IV. New Government -

Reinventing Government

"We can no longer afford to pay more for --and get less from our government. The answer for every problem cannot always be another program or more money. It is time to radically change the way government operates -- to shift from top-down bureaucracy to entrepreneurial government that empowers citizens and communities to change our country from the bottom up. We must reward the people and ideas that work and get rid of those that don't."

-- Governor Bill Clinton/Senator Al Gore
Putting People First, 1992

A Government that Was Too Big and Cost Too Much

• When Bill Clinton took office in January, 1993, he inherited a government that was bloated andcost too much. The federal deficit was over $300 billion and the bureaucracy had grown to over 2.2 million employees.

President Clinton Boldly Started Reinventing Government

• The goal was simple: create a government that works better and costs less. The President established the National Performance Review, under the direction of Vice President Gore, to reinvent government. Within six months, the Vice President produced a report containing 384 recommendations to reinvent the government - a report which became a New York Times bestseller.

• Since January, 1993, $63 billion in savings have been enacted; federal employment has dropped by over 100,000; 1500 customer service standards have been adopted; and the President signed major procurement reform legislation into law.

Four Main Principles

Cut Government Back to Basics -- cut the size of the Federal work force and constantly find ways to make government work better and cost less -- reengineering how work is done and reexamining programs and processes.

• The Clinton Administration has cut over 100,000 federal jobs already. In less than five years, the federal government civilian work force will drop by at least 272,900 -- the smallest it's been since the Kennedy Administration.

• We've saved the American taxpayer $63 billion through reinventing government.

• We're in the process of closing 1,200 U. S. Department of Agriculture offices.

Put Customers First. Changing government's culture by focusing on what matters to the people it serves.

• For the first time, federal agencies have asked customers what they want and set more than 1,500 customer service standards.

• The Social Security Administration will cut its response time to disability benefit claims from 155 days to 60 days.

• Before President Clinton took office, millions of people did not receive their Social Security cards within five days. Now they do.

• Before President Clinton took office, the Customs Service often took hours, even days, to move fresh flowers and fruit and other perishable cargo through its port in Miami. Today, the U.S. Customs Service international cargo clears within thirty minutes flat.

Cut Red Tape. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork, procedures and requirements for the federal government, its state and local partners and its customers.

• The Small Business Administration shrank a 2-inch thick loan application down to 2 pages.

• President Clinton has given 29 states the right to slash through federal regulations to reform their welfare systems.

Empower Employees. To get results -- remove layers of oversight, give front-line employees not only responsibility and accountability.

• In 1994, the President signed into law the Procurement Bill, reinventing the federal government's procurement system.

• Under the new system, thousands of employees will be able to purchase what they need immediately.

• In a move to save billions of dollars, the Defense Department will free contractors from the burdensome mil specs, making greater use of commercial items and allowing more contractors to seek defense work: competition means better quality and prices.