John Kamensky

What Is Presidential Reorganization Authority?

Beginning in 1932, presidents were periodically granted authority by Congress to submit plans to reorganize agencies.  Over time, it became increasingly limited in scope and when this authority expired in 1984, presidents since then have not asked for it to be renewed, until now.

This year’s awards recognize 225 individuals and/or teams that improved mission results, customer service or demonstrated accountable stewardship. Six were highlighted for the President’s Award. For example, one team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was recognized for fixing an instrument failure on a newly launched, $1 billion weather satellite – from a distance of 22,300 miles!  Absent their ingenuity, it would have been a total loss.

Bend or Build the Bureaucracy? Government Executive offers two feature stories where its reporters: “explore what Trump’s first term tells us about how he would govern in a second term, and what Joe Biden’s deep experience in Washington tells us about how he would lead the executive branch.”

Six More Months. Government Executive reports: “A majority of federal employees currently working from home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic do not expect to return to the office any time soon, according to a new survey, with 60% saying they expect to remain in their current posture for at least another six months.”

For 22 of the 24 largest federal agencies, they’ve achieved that status. Two agencies remain in financial statement purgatory – the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development. Until they can meet muster with their auditors, the governmentwide financial statement will remain incomplete, as well.

The requirement to produce agency and governmentwide financial statements, and have them audited, stems from the early 1990s. At that time, no one had a clue how hard it would be to complete a “clean” or “unqualified” audit opinion.

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the eighth in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works. Sheri Fields and Michaela Drust, IBM, contributed as co-authors of this column.]

Frictionless Data-Mashing. NextGov reports: “The IRS is using its relatively new, quickturn procurement vehicle—Pilot IRS—to support a governmentwide data collection effort in support of fixing pain points in the government’s acquisition process. . . .

Heal Thyself! Government Executive reports: “The Partnership for Public Service this week said that federal agencies don’t have to wait for legislation or new regulations from the Office of Personnel Management to implement improvements to how they attract and hire talent. . . .

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the seventh in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works. Michaela Drust, IBM, co-authored this column.]

Early in the pandemic, Congress appropriated $46 billion to agencies to support technology upgrades for cloud and telework capabilities. However, the challenges facing federal agency transitions to a distance work environment may not be technology driven.

Use of market-based policy tools and incentives was seen as a predisposition or mind-set as to how managers would approach public management issues. It is an assumption or policy preference that asks why the traditional ways should be used to deliver a service rather than why a market-based approach should be used. Rather than an ideology, it could be be seen as a starting place for problem solving.