Warner to propose legislation to update, improve federal reporting requirements

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) released the following statement on Wednesday after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a list of reports produced by federal agencies that could be eliminated or consolidated, a key requirement of Sen. Warner’s 2010 Government Performance and Results Modernization Act signed into law by the President in January 2011.   The full list provided by OMB, which can be found at performance.gov, identifies 376 reports from 29 agencies that are potential targets for elimination or modification:

“Over the years, federal agencies have been instructed to expend considerable staff time and other resources producing thousands of reports,  yet we never look back to see if these reporting requirements might be outdated, duplicative, or even relevant. If these reports are sitting on a shelf collecting dust, then it’s time for them to go. Congress should take every opportunity to create a more effective and efficient government, and the elimination of these outdated reports is one step in that direction. In the GPRA Modernization Act, we asked agencies to tell us which reports have outlived their purpose, and OMB is recommending modifying or eliminating nearly 400 reports produced by 29 federal agencies. We will review this information and work with the agencies and OMB to introduce legislation that will eliminate or modify these unnecessary reporting requirements.”

Last month, OMB took another significant step forward under GPRA by launching an improved performance.gov website.   The upgraded portal allows taxpayers, elected officials and other policymakers to review both short-term and long-term policy and program goals for each federal agency, and it displays quarterly performance data about each agency’s progress, or lack of progress.