Performance Budgeting: PART Focuses Attention on Program Performance, but More Can Be Done to Engage Congress

As we said in our October 2005 report on the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), most Congressional staff we spoke with still report a lack of up-front consultation about PART. Consistent with the spirit of our recommendation, in June 2005, the Administration has introduced The Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement Act of 2005 (GRPPI). Under GRPPI, a sunset commission would submit to the Congress for its approval a proposed schedule for reviewing the performance of, and need for, Executive Branch agencies and programs at least once every 10 years. More recently, OMB required all executive branch agencies to schedule meetings with the appropriate Congressional committees to explore ways that PART information could prove valuable to them. In response to GAO's recommendations, OMB also requires agencies to brief authorizing and appropriations committees in advance of submitting their congressional budget justifications on concluded and planned PART assessments and their inclusion in the budget justification materials; OMB also considers this outreach when assigning quarterly "grades" for the budget and performance integration initiative of the President's management Agenda.

As we said in our October 2005 report on the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), most Congressional staff we spoke with still report a lack of up-front consultation about PART. In response to our recommendations, OMB sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of key Congressional committees informing them about PART. It also indicated that OMB asked all executive branch agencies to schedule meetings with each committee's staff to explore ways that PART information could prove valuable to them. It invited them to provide feedback on individual PARTs and recommend ways to improve programs. Earlier, in June 2005, the Administration has introduced The Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement Act of 2005 (GRPPI). Under GRPPI, a sunset commission would submit to the Congress for its approval a proposed schedule for reviewing the performance of, and need for, Executive Branch agencies and programs at least once every 10 years. Lastly, OMB now requires agencies to brief authorizing and appropriations committees in advance of submitting their congressional budget justifications on concluded and planned PART assessments and their inclusion in the budget justification materials; OMB also considers this outreach when assigning quarterly "grades" for the budget and performance integration initiative of the President's management Agenda.

OMB confirmed that GAO's work on program assessment significantly informed its new policies and guidance on reassessing program performance. In its June 2009 guidance to agencies on preparing their FY 2011 budget submissions and performance plans, OMB noted the importance of refocusing resources on the highest national priorities. To that end, it refocused its program assessment efforts and directed agencies to identify a limited number of high-priority performance goals and begin to define the strategies and means to achieve them. OMB noted that these goals should generally target challenges that cut across multiple agencies and should consider input from Congressional authorizers and appropriators. The guidance specifically required agencies to identify related programs within and outside of the agency that are integral to or may affect achieving the goal. The President also increased funding for program evaluations, noting that when there are many programs that target similar issues and have similar goals, rigorous evaluations can answer questions about which programs have the greatest impact. Building on these steps, in June 2010 OMB issued Fiscal Year 2012 budget formulation guidance, that directs agencies to include in their budget submissions, where appropriate, an analysis of how to better integrate key tax and spending policies with similar objectives and goals.