The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 11, 2011

Presidential Memorandum--Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation

As I outlined in my State of the Union address to the Congress on January 25, 2011, winning the future in the global economy will require reducing our deficit while investing in areas critical to long term economic growth and competitiveness such as education, innovation, and infrastructure.  By out educating, out innovating, and out building our competitors, we will enable our Nation to grow, create jobs, and thrive in the years ahead.

At the same time, we cannot win the future with a government built for the past.  We live and do business in the information age, but the organization of the Federal Government has not kept pace.  Government agencies have grown without overall strategic planning and duplicative programs have sprung up, making it harder for each to reach its goals.  Already, my Administration has taken on this waste and duplication.  My current budget proposes more than 200 terminations, reductions, and savings in agency programs totaling approximately $30 billion in fiscal year 2012.  And in areas as varied as surface transportation to job training, public health, and education, I have proposed to consolidate scores of programs into more focused, effective, and streamlined initiatives.

But we must go further.  Winning the future will take a government that judiciously allocates scarce government resources to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness so that it can best support American competitiveness and innovation.  Now is the time to act to consolidate and reorganize the executive branch of the Federal Government in a way that best serves this goal.

By this memorandum, I assign our Nation's first Chief Performance Officer, who also serves as the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (the "Chief Performance Officer"), the responsibility of leading the effort to create a plan for the restructuring and streamlining of the executive branch of the Federal Government.  The first focus of this effort shall be on the executive departments and agencies and the functions that support one of our most important priorities    increasing trade, exports, and our overall competitiveness ("trade and competitiveness").

Accordingly, I direct the following:

(1)  The Chief Performance Officer shall establish a Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative, led by an Executive Director, to conduct a comprehensive review of the Federal agencies and programs involved in trade and competitiveness, including analyzing their scope and effectiveness, areas of overlap and duplication, unmet needs, and possible cost savings.

(2)  As part of this review, the Chief Performance Officer and Executive Director shall confer broadly with the heads and staff of executive departments and agencies, including the offices and agencies within the Executive Office of the President (collectively, the "agencies").  They should also consult broadly with external stakeholders, including Members of Congress, business leaders, unions, nongovernmental organizations, and government reform experts, to hear their individual and independent perspectives on what we are doing well and where we could improve our effectiveness and efficiency.

(3)  Within 90 days from the date of this memorandum, the Chief Performance Officer shall submit recommendations to me for presidential and, ultimately, congressional action to restructure and streamline Federal Government programs focused on trade and competitiveness, based on the following principles:

(a)  the functions of the executive branch of the Federal Government involved in trade and competitiveness should be organized so that the Federal Government can most efficiently and effectively facilitate the competitiveness of American businesses, large and small, and American workers in the changing global economy;

(b)  the responsibilities, authorities, programs, and requirements of agencies should be transparent, understandable, and easily accessible to the American public; and

(c)  agencies and programs should be organized to reduce inefficiencies and overlapping responsibilities or functions, maximize return on taxpayer dollars, and best serve the American public.

(4)  Agencies shall provide, consistent with law, information and assistance requested by the Chief Performance Officer and Executive Director to inform their work as directed by this memorandum.

(5)  Agencies shall carry out the provisions of this memorandum to the extent permitted by law and consistent with their statutory and regulatory authorities and their enforcement mechanisms.

(6)  This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(7)  The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
March 03, 2011

Statement by Vice President Biden on Today's Budget Meeting with House and Senate Leaders

“We had a good meeting, and the conversation will continue.”

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 02, 2011

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.J.Res. 44

On Wednesday, March 2, 2011, the President signed into law:

H.J.Res. 44, which provides FY 2011 appropriations through Friday, March 18, 2011,for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government.

Cutting Costs by Getting Rid of Government Buildings We Don't Need

Jeffrey Zients
Jeffrey Zients
March 02, 2011
01:09 PM EDT

In the White House Briefing Room today, I announced a new proposal to create a Civilian Property Realignment Board to help the Federal government cut through red tape and politics to sell property it no longer needs. The plan will save taxpayers $15 billion over the first three years the Board is fully up and running.

The Federal government owns 1.2 million properties across the country making it the biggest property owner in the United States, but billions of taxpayer dollars are wasted each year on government properties that are no longer needed.  This includes roughly 14,000 buildings and structures currently designated as excess and thousands of others that are underutilized. These properties range from sheds to under-utilized office buildings and empty warehouses. Next month, the Administration will release detailed information on these excess properties so that the public can be better informed about this challenge

Excess Government Properties Map

The proposal we announced today brings private-sector discipline to the management of Federal real estate and applies tactics proven successful by the Defense Department's Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It establishes an independent board of experts to expedite the disposal of unneeded properties and identifies opportunities to consolidate offices across and within agencies. The board’s recommendations will be presented to Congress in a package to be voted on in an up-or-down manner and all properties will swiftly be disposed of or consolidated.

Related Topics: Fiscal Responsibility

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2011

Presidential Memorandum--Administrative Flexibility

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT:  Administrative Flexibility, Lower Costs, and Better Results for State, Local, and Tribal Governments

Over the last 2 years, my Administration has worked with State, local, and tribal governments through the Recovery Act and other means to create jobs, build infrastructure, and protect critical programs and services in the face of declining revenues.  But through smarter government we can do even more to improve outcomes and lower costs for the American taxpayer.

Federal program requirements over the past several decades have sometimes been onerous, and they have not always contributed to better outcomes.  With input from our State, local, and tribal partners, we can, consistent with law, reduce unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens and redirect resources to services that are essential to achieving better outcomes at lower cost.  This is especially urgent at a time when State, local, and tribal governments face large budget shortfalls and American taxpayers deserve to know that their funds are being spent wisely.

On January 18, 2011, I signed Executive Order 13563, which, among other things, calls for careful analysis of regulations by executive departments and agencies (agencies), including consideration of costs and benefits.  Executive Order 13563 also requires retrospective analysis of existing significant rules and greater coordination across agencies to simplify and harmonize redundant, inconsistent, or overlapping requirements, thus reducing costs.

Executive Order 13563 applies to regulations involving and affecting State, local, and tribal governments.  In particular, my Administration has heard from these governments that the array of rules and requirements imposed by various Federal programs and agencies may at times undermine their efforts to modernize and integrate program delivery.  While appropriate data collection requirements are important to program accountability, some of these requirements are unduly burdensome, may not properly align compliance requirements with outcomes, are not synchronized across programs, and fail to give governments and taxpayers meaningful information about what works and what needs to be improved or be stopped.  I believe that working together, State, local, and tribal governments and Federal agencies can distinguish between rules and requirements that support important goals -- such as promoting public health and welfare; protecting the rights of individuals, organizations, and private businesses; and assuring that programs produce intended outcomes -- from rules and requirements that are excessively burdensome or may not serve their intended purpose.

Through this memorandum, I am instructing agencies to work closely with State, local, and tribal governments to identify administrative, regulatory, and legislative barriers in Federally funded programs that currently prevent States, localities, and tribes, from efficiently using tax dollars to achieve the best results for their constituents.

Section 1.  Coordination and Collaboration.  To facilitate coordination across Federal agencies and State, local, and tribal governments, I direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to lead a process, in consultation with State, local, and tribal governments, and agencies, to:  (1) provide input to multiple agencies on State-specific, regional, or multistate strategies for eliminating unnecessary administrative, regulatory, and legislative burdens; (2) enable State, local, and tribal governments to request increased flexibility, as appropriate, from multiple agencies simultaneously and receive expeditious and judicious consideration of those requests; (3) establish consistent criteria, where appropriate, for evaluating the potential benefits, costs, and programmatic effects of relaxing, simplifying, or eliminating administrative, regulatory, and legislative requirements; and (4) facilitate consensus among State, local, and tribal governments and agencies on matters that require coordinated action.

The Director of the OMB shall also take the following actions:

  • Review and where appropriate revise guidance concerning cost principles, burden minimizations, and audits for State, local, and tribal governments in order to eliminate, to the extent permitted by law, unnecessary, unduly burdensome, duplicative, or low-priority recordkeeping requirements and effectively tie such requirements to achievement of outcomes.
  • With agencies that administer overlapping programs, collaborate with State, local, and tribal governments to standardize, streamline, and reduce reporting and planning requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.  The OMB should play a lead role, with appropriate agencies, in helping to develop efficient, low-cost mechanisms for collecting and reporting data that can support multiple programs and agencies.
  • Facilitate cost-efficient modernization of State, local, and tribal information systems, drawing upon the collaboration of the Chief Information Officer in the OMB and the Chief Technology Officer in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
  • Provide written guidance to agencies on implementation of this memorandum within 60 days of the date of this memorandum.

Sec. 2.  Streamlining Agency Requirements.  Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, agencies shall take the following actions to identify regulatory and administrative requirements that can be streamlined, reduced, or eliminated, and to specify where and how increased flexibility could be provided to produce the same or better program outcomes at lower cost.

  • Work with State, local, and tribal governments to identify the best opportunities to realize efficiency, promote program integrity, and improve program outcomes, including opportunities, consistent with law, that reduce or streamline duplicative paperwork, reporting, and regulatory burdens and those that more effectively use Federal resources across multiple programs or States.  Agencies should invite State, local, and tribal governments to identify not only administrative impediments, but also significant statutory barriers, to efficiency and effectiveness in program implementation.
  • Establish preliminary plans to (1) consolidate or streamline processes that State, local, and tribal governments must use to obtain increased flexibility to promote the same or better outcomes at lower cost; (2) establish transparent criteria or principles for granting such increased flexibility, including those that are generally available and those that may be granted conditionally; and (3) ensure continued achievement of program results while allowing for such increased flexibility.
  • Identify areas where cross-agency collaboration would further reduce administrative and regulatory barriers and improve outcomes.  This should include identifying requirements for State planning documents that are prerequisites for awards from individual Federal programs that could be consolidated into one plan serving a number of agencies and programs.
  • Report the results of these actions to the Director of the OMB.

Sec. 3.  General Provisions.  (a)  This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of any necessary appropriations.

(b)  Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of the OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c)  This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2011

FACT SHEET: A Win for States and Taxpayers: President Obama's Plan to Cut Red Tape, Give States Flexibility, and Save Money

Today, President Obama issued a memorandum to Executive Departments and Agencies to work with State, Tribal, and local governments to reduce unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens in order to focus resources on achieving better outcomes at lower cost.

Over the last two years, the Administration has worked with States as well as Tribal and local governments through the Recovery Act and other means to create jobs, build infrastructure, and protect critical programs and services in the face of declining revenues.  Still, through smarter government, we can do even more to help States, improve program outcomes, and lower costs for the American taxpayer.  This is especially urgent at a time when many governments face large budget shortfalls.  

This memorandum builds on the Executive Order issued on January 18 outlining the President’s regulatory strategy.  Having heard from States, Tribes, and territories that the array of rules and regulations issued by various Federal programs and agencies may sometimes impede their efforts to modernize and integrate program delivery, the President is committed to continuing to cut this red tape while continuing to protect human health and safety.

The new Presidential Memorandum is attached.

In this memorandum, the President is:

  • Instructing the Director of OMB to lead a collaborative process of Federal agencies, State, Tribal, and local governments to coordinate and streamline procedures that cut across agency, program and geographic bounds. 
  • Requiring agencies to work closely with States, Tribes, and local governments to identify administrative, regulatory, and legislative barriers in Federally-funded programs that currently prevent them from efficiently using tax dollars to achieve the best results for their constituents.

This work will be done in collaboration with territories as well, and with input from other key program partners.

Further, he is directing OMB to:

  • Review guidance concerning cost principles and audits for State, local, and Tribal governments to eliminate unnecessary, unduly burdensome, or low-priority recordkeeping requirements and to tie requirements to achievement of outcomes. 
  • Standardize and streamline reporting and planning requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act to develop efficient, low-cost mechanisms for collecting and reporting data and preparing expenditure plans that can support multiple programs and agencies, and
  • Facilitate cost-efficient modernization of State and Tribal information systems, in collaboration with the Chief Technology Officer in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Agencies are required to report back within 180 days of the date of this memorandum on their actions to identify regulatory and administrative requirements that can be streamlined, reduced, or eliminated, and where increased State flexibility could be provided to achieve the same or better outcomes at lower cost.  

Progress in achieving better results at lower cost is already being made.

The President’s new memo will help expand on the success already underway in collaborating with States, Tribes, territories, and local governments, and new initiatives proposed in the President’s 2012 Budget.  For example, the Administration:

  • Has created a collaborative forum with States, local governments, and other stakeholders through OMB’s Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation.  The forum develops promising cross-program solutions to improve program integrity, reduce costs, and improve service and results in Federal programs that are administered by States. 
  • Is taking steps to reduce reporting and documentation requirements that sap school resources from classroom learning.  Specifically, the Department of Education and OMB are developing new guidelines to focus reporting and audits on performance outcomes and enhanced transparency instead of activity-based recordkeeping. 
  • Proposed Pay for Success pilots in the 2012 Budget.  These innovative projects offer Federal, State and local governments a market-based mechanism to finance and deliver services that achieve better results at lower cost.  Under this new initiative, the private sector provides intervention services to a target population and the government pays only when clearly defined outcomes are achieved.
  • Proposed a new Workforce Innovation Fund in the 2012 Budget, which provides almost $380 million for grants to support systemic reforms of workforce development programs to deliver more cost-effective services and improve outcomes for participants.   To maximize flexibility to test bold approaches to achieving better results through cross-program collaboration, the Budget requests waiver authority for the Departments of Labor and Education, contingent on strong State plans to measure outcomes and evaluate program impacts. 
  • Proposed a “First in the World” competition among colleges and universities to help America restore its international leadership in the number of students graduating college. In 2012, this competition would invest $120 million in innovative institutional and State strategies to increase college access and completion and improve educational productivity.

Together, these and other initiatives could substantially reduce State and federal taxpayer costs and redirect resources to achieve improved outcomes for State, Tribal and local constituents.  And these improved outcomes will play an important role in supporting the long term economic strength and competitiveness of our Nation.

Seventeen Small Business Tax Cuts and Counting

Kori Schulman
Kori Schulman
February 25, 2011
08:16 PM EDT

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. President Obama's focus on strengthening small business has included reaching out to entrepreneurs and small business owners, asking them what's working and what needs to work better. Through Advise the Advisor, and this week's Winning the Future Small Business Forum in Ohio, the President has heard from thousands of Americans.

Tax cut tweet

One of the questions we've seen is about what the Obama Administration has done to cut taxes for small businesses. On Twitter, lindismith asked @whitehouse, "What are the 17 new tax cuts for small businesses Obama signed into law?" Well, we took that question to some of the President's top economic advisers, and here's what they had to say.

Related Topics: Economy, Fiscal Responsibility, Health Care, Taxes, Ohio
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Progress for the Partnership

Posted by Jack Lew on February 23, 2011 at 10:56 AM EDT

Making sure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted lies at the heart of the stewardship obligations we have as public servants. When the country is facing serious fiscal challenges as it is now, it becomes even more important that we take aggressive action to make sure government is effective and efficient. That is the thinking behind the President’s Accountable Government Initiative , and it is what is behind OMB’s Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation. The Fund supports projects that bring all levels of government together to test creative ways to reduce red tape, cut improper payments, and improve how eligible beneficiaries receive services.

I am pleased to announce that we have funded our first pilot project: an effort at the Department of the Treasury to test new methods of working with states to significantly improve the integrity of payments made under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), reduce errors and provide assistance to those in need.

Tackling the long standing problem of improper payments is a top priority for the President and his Administration and we are aggressively exploring new technologies and analytics to significantly reduce errors and crack down on fraud.  The EITC program provides needed financial support to low and moderate income workers and helps directly reward work.  However, the program is also challenged by an unacceptably high error rate that both wastes money and leaves many individuals underserved.  If successful, this new innovation could help the government avoid more than $100 million per year in improper payments.

This is just the first of many grants the Partnership Fund plans to make. In the past year, the Partnership Fund has received more than 100 ideas from stakeholders including Federal, state, and local government agencies; nonprofits; the private sector; academics; and engaged citizens. 
In addition, the Partnership Fund is taking steps to get the best ideas from those on the frontlines since stakeholders, whether state administrators or community partners, often have the best ideas about how to streamline and strengthen programs.  To draw on this expertise, an open, self-directed group called the Collaborative Forum holds regular virtual meetings to design the most effective pilots from the most promising ideas. In addition, the newly redesigned Partnership Fund web site, partner4solutions.gov, makes it easier to learn about the program, submit an idea, or become more involved. The Partnership Fund has an important role to play in defining the most efficient and effective practices for 21st century government.

The Partnership Fund is just one of many ways we are working to get government to work better for the American people. We will highlight other efforts in the months ahead.
 

Jack Lew is the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

See more about Fiscal Responsibility  

George Madison's Story: A Strong, Stable American Economy

George Madison
February 22, 2011
03:17 PM EDT

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, which highlights African Americans from across the Administration whose work contributes to the President's goals for winning the future.

The greatest influence in my life is my grandmother, Dr. Lena F. Edwards, whose commitment to public service and to minority communities has always inspired me.  My grandmother was a pioneer for both women and African Americans, as one of the first African American women to graduate from Howard Medical School in the early 1920s.  For decades, she provided health services to the minority communities in DC and New Jersey and also built and staffed a 25 bed hospital in Texas for Mexican migrant workers.  In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work.  Her achievements are particularly meaningful as we celebrate Black History Month, and as I serve as General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury under our Nation’s first African American President.

I was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey and attended New York University’s Stern School of Business, Columbia Law School, and Columbia Business School.  Throughout my career, I have understood the importance and the responsibility of giving back to our communities and to our country and have participated in reading literacy programs for minority youths, legal services program for the poor, and mentoring programs for minority law students as they seek job opportunities.  My experiences with these programs came to mind as I listened to President Obama’s State of the Union address, where he laid out his plan for educating children, rebuilding our infrastructure, and creating more job opportunities for Americans.

Related Topics: Economy, Fiscal Responsibility, New Jersey, Texas

Weekly Wrap Up: A Budget Designed to Win the Future

Kori Schulman
Kori Schulman
February 18, 2011
08:11 PM EDT

A quick look at the week of February 14, 2011:

A Budget for Winning the Future: The President unveils his 2012 Budget. Find out more about what's in it, explore an interactive breakdown of where your tax dollar go, and learn how it puts America back on a track to fiscal discipline while still investing in the future.

White House White Board: OMB Director Jack Lew discusses the tough choices made in the 2012 Budget.

Race to the Top: The deadline to apply for the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, and to have President Obama speak at your high school's commencement, is February 25th. See what happened last year when the President surprised graduating seniors at Kalamazoo Central High School, the winners of last year's Commencement Challenge.

Related Topics: Defense, Economy, Education, Fiscal Responsibility, Veterans, Working Families, Additional Issues, Georgia