LEGISLATIVE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1979

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B00305R000701430007-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 2, 2009
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: March 2, 1979
• Content Type: MEMO

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DCI/RM 79-1111
2 March 1979
STAT
MEMORANDUM FOR:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Legislative Division, OLC
STAT
STAT
Director, Community Legislative & Liaison Office
Legislative Government Accountability Act of 1979
The exemption of national foreign intelligence activities from
HR 755, the Government Accountability Act of 1979, appears adequate.
However, it might be made more specific by substituting "...National
Foreign Intelligence Program.(NFIP)" for "national foreign intelligence
activities" in.Section 3(a)(1).
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Distribution: (DCI/RM 79-1111)
1 Addressee
1 CLLO Chrono.
1 IR&DC Sub
1 IR&DC Chrono
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STAT
RESOURCtANAGEM
ENT STAFF.
27 February 1979
NOTE FOR:
Jim:
Regarding the
language in Section 3 (a)(1),
be more specific.
In this regard
stitute " , I would sub-
but shall not include a
Nation ny part of the
al Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP)".
ACTION
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RESOLE MANAGEMENT' STAFF
STAT
22 February 1979
MEMORANDUM FOR: See Distribution
FROM:
D7 CLLO
STAT
STATE''
SUBJECT: Government Accountability
Act of 1979
Please review the attached copy of
H.R. 755 and provide any comments you may
have by c.o.b. 28 February. A consolidated
RMS response will be prepared in CLLO.
Responses should be addressed to the CLLO
action officer, Negative
responses are requested..
D/PGO
D/PBO
D/PAO
D/IRO
D/AS
aGnY/r ,
< ., iii.(}- /tom.
ACTION
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RESOUE MANAGEMENT STAFF
22 February 1979
MEMORANDUM FOR: See Distribution
STAT
STAT . ;
FROM:
D/CLLO
SUBJECT.: Government Accountability
Act of 1979
Please review the attached copy of
H.R. 755 and provide any comments you may
have by c.o.b. 28 February. A consolidated
RMS response will be prepared in CLLO.
Responses should be addressed to the CLLO
action officer, Negative
responses are requested.
Distribution:
D/PGO
D/PBO
D/PAO
D/IRO
D/AS
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12 February 1979
STAT
Resource Management Staff
Office of Inspector General
STAT
STAT
STAT FROM
ie Legislation Division/QLC
SUBJECT . Legislation: Government Accountability Act of 1979
1. On 15 January 1979, Representative Solomon introduced
H.R. 755, the Government Accountability Act of 1979, it would give
the Director of OMB the authority, to recommend the termination of
those federal programs.he finds infective. It would also require
the President every two years to submit to Congress a report on the
management on the Executive Branch.
2. Under the terms of the bill, programs that concern national.
foreign intelligence activities are exempt.. Please review the
legislation and advise this office whether this national security
exemption is adequate for our purposes. Comments should be
STAT forwarded to of my staff.
STAT
Distribution:.
STAT 1 - OGC
1 - IG
1 - RMS
1 - OLC Subject
1 - OLC Chrono
OLC:YTF:mao (12 Feb 79)
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Office of General Counsel
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96TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 755
To require biennial reports to Congress on the effectiveness of Government
programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 15,1979
Mr.. SoLOMoN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the.Com-
mittee on Government Operations
A BILL
To require biennial reports to Congress on the effectiveness of
. Government programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 That this Act may be cited as the "Government Account-
4 ability Act of 1979".
5 SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that-
6 (1) the public confidence in the ability of the Con-
7 gress and the executive branch to manage the Federal
8 Government effectively has declined;
9 (2) the Federal Government is not-, as
arcou-trthlo
10 as it should be in serving the p ublie intrrost ;
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(3) the Federal Government, unlike private enter-
prise, has no built-in mechanism for calling attention to
and eleminating programs 'that are not proving to be
cost effective;
(4) the executive branch, the Congress, and the
public do not possess adequate information on the rela-
tive effectiveness of Federal programs;
8 (5) the taxpaying public is properly demanding
9 more accountability for the expenditure -of tax revenues
10 and demanding that the public expenditures not grow
11 any larger with respect to the economy as a whole;
12 (6) the further uncontrolled growth of Govern
13 ment will pose a threat to our democratic society and
14 economy;
15 (7) the Federal Government cannot be compe-
16 tently managed and new programs for future needs can-
17 not be. implemented unless workable management tech-
18 piques are developed to assess program effectiveness;
19 and
2C (8) such limitations demand, that all Federal pro-
21 grams should be evaluated using traditional maaiage-
22 ment standards and that ineffective programs should be
23 strengthened to better serve the public or eliminated.
24 (b) The purposes of this Act are to-
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1 (1) provide for a far more professional and eflicient
2 management of the Federal Government;
3 (2) identify. those programs which are ineffective
4 and determine the causevof their ineffectiveness;.
5 (3) encourage the development of uniform methods
for evaluating Federal programs; and
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(4) provide Congress additional tools needed to
identify ineffective Federal programs.
SEC. 3.. (a) l+ or the purposes of this Act-
(1) The term "program". means an organized set
.11 of activities carried out pursuant to separate statutory.
12 authorization or for which Federal expenditures are
13 specifically allocated by the Federal Government, and
14 which can be evaluated in terms of relative effectiveness
15 in pursuing a governineiital goal, but shall not include
16 national foreign intelligence activities.
17 (2) The term "executive department" shall have
18 the meaning given it in section 101 of title 5, United
19 States Code.
20 (3) The term "independent establishment" shall
21 have the meaning given it in section 104 of title 5,
22 United States Code, except that such term includes the
23 United States Postal Service and the Postal Rate Coin-
24 mission but does not include the General Accounting
25 Office or the independent regulatory agencies.
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1 SEc. 4. .(a) At the beginning of the second. session of
2 the Ninety-sixth Congress and every two years thereafter
3 the President shall submit to the Congress a report 'on the
4 management of the executive branch (hereinafter called the
5 Management Report) . The Management Report shall be
6 submitted on the same day as the budget is transmitted to
7 the Congress under section 201 of the Budget and Account-
ing Act, 1921.
9 (b) It is the intent of Congress that the President shall
10 be granted full discretion in the design of the Management
11 Report provided that:
12 (1) Programs shall be-
13 (i) designated within each executive depart-
14 meat and within each independent establishment,
15 according to. their relative effectiveness, as "excel=
16 lent", "adequate", or "unsatisfactory", and
17 (ii) ranked as to their effectiveness relative to
18 all other programs within each category in that
executive department or within that independent
20 establishment.
21 '(2) The designation and ranking of programs as to
22 relative effectiveness shall be determined by the degree
23 to which each program's statutory objective is being niet,
24 which shall be based on-
25 (i) the clarity of the statutory design and objective
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the overall design of the program as effectuated
by the responsible executive department or independent
establishment, and
(iii) the overall qw lity of the management of the
program by the responsible executive department or
independent establishment.
(c) The. Management Report shall include the Presi-
8 dent's reasons for the program designations and rankings
he has made.
(d) The Management Report shall include a list of those
programs or areas the President recommends for administra-
tive or: congressional improvement during that Congress.
(e) The Management Report shall include the report of
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget re-
quired under Section 5 of the Act, iiicludinb the President's
recommendations and proposed actions pursuant to it.
17 SEC. 5. (a) The Director of. the Office of Ma.nagenient
18 and . Budget (hereinafter called the Director) shall provide
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an. evaluative report on Federal programs to the President
which shall be forwarded to the Congress by the President
with his Management Report.
(b) In his report the Director shall identify any pro-
grains, including those carried out by the independent regu-
latory agencies, that are contradictory to other Federal pro-
grans and recommend .corrective legislation. The Director
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1 shall also recommend the termination or modification of any
2 programs whose relative ineffectiveness no longer justifies
3 continued.Fcderal expenditures or only justifies a lower level
4 of Federal expenditures. \
5 Sic. 6. The President may from time to time submit to
6 the Congress reports supplementary to the Management Re-
7 port, each of which shall include such supplementary or re-
8 vised recommendations as the President may deem necessary
9 or desirable to achieve the purposes of this Act. The .Director
10 may, from time to time, submit to the President reports
11 supplementary to the report required by section 5.
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