PAD 343

Question 1

1) Discuss, define and give an example of the Government Performance & Results Act of 1993 & the Government Performance & Results Modernization Act of 2010.

Answer 1

The GPRA was a Law passed in 1993 by the Clinton administration. The law required agencies to:
• develop a five year strategic plan
• Prepare annual performance plans
• Perform annual performance reports
President signed the GPRA modernization act in 2011 which required agencies to publish their strategic and performance plans in machine readable formats. Vice President AL Gore was tasked with meeting with people working within the agencies to find savings to the budget.

Question 2

2) Discuss & describe the five budget review functions of OMB that have been organized to Resource Management Offices (RMO).

Answer 2

The desire to better integrate the management and budget functions of OMB led to reorganization called OMB 2000 under director Alice Rivlin. The purpose of this reorganization was to try to better integrate management improvements into the budget process. Since the reform the budget review function has been organized into four resource management offices (RMOs).

1. Natural resources (including agriculture, energy, science and space)
2. National Security (including international affairs)
3. Education, income maintenance, and labor programs)
4. General Government (including housing, Justice, transportation and treasury)
5. Health

Question 3

3) Discuss & describe the concerns the chief executive needs to convey to departments, bureaus and offices involved and especially to the central budget.

Answer 3

The Chief executive concerns on the budget are primarily is if it will be passed. The Chief executive has to convey to the people working on the budget a sense of priorities so that effort will not be expended on proposals that will be later rejected.
What kind of effect it will have on the Economy is another concern. Concern over new taxes might hurt businesses. The Government services available can also be a factor in attracting businesses.

Question 4

4) Define mandatory spending and give examples of what expenses it affects the federal government budget process

Answer 4

Mandatory spending in the budget are spending items that are mandated by law. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are three types of mandatory spending. People are automatically entitled to these budget expenditures. The mandatory part of the budget limits the flexibility budget makers have in making savings to the budget, any savings they would make would have to come from the discretionary part of the budget or by raising revenues

Question 5

5) Discuss and describe the key goals PART as discussed in class and in chapter 7.

Answer 5

The Program Assessment Rating Tool, or PART, for short, is a questionnaire designed to help assess the management and performance of programs. It is used to evaluate a program’s purpose, design, planning, management, results, and accountability to determine its overall effectiveness

Question 6

7) What was the main premise of NPR and what was its benchmarking components, list & describe NPR?

Answer 6

The National Performance Review was established under President Clinton in 1993 under the direction of Vice President Gore. The purpose of NPR was to streamline government. The concept of Benchmarking was an important component in which best practices elsewhere, government or private sector, were identified and used as a guide on how Government should operate.