Making Government Work Better

This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization,
is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuver for 
position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and 
who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat send us here and 
pay our way. Americans deserve better. And in this city today there are 
people who want to do better.

Bill Clinton
January 20, 1993


A crucial element of the President's economic plan, and of the success of 
our Nation in the coming years, is to improve the way Government works. 
Before we ask the American people to change, Government must change. It 
must work effectively and efficiently if it is to help encourage economic 
growth. We must restructure our defense and international mechanisms to 
adjust to the new realities of the post-Cold War era. Moreover, the 
American people have a right to Government that is honest, that is 
responsive to their concerns, and that serves them well.


Adapting to a Changing World

The institutions of Government that handle national security and our 
foreign relations must be redesigned. Constrained budgets necessitate 
efficient management of our defense and foreign relations. In addition, 
the many new challenges and opportunities of the next decade mean that 
structures designed for the Cold War must be reorganized so that they can 
carry out new policy initiatives successfully.

The major restructuring of our foreign relations institutions, as 
announced by the Secretary of State, has begun. Through the consolidation 
of functions and a one-third reduction in the number of deputy assistant 
secretaries, we will significantly streamline the operations of the State 
Department. In addition, the undersecretaries are acquiring new 
responsibilities, consonant with such new international missions as 
peacekeeping, democratization, and U.S. economic competitiveness, and such 
global issues as non-proliferation, the environment, refugees and 
population. To manage the critical relationship with the countries that 
were part of the Soviet Union, we have also created the position of 
Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States. 
And we are also initiating a review of current international affairs 
programs and structures in such areas as international development, 
finance and promotion, and international radio broadcasting, intending to 
streamline and redesign operations while ensuring we meet our current 
commitments.

A similar restructuring is under way in the national security arena. As 
the defense budget declines, we must become more efficient in managing the 
operations of the Department of Defense. Even as we build down and reshape 
our forces, we must assure an effective military capability, structured to 
meet new international challenges. The management structure of the 
Department of Defense must also be realigned for the new tasks ahead. The 
Office of the Secretary of Defense is being reshaped for efficiency and 
effectiveness by reducing the number of officials who report directly to 
the Secretary of Defense and by giving the undersecretaries responsibility 
for key departmental operations: defense policy, financial management, 
personnel and readiness, and technology and acquisition. In addition, 
defense policy offices are being restructured to focus on such new 
challenges as counter-proliferation, peacekeeping, economic and 
environmental security, and democratization. These changes promise to 
ensure that the Department of Defense is managed to achieve key strategic 
results, rather than simply conducting business as usual. As we develop a 
new defense strategy this year, we will be paying close attention to other 
defense management issues, such as defense overhead and business 
practices, acquisition reform and the future of the defense industrial and 
technology base.

Finally, the National Security Council staff is also being reshaped to 
focus on the new challenges we face internationally, so that it can lend 
effective support and coordination for interagency activities.


Restructuring for Domestic Change

Here at home, the President has already taken a number of direct actions 
to reduce the size and cost of Government, improve its honesty, and reduce 
the privileges that too often fostered insensitivity and arrogance in 
previous administrations:

 *   An executive order requiring that the Federal civilian workforce be 
     reduced by 100,000 by 1995, with at least 10 percent coming from the 
     ranks of management.

 *   An executive order requiring a reduction of at least 14 percent in 
     administrative costs throughout Government over the next four years, 
     which, along with the reduction in personnel, will save over $15 
     billion over that period.

 *   An executive order requiring the elimination of more than 200 
     non-statutory Federal advisory committees that currently operate 
     throughout the Government.

 *   A 25 percent reduction in the size of the White House staff, with 
     savings of $10 million in 1994.

 *   An executive order that imposes on top-level Administration employees 
     the most stringent ethical standards in the nation's history.

 *   A Presidential memorandum sharply reducing the availability of 
     Government automobiles and drivers for high-level officials.

 *   A Presidential memorandum requiring that executive dining rooms, if 
     they remain open, fully recover their costs.

 *   A Presidential memorandum restricting air travel by high-level 
     officials.

In addition to these steps, the Administration will make more effective 
management of Government a top priority. Government is not a business. But 
there are business management techniques which can help improve the 
performance of Government, streamline bureaucracies, and reduce costs. 
Overcoming years of neglect is a difficult task. But it is essential that 
we begin now.

Managing for results. Too often, Government agencies and programs have 
only the vaguest goals. As a result, they have little to guide their 
efforts, and there is no way for an Administration, or the American 
people, have no way to measure the results of their work. Businesses set 
goals and evaluate managers and workers based on their performance in 
meeting those goals. Government can and should do the same. The 
Administration is studying possible ways of testing performance-based 
management to help agencies and their employees do their jobs better, and 
to enable managers and the public to evaluate their work.

Restructuring Government. ÿ20The Federal Government is more complex than 
it needs to be. Often, many different agencies deal with the same issue, 
and individuals, businesses, communities, and states find it impossible to 
have their problems addressed. Departments and agencies are already 
consolidating and simplifying their operations, and the Administration 
will seek to rationalize and streamline functions Government-wide.

More responsive Government. Well-run businesses seek to maintain good 
relations with their customers, but Government is too often arrogant 
toward those it serves. This Administration will seek to improve the 
delivery of services, using client-oriented, "user-friendly" approaches, 
such as "one-stop shopping" for multiple services.

Unnecessary spending. ÿ20Wasteful spending is sometimes the result of 
legislative mandates that escape scrutiny through their inclusion in large 
appropriations bills. Under current procedures a President cannot single 
out wasteful items in an appropriations bill for a veto; he must veto the 
entire measure. The President intends to work with the Congress to enact a 
modified line-item veto that will enable a President to reject wasteful 
items from an appropriations bill and will require the Congress to cast a 
separate vote on those items. Items that have broad support will survive; 
but over time millions, perhaps billions, of dollars will be saved by the 
defeat of items without broad support.

Campaign reform. A primary reason for the cynicism of the American people 
about politics and Government has been the pervasive influence of special 
interests. Much of that influence is related directly to the impact of 
money on the political system. The President is already working with the 
Congress to develop strong campaign reform legislation that will curb the 
influence of special interest political action committees (PACs) and 
control election spending.

Lobbying reform. The American people have a right to know who is lobbying 
their Government leaders, who is paying them to lobby, and how much they 
are being paid. The Administration is working with the Congress to enact 
legislation that would impose strict disclosure rules on lobbying. In 
addition, the President's deficit-reduction plan includes a tax provision 
eliminating the deduction of the expenses special interests incur in 
lobbying the Congress or state legislatures. No longer will the average 
taxpayer have to subsidize this search for Government benefits by 
high-priced lobbyists. The Administration is committed to enactment of 
campaign finance reform legislation. If such legislation calls for public 
resources, funds raised by the repeal of the provision are a possible 
source of funding for this purpose.

Taken together, these actions will help bring about Government that is 
better able to meet its responsibilities at home and abroad, that is more 
responsive, effective, efficient, and honest. This Administration is 
making a full-time commitment to improving Government and making it truly 
the servant of the people.