PRESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
37
Document Creation Date: 
December 16, 2016
Document Release Date: 
May 27, 2005
Sequence Number: 
11
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
July 22, 1976
Content Type: 
MF
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5.pdf2.42 MB
Body: 
`Approved For ase 2005/06/06: CIA-RDP79M00467 3100~86elT1:l-1~- C L ~' S tl 43Ck~nt"I_~ra _.. 2 JUL MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director of Central Intelligence FROM : James H. Taylor Comptroller SUBJECT: Presidential Management Iniatives 1. You have been invited to appear at a cabinet meeting tomorrow to talk about "presidential management iniatives." Attached is _a short memorandum by John McMahon which summarizes what the President and Jim Lynn will talk about. Also attached is a longer paper by OMB which gives some of the background on these proposals. The meeting apparently is designed to acquaint everybody with this new thrust and to guarantee that the follow-on letters will get an enthusiastic reception from us. 2. Five general topic areas are discussed. One is the need for better program evaluation. A second is concerned with the burden on the US public of government reporting requirements and is, I think, irrelevant to CIA. The third focuses on the question of the need to contract out with private industry as much activity as we can while holding our internal overhead down. The fourth asks for renewed commitment to good personnel management including executive development, position management control, etc. The fifth is concerned with establishing good decision making processes in government organizations. 3. Frankly, pieces of. this are OMB at their worst, but we, like everyone else, will have to go along with the gag. For the most part I think we can explain in our response to OMB that we are deeply committed to all these goals and carrying them out already, but you will need to assure yourself that. This is the case. There is action here for the Comptroller and the DDA and perhaps other parts of the organization, but as I understand it, nothing needs to be done until the presidential and OMB letters are in hand. /,/James ay Attachments: As Stated Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 STAT 'Approved For ase 2005/06/06: CIA-RDP79M0046703100100011-5 DCI/IC 76-0151 19 July 1976 SUB,J`t'sCT: Presidential Management Initiatives 1. At a meeting in 0MB on 19 July, I was advised of a forth- coming requirement imposed by 0MB under a program titled Presiden- tial Management Initiatives. 2. It is planned that in the very near future the President will hold a cabinet meeting attended by heads of agencies which will cover the full range of management issues in the Government. The program involves an evaluation of current programs, an effort to reduce the burden of Federal regulations and reporting, pro- grams for personnel management, reduction of overhead costs and encouragement for greater use of the private sector, and an effec- tive decision-making process. 3. Following the cabinet meeting, 0MB will task each agency by letter to initiate a plan which will permit the program evalua- tion as well as establish a schedule of accomplishment. 4. Under "Evaluation of Current Programs," the plan is to devise a program impact evaluation also known as zero base evalua- tion, with a statement of whether or not the program is meeting its objective. This is somewhat akin to the "sunset" laws, particularly the Muskie/Roth proposal which set a-.five-year limit on all,pro-_ grams, at which time they would expire. The evaluation should cover the efficiency of the program as well as develop the priorities of it, and within 60 days establish an evaluation unit within each agency to perform the improvement and evaluation effort. This unit should report directly to the agency head. The agencies will also be instructed by 0MB to devise their management plan which would be incorporated with the FY 78 budget submission. There is further stipulation that within 30 days of the cabinet meeting, the agencies must identify 10 efficiency evaluation topics and be prepared to report on the progress of them on 31 December 1976, as well as at the end of FY 77. If an agency does not have 10, it must explain why. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved For ease 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M0046703100100011-5 5. The management plan called for by OMB should identify: a. those programs that should receive program impact or efficiency evaluation on a regular basis; b. the proper timing and frequency of the evaluation; c. the proper design of it; d. the amount of public participation; e. interagency coordination; and f. the coordination of the evaluation with the budget process and policy decisions. . 6. Under Reduction in the Burden of Federal Regulations and Reporting, the President's desire is to reduce the reporting by the public to the Government by 15% before the end of-FY 78. This ob- viously does not apply to CIA. 7. Under Contracting Out and Holda.zig,Down Overhead hosts, one should refer to 0MB Circular A-76. Here we are encouraged to reduce travel, insure efficiency in ADP practices, use wisdom in cash management, watch the growth of reproduction equipment and audio/ visual activities, limit the use of telephone and mail, insure good utilization of space, etc. Also, under this category the Govern- ment agencies will be urged to make greater use of the private sector thus reducing the growth of Government. GSA will be commissioned separately to review all Government office space as well as to rewrite the Federal Property Management Regulation. 8. There is also great concern-regarding personnel management, not only in grade creep which the Government is experiencing, but also sheer growth. Example as follows: HEW Justice Treasury VA 1966 99,000 33,000 90,000 169,000 1.975 141,000 51,000 119,000 209,000 1976 150,000 53,000 123,000 222,000 9. Under the Initiative Program agencies will be required to devise a system to insure that the best qualified are hired and ad- vanced, and a program established to identify at mid-career those Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved For grease 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467Q803100100011-5 personnel selected for executive development, not only through the experience of the right kind of jobs, but also training. There will. be particular encouragement for executive selection and develop- ment: and a system requested which will permit the identification of high-potential employees. A PMCD type unit will be required as well as the establishment of some means for measurement of producti- vity. 10. Decision-making and Departmental Organization is an effort to insure that a system exists for identifying the priority objec- tives and to insure that decisions are made only after considering all the factors. Some expression of an internal management :i.nforma- tion system as well as the means of a centralized evaluation for all programs exist. Concern is expressed over "layering"; i.e., the propensity in Government to have assistants, deputy assistants, special assistants, etc. It is noted that ERDA has requested 46 more supergrades, with 86 of their present 446 supergrades in the assistant or special assistant categories. 11. In looking through the attached items, I noted that the IC Staff could speak to"the-National Foreign Intelligence Program to some degree concerning program evaluation, training, a portion of ADP management as it pertains to Information Handling, and policy development. I indicated that the bulk of the items should rest with the individual agencies of the Intelligence Community, and I would pass on the information I had to Jim Taylor of CIA and the administrative people, and that I would have Jim Taylor contact Everett Keech_directly in behalf of CIA. /John c azon- Associate Deputy to the DCl for the Intelligence Community cc: Comptroller DDA D/OPBD D/OPEI D/OPP IC/Registry Attachment: As stated above P.S. Hopefully, in the near future we will receive from OMB all of the above in writing. Presumably, it will make more sense then than now. J.N.M. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved Fore ease 2005/06/06: CIA-RDP79M0046WO3100100011-5 Presidential Management Initiatives A. Evaluation of Current Programs 1. Program Evaluation. Reopening, on a priority list basis, old programs for complete reexamination as to whether they are being run as well as possible. 2. Public Hearings. As part of such reviews, holding public hearings. ` B. Reduce Burden of Federal Regulations and Reporting 3. Review of Regulations.. As part of such priority reviews, re- publishing for comment, existing regulations as if the programs involved were new. 4. Paperwork Reduction. Progress on the paperwork problem including systematic ways to review better the burden imposed by old and new paperwork requirements, including, on a selective basis, inviting comments and holding hearings in advance of each renewal and each pro- posed-new paperwork burden. 5. Uniform Administrative and Financial Requirements. Review and design of standard financial and administrative requirements for programs for which uniform guidelines do not exist. . C. Personnel Management 6. Grade Creep. "Grade creep," e.g., the tendency of average General Schedule grades to move up over time in ways that are not justi- fied. (This is very costly.) 7. Training and Advancement. Identification of and training and advancement opportunities for personnel having management promise. 8. Productivity Measurement. Improving productivity measure- ment and extending such measurement to functions not presently covered, as a means of judging both managers and individual staff performance and improving productivity. D. Overhead Cost & Use of Private Sector (A-76) 9. Lay-erinc. Surveying middle management structures to ferret out "layering, "e.g., assistants to assistants, assistants to deputies, etc. 10. Travel Expense. Achieve expected results from the current effort to cut travel expense. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved For W ease 2005/06/06: CIA-RDP79M0046W03100100011-5 2 11. Audio-Visual and Equipment Expense. Improve management of audio-visual activities and implementation of the task force report on audio-visual expense; reduce equipment purchases; require more efficient use of reproduction and retire file records to storage. 12. Overhead Cost Control. Plans for development of a ystem to hold down overhead cost. Critical examination of overhead cost. 13. Overhead Cost. Reduction of equipment purchases, require more efficient use of reproduction equipment, retire files. 14. Cash Management. Modernizing agency cash management practices to reduce the amount of borrowing Treasury has to do to meet Government-- wide cash needs. 15. Contracting Out. Use of the private sector more and "in- house" personnel less to carry out Government programs. 16. ADP Management. Reducing the cost of data processing and eliminating unnecessary and marginal computer workload. 17. Mail Management Practices. Review of mailing practices with the thought of modifying mailing procedures as suggested by MARS. 18. Appropriate Utilization of Space.- Review of current use of space. Agencies have expanded space holdings at a greater rate than personnel expansion would require. E. Effective Decisionmaking and Departmental Organization 19. Public Hearings. As part of such reviews, holding public hearings. 20. Accountability Audits. Upgrading audits, particularly of inter- Governmental programs, to assure public accountability for tax dollars. (Consider "audit committees" of the type used so extensively in industry.) 21. Accountinc Systems. Plans for making accounting system more responsive to_management needs. 22. Policy Development and Management Orcanization. The need in each agency for a policy and management unit that reports directly to the Secretary, does not have programmatic responsibility, has enough expertise to give the agency head and the heads of programs first-rate advice on policy and management matters free of programmatic biases and follows through to see that policy and management objectives are carried out. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved Forase 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M004603100100011-5 Followup on Presidential Management Initiatives I. Plan of Action 1. The President will send a followup memorandum to the agencies the day after the meeting in order to confirm key points made. 2. Jim Lynn will send a followup letter one day after the President's memo which provides more detailed instructions, including a suggested format for the agencies' plan of action. 3. The agencies will provide to the President thru Jim Lynn, OMB, an individually tailored plan of action for response to Presidential Management Initiatives for each of the five major issues within 30 days of the Presidential muting. Agencies are also required to designate a high level official (Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary, Deputy Administrator) as a point of contact who will have responsibility for this effort. .4. The agency plan will be reviewed by OMB/PADs/DADs with M&O doing necessary crosscutting summaries. Director will respond to each Secretary on his/ her agency plan with ideas for modification revi- sion, agreement, etc., within 10 days, and will call for a revised plan ,and the first one-page_ monthly status report. 5, The OMB internal plan delineates the responsibi--- lities of and relationships between the PADs/DADs and M&O. 6. The President will hold a meeting in September to provide feedback on the plans, as modified, assess progress and determine the appropriate future direction. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5 Approved For ease 20hI&A='904603100100011-5 EVALUATION OF CUF:RENT PROCRAMS .iiip.r.caveuent of the evaluation processes of departments and agencies must be emphasized as ;-n essential priority in achieving better management of the executive branch. Statement of Problem: There is widespread disenchantment with the pervasive growth of oovernment, with its duplication, red tape and wast-e, and with the seeming inability of many programs and activities to accomplish their intended purposes. A good part of the problem stems from the failure of agencies to establish effective systems for accomplishing comprehensive, program impact evaluations as well as efficiency evaluations, which could demonstrate that programs are working well or provide the basis for corrective action.. In addition, agency evaluation practices.; generally do not provide for adequate input from the public or for inclusion of evaluative findings in their budget and management pro- cesses, and all.' too often the evaluations themselves are not objective. Analys.v It is useful to distinguish between two basic types of eval- uations in discussing this issue. 1. Program Impact Evaluations The most complicated and time--consuming evaluations are the comprehensive c sses :Itf'II;:S of program impact so:!Ie"t1.me 3 called zero-base evaiuat1C7 r:i. 'Such evaluations at'i.-.?,lpt to determine whether a program is a dequa.t.ely and of fec:tively meeting its objectives as. CStabl s i.cd (or per- ceived) iii statute or regulation. Program impact evaluations also seek. to determine the extent. of unintended a dver_se. Co)"l.st`qL: _'].Cr S of a pro rc: m. The ultimate question pr'oi ed in such evaluations is whether it is wort.hwhil"e to continue the program at all. Sometimes' the answer is yes. . Sometimes the class Tel" is yes, but only if important changes are made. Some times the answer i , no --?- the program is the wrong capY:r oa.cib to the ob j ectivC -- in which case the solution may range from no 'Feder a1_ involvement at all to something at the other end of the so:nctrum, like a ptoposal of an even r broader Fedora.). p..ogram . Approved For-Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5 S ~Xp~rdPiedlr& e s'e'2 /O i/J&: 1Ar 119MOO4 3 U 1 OO1 Qt1r5 a number of ~,~f~ars to design and complete, and often crosscut other prc3.:i am areas in one or a number of agencies or crosscut other levels of government. For example: An elaborate evaluation of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Aet'is getting underway. (Title I is aimed at meeting the special needs of educationally disadvantaged children.) The eval.ua?- tion study is expected to take seven years --- at a cost of more than $6 million for the first two years. The design and measurement techniques present a for- midable task due to the diversity of projects and the varied approaches taken by State and local edu- .cational jurisdictions in pursuing corrective programs. This evaluation illustrates another problem -w- getting the timing of evaluations to fit. necessary timing for corrective proposals. The President's block grant proposal for education ante- dates completion of the study; it would have been more useful if we had had the benefits of the study during the design of the block grant proposal. 0 Similarly complex is an-evaluation of the Compre- hensive Employment and Training Act -- wherein a national sample of participants in training and employment programs and of State and local program sponsors is followed to determine, over a period of years, the impact of the programs on the employ- ment and earnings of participants, and the effec tiveness and cost of the delivery systems. The present congressional efforts toward enactment of so- called "sunset" laws (notably the Muskie-Poth bill presently in mark---up in the Senate) which call for expiration of almost all programs on a five=-year basis also incorporate recsuircments for zero-base evaluations of each prograr:t on More- or less the same five-year cycle. Not surprisingly, they are encountering substantial drafting problems. For example, not all activities are appropriate for zero--base rev iew (e.g. , * whether to have U.S. attorneys) . Further, fixed timetables do not provide sufficient flexibility. Some programs, night well be so evaluated more oaten than once every five years. Others less often than five, particularly in view of the fact that the par_ticul.ar evaluation just completed may have taken three to seven years. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5 Approved For aga 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M0046W'03100100011-5 !IC i plc utti is that to achieve the desired objective requisite flexibility, systematic processes for p o(:,ram impact evaluations are best left to exec Live branch action; that is what the Administration is al.r.eady` doing to a- limited extent and will be improving by virtue-of Presidential directions following the management meeting. conqressional. coopera- i.on is' most needed is in cettinj cot~c;sessional COiilI ittees to pay attention to clood evaluations. U:auc r interest group pressures to keep_a_I1o_ d programs, no matter how bad, and to keep adding new ones, the committees ic;nore evaluations that would, support substantially changed policies and programs. A good example is that- nowhere in the committee reports or conference report on the recently enacted housing bills can we find even one reference to the 1973 housing study which points out the problems of public housing. 2. Efficiency Evaluations The second type of evaluation may be generally cate- gorized as efficiency evaluations. Such studies do not question the need for or intent of the program. Efficiency evaluations may focus on a given segment of a program to determine if there are --ways of. achieving costs savings, or a more efficient approach to providing service delivery under the program, or a less burdensome way to achieve the program- mlFatic objectives. Not of the self-initiated evaluations undertaken by agencies are of this type, such as: - An evaluation of cost-reduction alternatives in meat, poultry, and egg inspection; ? An evaluation of improved procedures for collecting, organizing, and disseminuting environmental- dat-a-- to the public; and ? An evaluation of OSIIA regulations and FEA oil regula- tions to see how they can be made less burdensome is being done on a White House Task Force basis) Tito importance of efficiency evaluations can hardly be oxac;gera-tted. Over a period of time most programs become encrusted with barnacles of regulations and paperwork which have little or no bearing on achieving then objectives of their underlying statutes. One of the most pressing needs, is for each agency to select (systematically each year) programs for evaluation on what the OI'S]3 Director calls a it brand 31ew law basis." Using this technique., the agency should ignore_ all the regulations and forms that have been bU?..~.T_ tip under a p:rog _-am (or group of related program .' with objectives) , and look at the program as if the Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 l ppr~vecl~F~ ~~p S'e~'~b6 /0 %b` bAc!KDPIIN004&1 O ib010b;d1%i15 flexibii- c ou .I~'*r;tatute allow? 1`hat do ?,r?_} really want the Pi O nram to do? What regu:Lat_ions and for s a.r. e r. Bally necessary? What amendments to the authorizing law would help? Usually, agencies should hold public hearings and ~nvate written submissions from the public to get a wide raxn:je of views before answerinLi these questions. This kind of review can .have big payoffs, not only in programs that deliver more, but also reduce administrative costs, paperwork, and other burdens on the public, whether individuals, businesses, or State and local governments. By and large, there is little evidence of broad. personal interest in evaluation on the part of agency heads. There is substantial activity --- Federal expenditures for evaluation studies (narrowly defined) are now approaching $150 million annually. However, many of the studies prove to be of marginal relevance to policy deliberations;. evaluation priorities are rarely established at the agency head level. Too often, an evaluation is made simply as "insurance" -- to be able to point to the oiit- side contractor's blessing of the program if and when criticism of the program comes. The situation is characterized by general unevenness --~ some successes, some failures Unfortunately, good evaluation systems --- either for program impact evaluations or efficiency evaluations -- are still the exception, not the rule. OMB has been stressing the need for the development of priorities and schedules for evaluations of various kinds and the importance of linking these findings to the budget process. 0MB has been selling the concept of b e-t_ter ---- not more _--- evaluations and prior l.ti.zing the evaluations to be done as tools for improving program management and for identifying both the programs that should b junked and the new approaches that should replace the -old There has been a little progress, but we still have a very substantial way to go. Prouosed Actions: The. agencies should- 1. Within 60 days after the meeting, report to OMB with respect to the establishment (or i_roprovement) of a policy and evaluation unit within the agency reporting directly to the agency head. Thin subject will be more f ull.y discussed under "Dccisionmakincf and Departmental Organization" (Tab F). Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : -CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 2 , Su , :'~ :. in ur .. ~c.ancc . h O !D i.c?~rnc hick will fol. G' : this plan (La CcNnple- mer1t th ag nc.:?,' budget: submission for FY 1978)'-?_ and as part thereof describe the agency's propoed program impact evaluations to be completed or at least started in FY 1977, FY 1978, and FY 1979. These plans will be reviewed and finalized in the course of development of the FY 1978 budget. 3. Submit to OMB within 30 days after this meeting ten efficiency evaluations -- determined on a priority basis -- now under way or planned (a) for the period through December 31, 1976 and (b) to the end of FY 1977, all with timetables for completion. If the acency can't identify or handle ten, it must at least explain why not. 4. In the management plan referred to above, provide for systems that will assure (a) identification of those programs that should receive program impact and/or efficiency evaluations on a regular, basis, (b) the proper timing .and frequency, (c) proper design, (d) proper public participation in design and irmmplemontation, (e) proper interagency coordina- tion in such evaluations, a f.hat such eval ua Lions are prope_,_l.y coordinated with the budget process and pc7_a.cy-maki.T~.g.? Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved For tease 2005/06/06 :CIA-RDP79M00467,QP03100100011-5 PEDUC'r'IO;~ BURDEN OF FEDERAL RECULAT1:0N A D I:EL'ORT1 G _ _~ The initiative is to accomplish a substantial reduction in the time spent by individuals, State and local officials, and businesses in dealing with Federal regulations, including paperwork, filling out forms and providing information _re-- quired or requested by the Federal Government. - Statement. of Problem: The public believes that Federal Government agencies ask too many 'questions about too many things too often for no understandable purpose. This is clear from: (1) corres- pondence received from individuals, from, organizations, - from Congressmen, from businesses, farmers, State and. local governments and universities and hospitals; (2) from a con- tinuing flow. of complaints in: con,g es.sional. hearings and from_hear~ ngs before the,-Comm ssion on Federal Paperwork; and (3) from comments in the Congressional Record and from. wide variety of legislation introduced -to deal with this probleni. In addition, the administrative management burden. that the ;Federal grant system imposes on State and local governments as well as on the t~rivat:e sector. is s a.gc erilxq. The com- plaints from State and local officials can be summarized as follows: Federal administrative regulations are incon- sistent, unnecessarily restrictive, inflexible, overlapping and insensitive to :Local needs and differences. - Their---- combined. impact increases program costs', complicates pro- gram aenlini.stration; expands State and local bureaucracies, and distorts or slows the original- intent of the Federal program. Ana ,L i.s: I _ Roport:i_ng Burden Reduction To the e tent that the public outcry reflects opposition to certain public policies or aspects of public polio: that the Jbc_Lieves are sound, there is no solution within i h ilc~ii ework of ,..iy manacler i al initiative directed at public report-'121(j per SO. There will always be soice coiLL :i_c?i.sm o"f governmental paperwork. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467A003100100011-5 ti I App jbit4P- r- AoQS/M/0~ ` K'RDP79TAG f467 tOWDOQM-5r:ot~ con._ g ` y ' their actual needs for and use of information collected from the public. . If tho' executive branch is to be responsive to public criticism in this area, there must be a continuing top-- level conunit'i ent in each agency to holding down public repo rt:i-n , requirements, and this commitment must be supported by operational means which will assure that the comrn_i.-t__ment is met. The President's letter of March 1, 1976, to agency heads assi ~rr,:'d personal responsibility to them to make this commitment. The guidelines established by th(A Director of OMB on March 2 provided an outline for them to use in establishing operational procedures to secure continuing adherence to this commitment. The President's short--term goal of reducing the number of reports by 10% by June 30 was an effective means &r-secur- ing top--level attention to the problem but only a beginning. The task of reducing the reporting burden. remains. Because 80% of the burden of Federal reporting, measured in work-hours,. is related to responding to some 200 Federal forms,. which is a small fraction of the total number of formn.s, -eliminating forms does not necessarily have much impact on overall burden. Among relatively burdensome forms are many applications, such as those for passports and. Medicare payments. Benefits are involved and clearly the forms are not going to be eliminated completely. Also Congress continues to pass laws which add to reporting burden as, for example, the recent pension legislat-;.ol. Reducing burce.n, therefore, means working to simplify forms, looking for ways to reduce the total number of respondents, collecting data le -s frequently, and review- ing exista ng legislative requirements. These- tasks are, eonsi derabl.y more difficult than elimination of obsolete or marginally useful forms. II. flegt~_l_. at?..on Burden Reduction This Administration has taken a number of steps to ease the Federal regulatory problem from the standpoint of the private sector of the economy. There is a need for a Presidelntia].ly directed effort by the major grantmaking agencies to a ;Mack the problem of 10ederal requlat-.ions of f eC t_1..ng State and local gover nlflent . `This probl.e n has now become the number one, complaint that .Governors, Mayors, Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 a ~i ~2~ravayl FCgr as~12~00p{A9/~6 I~lRD .779s40046 l ~~3100JOQ0~ 1 ~5c1~ of thy. : e iousnes~_. and urgency of this problem has cot-in from. many sources. ;e have testimony on the subject from State and local officials at each of the Domestic Council Forums held last fall.. Federal over-regulation and program manage- ment were priority subjects discussed at the National Governors' Conference in Fe;,ruary. The Advisory Commission on Intergovern:ental Relations, the Commission on Federal Paperwork, and the National Science Foundation all have studied the issue recently. Much of the problem is attributable to the great-number and undue complexity of statutory programs. There has been a little legislative progress (e.g., the Community Development Block Grant program, and some new OMB, grant simplification rules) but much more is needed, e.g., .enactment of the President's recent block grant proposals and of the proposed Agenda for Regulatory Reform Act. But much can also be done administratively. The proposed new food stamp regulations are an effort in this direction. It's obvious that systematic program impact and efficiency evaluations discussed under Tab B are vital to attacking both the paperwork and regulation problem.. For example, "brand new law basis" reviews of existing programs (dis- cussed under Tab B) may well be one of the best ways, particularly if related programs addressed to the same beneficiary or regulated groups, are reviewed together in this-manner. Proposed Actions I. Reporting Burden Reduction A. Agencies will be given the. task of reducing the--- reporting burden on the public by 15% by the end of FY 1978 (which gives enough time for enactment and imple- mentation of substantial reform through legislation) , of which not less than 5% shall be realized by, the end of FY 1977. B. Recognizing that the opportunities for achieving these targets vary from agency to agency, 0".113 will direct agency head attention to specific programs which appear to have large reporting-burdens that might be reduced, either by administrative action, new legislation or both. Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 pro 'tl'Pot 13 s610.~05/06/06 ~CLi=RDP7,9AM4&Z 31A;0I000d($-S '144 a tell, ~ai. 'r C,_ p3.i1]i o:? ? C'C.L'. ::iT~.C3 JJaa-ily increases the expense of Government, and i t must be rQst .~ ailed by a serious reexam:i Y.ia, tion of agency systems for position management and classi.ficati. with appropriate corrective actions. Bach one-tenth of a Government--wide aVerac7C arc'.,de incrc'. c cUStr~ 7 QUCT}11y `T12O million at current. CS salal-y ratE s . - - _ Productivity MMeeasurement--Yet another aspect of- the inadequate attention given to personnel management matters is the failure of some agencies to develop and utilize meaningful productivity measures for judging how effectively organizations and individual managers are performing. Productivity measures have been developed covering approximately 65 percent of the Federal work force. Although it is t.r.ue that some functions don't lend themselves to productivity measurement, there is still a significant percentage of the work force that should be covered and isn't. It also should be noted that the validity of some of the productivity measures- and the resulting data--is being questioned. 0MD is exploring this problem on a continuing basis with the agencies involved Several agencies have developed or are initiating substantial improvements in their measurement systems, and attempts are being made to relate the systems to better management control and evaluation. These include the Farmers Home Adzainistraton and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Current. figures, availuL' his Or her t i me is lim red. 1:1'1111 e: tort must be ont7:ustc?d. to__such- a unit, whatever it is called. Public H1eaa.rings. Another problem area is that agency decision tenet to be made without. adequate opportunity for those outside the Federal Government to he heard. In this Ad}-ninistration there has been growing use of- public hearings. Hear-incg s not only produce additional knowledgee, possible solutions and a wide range of Per- spectives reflecting differing priorities, but also: a) toad to snake the ultimate decisions; more acceptable to the people impacted by the it, and by Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO03100100011-5 Approved Fot.R&as9-,ZQP?J,0?/0,6--:P1P AAgency and than some U: the "sunshine" proposals. ;:,.