Government Performance | Center for Effective Government

MEDIA ADVISORY: Telephone Briefing on Sunset Commission Bills

WASHINGTON — Former Texas Sunset Commissioner O.H. "Ike" Harris, Barbara Coufal of AFSME, and Gabriela Lemus of LULAC and Robert Shull of OMB Watch will brief journalists on a dangerous proposal to create an unelected, unaccountable commission empowered to target programs for elimination. More than 300 organizations are opposing the creation of a sunset commission. Speakers tomorrow will discuss the legislation, the Texas experience, and the threat that such commissions pose to the most vulnerable members of our society.

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Ask Your Representative to Vote "No" on Sunsets! Call Today!

Call your representative, and tell him or her to vote ‘No’ on sunset legislation!

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House Saves Program for Measuring Results of Government Assistance

The House voted Jun. 13 to partially fund the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), saving what is considered an essential tool for assessing how well government assistance programs are working.

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OMB Watch Tells Congress PART Should Remain Insignificant

OMB Watch told Congress today that the Bush administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) draws biased conclusions about federal program efficacy and should thus continue to be largely ignored by Congress. Adam Hughes, OMB Watch's director of federal fiscal policy, testified on PART before a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee, during a hearing held by Committee Chair Tom Coburn (R-OK) to investigate why PART is not more widely used by Congress.

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White House Misleads Public, Congress on PART Results

In each of the past two years, President Bush has publicly cited a group of 100-plus federal programs in his State of the Union address that he wishes to eliminate or drastically reduce because they are "not getting results." Yet, over two-thirds of these programs have not even been reviewed by the administration's own tool for determining results: the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART).

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New PART Scores Showcase More Contradictions of Program

The president's recent budget, released in early February, contained another round of federal program assessments produced by the Office of Management and Budget using the administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). As in past years, this new round of PART scores and associated budget requests call into question the value and purpose of PART ratings, which appear to have little logical and no discernable link to budget requests.

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What Others Are Saying About PART

OMB Watch is not alone in criticizing the White House's Program Assessment Rating Tool. See what others have had to say recently about this flawed measure. PART Punishes Programs for Following the Law Clay Johnson, OMB deputy director, when asked in a congressional hearing, "[I]s it possible for a program to get a poor rating simply because it does what's required by statute and not necessarily what OMB might like for that program to do?": Yes.

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Initial Analysis of the President's 2007 Budget

The president's Fiscal Year 2007 (FY 07) budget would set the nation on a dangerous fiscal path and does nothing to honestly address the federal government's looming budgetary challenges. The budget--totaling $2.77 trillion--would make permanent the president's first-term tax cuts, which primarily benefit the wealthy, and pay for those cuts in part by cutting some entitlement programs and drastically reducing domestic discretionary spending (outside of homeland security and defense).

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Statement on Sago Mine Disaster

By Robert Shull and Gary Bass
The deadly mine disaster that took place in Sago, West Virginia represents an enormous tragedy. It is now natural to wonder not just whether the mining company provided adequate protections for workers but also whether the federal government has done enough. If recent history is any guide, those answers aren't likely to reassure the public.

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PART Backgrounder

Learn more about the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), the White House's controversial program for measuring program effectiveness with meaningless numbers that are then used to justify political budget cut decisions.

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