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Skriven 2006-09-26 23:31:26 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0609261) for Tue, 2006 Sep 26
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Fact Sheet: Achieving Greater Transparency and Accountability in Government
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For Immediate Release
September 26, 2006

Fact Sheet: Achieving Greater Transparency and Accountability in Government


˙˙˙˙˙ President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act ˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Budget Management

Today, President Bush Signed The Federal Funding Accountability And
Transparency Act Of 2006 To Improve The Quality And Accessibility Of
Information About Federal Spending. This legislation calls on the Office of
Management and Budget to oversee a new website through which the public can
readily access information about grants and contracts provided by Federal
government agencies, except for those classified for national security
reasons.
  ū The Act Is Part Of President Bush's Ongoing Commitment To Improve
    Transparency, Accountability, And Management Across The Federal
    Government. The Administration has implemented a number of initiatives
    allowing American taxpayers to see how their tax dollars are spent and
    what they are getting for their money. Greater transparency has made
    programs more accountable for their performance and more responsive to
    the American public. Two of these initiatives include:
      ū ExpectMore.gov: This website was established earlier this year to
        allow the American people to see how well Federal programs are
        performing. To date, the Administration has evaluated the
        effectiveness of nearly 800 Federal programs, representing over 80
        percent of the Federal budget. Agencies and OMB post these candid
        assessments of Federal programs in jargon-free language on
        ExpectMore.gov, so taxpayers will know which programs work, which
        ones do not, and what programs are doing to improve.
      ū Results.gov: Since 2002, this website has provided detailed
        information on the President's agenda for improving Federal agency
        management. It also tracks agencies' progress in meeting their
        goals. Federal agencies are held accountable for developing and
        adopting better management disciplines under the President's
        Management Agenda. The status of agencies' management reform
        efforts is made public through scorecards updated on Results.gov
        every quarter.

Transparency Produces Quantifiable Results

The President's Push To Publicly Provide Federal Program Performance
Information Has Helped Make Agencies Accountable For Producing Results.
Agency management improvement efforts are measured based on clear,
transparent, quantifiable goals. For example:
  ū With The Support Of Congress, And After Publicly Disclosing Clear
    Justification, The President Was Successful In Reducing Or Ending
    Spending On 89 Programs That Weren't Getting Results Or Serving
    Essential Priorities. This year, the President proposes to end or
    reduce 141 programs that are not achieving results or serving essential
    priorities, saving nearly $15 billion.
  ū By Making Agencies Verify Payment Eligibility And Publicly Measure
    Accuracy, Improper Payments Have Been Reduced By $7.8 Billion, Lowering
    The Government-Wide Improper Payment Rate By 17 Percent.
  ū By Subjecting Federal Government Activities To Competition From The
    Private Sector, The Federal Government Is Now Operating More
    Efficiently And Saving Taxpayers $900 Million Per Year.
  ū By Creating An Inventory Of Property Held By The Federal Government,
    The President Has Been Able To Dispose Of More Than $3.5 Billion In
    Unneeded Federal Assets.

Transparency And Accountability For Spending Taxpayer Dollars - The Line
Item Veto

In Order To Turn Information About Wasteful Spending Into Concrete Action,
The President Needs The Line Item Veto. The House of Representatives
approved Line Item Veto legislation earlier this year by a strong
bipartisan majority, and the President calls on the Senate to do the same.
The Line Item Veto would be a tool to further improve government
transparency and accountability and ensure wise financial stewardship of
taxpayer resources.

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