OMB Actions Show Progress in Implementing the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980
IMTEC-84-24
Published: Sep 07, 1984. Publicly Released: Oct 15, 1984.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on whether: (1) the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is making progress in implementing the Paperwork Reduction Act; (2) OIRA should be reauthorized; (3) conflicts exist between a 6-year program to improve the management and administrative systems across the federal government and OIRA activities; (4) claims of reduced paperwork burdens are accurate; (5) OIRA staff time is being diverted to activities other than paperwork reduction; (6) the annual report to Congress meets the act's annual reporting requirements; and (7) OIRA is making a sincere effort to accomplish the intent of the act.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress should reauthorize funding for the Paperwork Reduction Act and OIRA. |
Closed – Implemented
|
Congress reauthorized OMB, OIRA, through fiscal year (FY) 1989 as part of the budget resolution enactment, P.L. 99-500. |
| Congress and the appropriate congressional committees should explore with the Director, OMB, whether OIRA progress to date meets congressional expectations and whether additional resources should be approved to speed progress in implementing the act. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
No oversight hearings of OMB implementation of the act have been scheduled since the report's issuance. OMB does not believe that additional staff are needed. The reauthorization level for the next 3 years approximates the current OMB expenditure level for OIRA. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Management and Budget | The Director, OMB, should direct OIRA to take prompt action to provide clear, updated, written guidance to the agencies for implementing their responsibilities in all areas covered by the act, including the areas of information technology, statistics, privacy, and records management. |
Closed – Implemented
OMB stated that it would issue guidance when it is apparent that there is a problem. OMB issued a new information policy directive, rescinding four existing policy/procedure directives on December 12, 1985.
|
| Office of Management and Budget | The Director, OMB, should direct OIRA to establish time frames for limiting further experimentation by agencies in implementing the act and, after a timely evaluation of the initiatives, establish guidance for all agencies to follow. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Action relates to another GAO recommendation on OMB providing guidance in all areas covered by the act. OMB is providing formal written guidance only in a limited number of areas because of its views on issuing central guidance cited in other GAO recommendations.
|
| Office of Management and Budget | The Director, OMB, should direct OIRA to inform the appropriate congressional committees of how it intends to meet its obligations under the act to report the results of information resource management reviews to them. |
Closed – Implemented
The act requires agencies to assess their information activities and a GSA-developed guide will help them fulfill this. The act requires OMB to review/audit agency information activities and report the results to Congress. OMB has done little to implement this. Its agreement to establish procedures to report agencies' self-assessments does not fulfill this requirement.
|
| Office of Management and Budget | The Director, OMB, should direct OIRA to claim as burden reductions only actual reductions of federal burden imposed on the affected respondent groups. |
Closed – Not Implemented
OMB disagreed with the GAO position on the OMB/agency claims. By omitting the claims, OMB would not meet the act's goals. Because of what OMB counted as burden, GAO concluded that agency actions did not eliminate the burden imposed by a federal requirement. GAO believes these should have been considered adjustments to the base figure rather than burden reductions.
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Agency missionsAgency reportsAuthorizing legislationCongressional oversightInformation systemsPaperwork reductionReporting requirementsReports managementStatistical dataInformation resources management