Archive

Results of Reinvention

The New York office of the Veterans Affairs Department is not alone in reinventing itself. One year ago the Administration promised a government that "works better and costs less." It is starting to deliver.

Government is, indeed, "working better." Thanks to the President, Congress, executive agencies, and federal workers at all levels, over 90 percent of NPR's proposals have moved forward -- implemented by executive order or agency action, proposed in legislation, and so forth. Here's a snapshot of some other government wide accomplishments:

The President issued 22 directives (see Appendix D) and signed Over 100 agencies set customer service standards for the first time. For example, Social Security promises to mail out cards within five working days, and if you need a social security number quickly, it will provide it in a day. The Customs Service pledges to process international air passengers within five minutes.

Agencies are beginning major streamlining initiatives, cutting headquarters staff, reducing management layers, and moving workers to the front line. They include the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Customs; the Bureau of Reclamation; the Social Security Administration; the Small Business Administration; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Agencies are forming labor-management partnerships throughout the federal government. Departments and agencies have signed 32 partnership agreements with their unions.

Agencies are slashing red tape. The Office of Personnel Management scrapped the 10,000-page Federal Personnel Manual and the SF-171 job application form. Labor, Veterans Affairs, and other departments eliminated mounds of paperwork associated with internal regulations, budget justifications, and other requirements.

Agencies are buying fewer "designer" goods and more off-the-shelf products. The Defense Department is aggressively eliminating military specifications in favor of commercial purchases, and the General Services Administration's commodity centers are working to give commercial descriptions to everything they buy and to stock commercial items.

Agencies created 135 "reinvention labs" through which employees try new ways to conduct the people's business; already, some have improved customer service or cut costs.

The government is shifting billions of dollars in benefits to electronic payment. Some benefits are now being paid electronically in seven states; 22 more states are in the planning stages.

The federal government is changing the way it interacts with state and local governments. The Education Department is implementing the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration, which will give some states the authority to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement without seeking the department's approval. The Department of Health and Human Services has also consolidated four programs into one to make it easier for states to provide education, vocational rehabilitation, health, employment and training, child welfare, and other social services to families. The Department of Health and Human Services has also promised to review state requests for Medicaid and AFDC waivers in less than 120 days.

Many skeptics of reinventing government thought that the initiative would fail because Congress would interfere. While Congress and the executive branch have had their disagreements, Congress has made significant contributions this year as well. The Clinton Administration chose to implement most of the NPR recommendations through the 1995 budget process, through which they could contribute to the twin goals of improving management and operating within the tight spending caps in the 1993 budget act. The results have been significant:

• President Clinton and Congress enacted 23 NPR-related laws, including one to authorize the first government wide buyouts of federal employees. (See Appendix D.)
• Congress has passed legislation that allows state and local governments greater flexibility in the following areas: school grants, child immunization, family support, and human services.
• The President and Congress are poised to enact sweeping legislation to overhaul federal procurement, freeing federal managers to buy what they need more quickly, more easily -- and at better prices.
• Not counting the 22 new laws, 40 NPR-recommended actions in 11 bills have passed both houses; 52 have passed one house; and congressional panels held more than 80 hearings on NPR recommendations. (See Appendix D.)
• Government also is starting to cost less. The President and Congress have enacted legislation to cut the deficit in half, eliminate wasteful programs, and shrink the federal workforce to its lowest level since John F. Kennedy was President. Across government, agencies and employees have found creative new ways to save money and operate more efficiently.
• The Administration obtained $46.9 billion of the $108 billion in savings over five years that the NPR outlined. Almost all of these savings come from personnel cuts enacted into law in March 1994. (See Appendix C.)
• Another $16 billion in NPR-recommended savings have passed at least one house of Congress. Most of these savings come from the procurement bill awaiting final House action. (See Appendix C.)
• An estimated 71,00 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions were eliminated through buyouts and other management techniques -- a huge step toward NPR's proposed workforce reduction of 252,000 (which the President and Congress later raised to 272,900).
• The President and Congress killed federal subsidies for wool and mohair, saving an estimated $695 million over five years.
• The government is saving $50 every time it purchases a small item by changing its procurement process from paper to Visa cards. This should amount to $50 million in savings so far this year.
• Agencies moved beyond the NPR's recommendations and cut costs or earned money on their own: The Defense Department is streamlining its travel process, saving an estimated $1 billion over five years, while the Federal Communications Commission expects to earn millions, perhaps even billions, from auctioning airway frequencies.

Continue