Reform of the federal government has begun

In a December op-ed in the Inquirer, I called for the White House to start an effort to, "Do the Right Things Well." On April 14, they began that effort.

Under the stark title of "Office of Management and Budget Memorandum (OMB) 17-22," Director Mick Mulvaney said, "Through the actions described below, President Trump aims to make government lean, accountable, and more efficient." The memorandum calls upon federal agencies to undertake workforce reductions and present cost-savings plans by September; develop a plan to maximize employee performance by June 30; and submit an agency-reform plan as part of the 2018 budget submissions, again by September.

In a talk with the President's Management Council (PMC), the chief operating officers in each agency, Mulvaney made it clear that the reform plan was about good government not just smaller government. The process by which OMB will operate is based on laws and regulations already on the books and uses the "regular order" of the budget and strategic planning process in the federal government to achieve its objectives. Involving all major agencies through the PMC is an excellent sign that this effort is intended to be comprehensive and bottom up.

Certainly, OMB and other offices in the White House will be involved in reviewing and approving the various plans. However, the agencies that have to live with the results of the efforts will have the major role in creating them. And OMB will work with key stakeholders to develop both agency-specific and cross-agency reforms. This continues an effort, begun in the Obama administration, that has yielded positive results in areas like ending veterans' homelessness.

The memo highlights four major areas of emphasis. First, analysis: "Agencies should develop an analytical framework that looks at the alignment of agency activities with the mission and role of the agency and the performance of individual functions." A template for analysis, similar to one produced under Vice President Al Gore's "Reinventing Government" effort, is provided to help agencies and to promote consistency across their plans.

Second: Analysis leads to elimination of programs, functions, and organizational units. This elimination will be fully reflected in the budget the president will deliver to Congress in early 2018.

Third is restructuring of organizations and functions. This effort is designed to, "Align the agency organizational structure with the agency core mission and strategic plans." This reference to strategic plans, required by statute, is a further demonstration of using the various processes of government and tested practices to achieve the administration's objectives.

Fourth is operational effectiveness - doing things well. The memorandum provides means and methods for achieving this, such as leveraging technology, decreasing support costs, and developing common service solutions. Absent is a call for more competition between the federal workforce and contractors. There is a congressionally imposed moratorium on such competitions. Working with Congress to lift this moratorium could provide an additional tool for cost reduction and operational streamlining. Competition can promote both outsourcing and insourcing.

To implement the workforce reductions, but avoid layoffs, the OMB promises guidance on volunteer early retirements and separation incentive payments. Attrition will also be used in select areas. A similar program in the Clinton administration yielded a reduction of more than 300,000 full-time equivalent civilian employees during its term. Additionally, agencies are encouraged to identify barriers to insuring employee performance, including elimination of poor performers.

"Once the government-wide reform plan is finalized, OMB, in coordination with the President's Management Council, will establish a mechanism to track the progress of each reform," the administration says. This will be done as part of the overall performance tracking process and should, hopefully, be transparent to the public. This is an encouraging step and will be watched closely.

Both career civil servants and political appointees at OMB and in other White House offices participated in developing the memorandum. In a Federal News Radio interview, administration adviser Linda Springer, the director of the Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush, said, "We've been very careful to position this as a good-government initiative, a more effective government initiative. It's not tied to a particular ideology or a place on the political spectrum. It really is intended to make government work better."

Critics and supporters of the current administration will all be watching to see how this initiative unfolds.

G. Edward DeSeve, author of "The Presidential Appointee's Handbook," is co-chairman of the Transition 2016 initiative, launched by the National Academy of Public Administration, and an executive in residence at Brookings Executive Education. gedeseve@gmail.com