Press Statement: Thompson Releases Report About Government Problems

June 5, 2001
Thompson Releases Report on Urgent Federal Government Management Problems Facing the Bush Administration
Tells OMB Director Daniels Government is "at the Brink" of Major Program Failure

Washington - U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, today released a comprehensive report documenting the daunting management problems facing the federal government. Thompson presented the recently compiled report, which includes his recommendations for addressing those problems, to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. at a press conference in Washington.
"For some time now, our government has been mismanaged to an extent that the average American would find shocking," Senator Thompson said. "The federal government’s core management problems have persisted for years, and, in fact, have grown worse."
Thompson’s report includes an analysis of the four biggest challenges facing the federal government:
Workforce Management
Financial Management
Information Technology Management
Overlap and Duplication
"We commend Sen. Thompson and his Committee for pushing the Federal government to be more efficient and effective. Improving government performance is a top priority of President Bush, so the problems and suggestions outlined in this report will be a great resource and road map as we implement our management reform agenda. It will take the unremitting attention of both executive and legislative leadership to make headway against old habits and low expectations," said OMB Director Daniels.
In addition to a description of these problems and examples of how they affect the government’s ability to serve the American people, the report includes an agency-by-agency appendix that catalogues the most recent examples of waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government.
The report also highlights the "Top Ten" worst examples of mismanagement in the federal government (page four). Some of the items on the list include: Boston’s Big Dig, a federal infrastructure project so mismanaged that its cost has ballooned from over $2 billion to over $13 billion; the Department of Interior’s total inability to account for monies it held in trust for Native Americans; and NASA’s numerous mission failures.
"These management problems exact a terrible toll on public trust and confidence in the federal government," Thompson said. "A degree of public skepticism toward our government is a healthy thing. Rampant cynicism is not."

http://hsgac.senate.gov/060501_press.htm