aspx?NesID=692 (ast accessed Juy2012).

2 Scott liy, From Deiberation to Dysunction, Its Time

or Procedura Reorm in the U.S. Senate (washington:Center or American Progress, 2010), avaiabe at http://.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/pd/ibus-ter.pd.

3 Minority Sta o the House Appropriations Committee,Grand Od Porkers (November 2003), p.92. XX NOTSURE wHAT THIS IS SO NOT SURE HOw TO CITE? XXCacuations in that report ere based on countingthe number o earmarks isted in the AppropriationBi that passed Congress. See: Making Appropriationsor Agricuture, Rura Deveopment, Food and DrugAdministration, and Reated Agencies or the Fisca Yearending September 30, 2004, and For Other Purposes,avaiabe at http://thomas.oc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp108:FlD010:@1(hr401) (ast accessed Juy 2012).

4 This description as ited rom the name o a bookpubished in 1992, Reinventing Government, How the

Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Transforming the Public Sector, byDavid Osborne and Ted Gaeber.

5 Government Accountabiity Ofce, PerormanceBudgeting: PART Focuses Attention on Program Per-ormance, but More Can Be Done to Engage Congress,GAO-06-28, Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee onGovernment Management, Finance, and Account-abiity, Committee on Government Reorm, Houseo Representatives, October 2005, avaiabe at http://.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-28.

6 John Housha, w. Edards Deming, Expert onBusiness Management, Dies at 93, The New YorkTimes, December 21, 1993, avaiabe at http://.nytimes.com/1993/12/21/obituaries/-edards-deming-expert-on-business-management-dies-at-93.htm?pageanted=a&src=pm.

7 Peter F. Drucker, The New Realities (Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann Proessiona Pubishers, 1989), as quotedby Drucker in Practice, avaiabe at http://.druck-erinpractice.com/quotes.aspx (ast accessed Juy 2012).


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About The Center for American Progress

The Center or American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute

dedicated to promoting a strong, just, and ree America that ensures opportunity or all.

We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values

and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reect these values. We work to nd progressive

and pragmatic solutions to signicant domestic and international problems and develop policy

proposals that oster a government that is o the people, by the people, and or the people.

About Doing What Works

CAPs Doing What Works project promotes government reorm to efciently allocate scarce resources

and achieve greater results or the American people. This project specically has three key objectives:

Eliminating or redesigning misguided spending programs and tax expenditures,

ocused on priority areas such as health care, energy, and education

Boosting government productivity by streamlining management and strengthening

operations in the areas o human resources, inormation technology, and procurement

Building a foundation for smarter decision-making by enhancing transparency

and perormance measurement and evaluation

broken budgeting: a view of federal budget making from the trenches

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