H.R. 2142, GPRA Modernization Act

Downloaded from Thomas and converted to HTML with referenceable hyperlinks on January 9, 2011, by Owen Ambur.

On February 14, 2011, Owen began inserting references to StratML elements in bold and [brackets]
in order to facilitate consideration of these requirements in the specification of StratML Part 3.

To require quarterly performance assessments of Government programs for purposes of assessing agency performance and improvement, and to establish agency performance improvement officers and the Performance Improvement Council.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

(a) SHORT TITLE.--This Act may be cited as the ''GPRA Modernization Act of 2010''.

Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking section 306 and inserting the following:

''(a) Not later than the first Monday in February of any year following the year in which the term of the President commences under section 101 of title 3, the head of each agency shall make available on the public website of the agency a strategic plan and notify the President and Congress of its availability. Such plan shall contain--

''(1) a comprehensive mission statement covering the major functions and operations of the agency;

[Mission is one of the core elments of the StratML standard (ANSI/AIIM 21:2009) but it is not intended for use as a comprehensive statement of functions and operations. It may be more appropriate to specify separate elements for those concepts. For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(2) general goals and objectives, including outcome-oriented goals, for the major functions and operations of the agency;

[Goal and Objective are among the core elements of the StratML standard. Whether they are input-, output-, process- or outcome-oriented can be indicated in the PerformanceIndicator type attribute of StratML Part 2.]

''(3) a description of how any goals and objectives contribute to the Federal Government priority goals required by section 1120(a) of title 31;

[The Description child element of Goal and Objective could be used to explain how they contribute to the realization of other, priority goals. However, the Relationship element of StratML Part 2 can be used to explicitly draw such linkages, based upon the Identifiers associated with each objective, as well as to name and describe those relationships in greater detail.]

''(4) a description of how the goals and objectives are to be achieved, including--

[StratML Part 2, Performance Plans and Reports, specifies the elements required to transform strategic plans into performance plans by identifying the necessary inputs and processes.]

''(A) a description of the operational processes, skills and technology, and the human, capital, information, and other resources required to achieve those goals and objectives; and

[The processes and inputs required to achieve objectives can be named and described using the PerformanceIndicator element of StratML Part 2.]

''(B) a description of how the agency is working with other agencies to achieve its goals and objectives as well as relevant Federal Government priority goals;

[In StratML Part 2, TargetResult is a child of the PerformanceIndicator. The Description element is a child of TargetResult and can be used to provide the description required by this clause. In addition, the OtherInformation element can be used to provide information that does not fit neatly into other elements of the StratML schema. However, consideration should be given to specifying a separate, more explicit element for this requirement in StratML Part 3.]

''(5) a description of how the goals and objectives incorporate views and suggestions obtained through congressional consultations required under subsection (d);

[Stakeholder is one of the core elements of the StratML standard. Stakeholders, including Members and committees of Congress, can be named and described, and the Description element could be used to explain how each stakeholder has been consulted and how their suggestions have been addressed. However, consideration should be given to specifying a separate, more explicit element for this requirement in StratML Part 3.]

''(6) a description of how the performance goals provided in the plan required by section 1115(a) of title 31, including the agency priority goals required by section 1120(b) of title 31, if applicable, contribute to the general goals and objectives in the strategic plan;

[The Description and OtherInformation child elements of Goal and Objective elements can be used to meet the requirments of this paragraph. However, consideration should be given to specifying a separate, more explicit element for this requirement in StratML Part 3.]

''(7) an identification of those key factors external to the agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and

[The concept of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) has not yet been addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2 but should be considered in Part 3. It may be appropriate to name the element SuccessFactor and provide attributes for internal versus external and key (or critical) versus ancillary (or influencing). For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(8) a description of the program evaluations used in establishing or revising general goals and objectives, with a schedule for future program evaluations to be conducted.

[The methodology used to determine and evaluate goals and objectives has not been addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2. The assumption has been that the most important means of facilitating evaluation is simply to make goal and objective statements more readily available to stakeholders, while making it easier for them to provide input and feedback. In that regard, section 10 of this Act may be its most important provision, since it will enable value-added intermediaries to call attention to objectives of interest to and facilitate feedback from their stakeholders. However, in StratML Part 3 consideration should be given to including elements enabling the identification of evaulation methodologies like SWOT and PEST. The existing StartDate and EndDate elements can be reused to identify the schedule for such evaluations.]

''(b) The strategic plan shall cover a period of not less than 4 years following the fiscal year in which the plan is submitted. As needed, the head of the agency may make adjustments to the strategic plan to reflect significant changes in the environment in which the agency is operating, with appropriate notification of Congress.

[Making it easier to update and maintain strategic plans is among the purposes of the StratML standard. In particular, the association of the Identifier element with each goal and objective statement is intended to enable them to be updated discretely without requiring re-clearance and re-publishing of the entire plan. The StartDate and EndDate elements are intended to be used to indicate the period covered by each plan as well as each goal and objective individually. However, in StratML Part 3 consideration should be given to pairing the PublicationDate element with the Identifier element to enable version control tracking of changes to each goal and objective statement individually.]

[With respect to notification, it may also be appropriate to associate point of contact information with each Stakeholder so that the process can be automated when changes are made.]

''(c) The performance plan required by section 1115(b) of title 31 shall be consistent with the agency's strategic plan. A performance plan may not be submitted for a fiscal year not covered by a current strategic plan under this section.

[The process of making this determination can be automated by comparing the EndDate contained in each strategic plan to the current date. Moreover, the Relationship element can be used to draw explicit, machine-readable linkages between the objectives set forth in performance plans and the longer-term goals established in strategic plans.]

''(d) When developing or making adjustments to a strategic plan, the agency shall consult periodically with the Congress, including majority and minority views from the appropriate authorizing, appropriations, and oversight committees, and shall solicit and consider the views and suggestions of those entities potentially affected by or interested in such a plan. The agency shall consult with the appropriate committees of Congress at least once every 2 years.

[In StratML Part 3 consideration should be given to associating the StartDate and EndDate element with each Stakeholder to indicate when they should next be formally consulted.]

''(e) The functions and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of strategic plans under this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.

[This policy is outside the scope of the StratML standard. However, regardless of who is responsible for drafting each plan, rendering them in machine-readable formats, like StratML, will make it easier for others to provide input and feedback. Use of the Stakeholder element to identify the individual with the lead responsbility for each goal and objective will foster accountability.]

''(f) For purposes of this section the term 'agency' means an Executive agency defined under section 105, but does not include the Central Intelligence Agency, the Government Accountability Office, the United States Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory Commission.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking section 1115 and inserting the following:

''(a) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE PLANS.--In carrying out the provisions of section 1105(a)(28), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall coordinate with agencies to develop the Federal Government performance plan. In addition to the submission of such plan with each budget of the United States Government, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure that all information required by this subsection is concurrently made available on the website provided under section 1122 and updated periodically, but no less than annually.

''(1) establish Federal Government performance goals to define the level of performance to be achieved during the year in which the plan is submitted and the next fiscal year for each of the Federal Government priority goals required under section 1120(a) of this title;

[The TargetResult element of StratML Part 2 can be used to define "performance goals" for as many years as desired.]

''(2) identify the agencies, organizations, program activities, regulations, tax expenditures, policies, and other activities contributing to each Federal Government performance goal during the current fiscal year;

[In StratML Part 2 agencies and organizations contributing to the achievement of objectives can be identified as stakeholders of the performer type and their roles can be named and described. Tax expenditures can be identified as PerformanceIndicators of the input type and "other activities" can be identified as processes supporting each objective.]

[None of the elements in StratML Parts 1 or 2 explicitly address the concepts of regulations or policies, but the generic concept of Authority has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in Part 3. In addition to enabling each authority to be named and described, it may also be appropriate to reuse the SequenceIndicator element to enable the inclusion of legal or other citations and/or to include a WebAddress element in order to provide a URL pointing to the cited authority. For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(3) for each Federal Government performance goal, identify a lead Government official who shall be responsible for coordinating the efforts to achieve the goal;

[In StratML Part 2 the Stakeholder element can be used to name and describe the Roles of officials responsible for each objective.]

''(4) establish common Federal Government performance indicators with quarterly targets to be used in measuring or assessing--

[In StratML Part 2 an unlimited number of TargetResults can be specified for each PerformancIndicator for each Objective, and StartDates and EndDates can be associated with each TargetResult. To the degree that multiple TargetResults may be specified within a single resource allocation and performance assessment cycle, it may be appropriate to call them milestones. An element called Milestone has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3.]

[In StratML Part 2 progress can be reported in the ActualResult element and such results may be described (in narrative) as well as documented in numbers, if the MeasurementInstance is quantitative in nature.]

''(B) the individual contribution of each agency, organization, program activity, regulation, tax expenditure, policy, and other activity identified under paragraph (2);

''(6) identify major management challenges that are Governmentwide or crosscutting in nature and describe plans to address such challenges, including relevant performance goals, performance indicators, and milestones.

[The concept of "management challenges" is not addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2 and should be considered in Part 3. The relationship of such challenges to key factors (internal and external SuccessFactors) should also be considered. For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(b) AGENCY PERFORMANCE PLANS.--Not later than the first Monday in February of each year, the head of each agency shall make available on a public website of the agency, and notify the President and the Congress of its availability, a performance plan covering each program activity set forth in the budget of such agency. Such plan shall--

[In StratML Part 2 "activities" can be named and described as PerformanceIndicators of the process type. Neither Parts 1 or 2 address the concept of "program" but that concept is a candidate for consideration in Part 3 (along with the concept of "project"). For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(1) establish performance goals to define the level of performance to be achieved during the year in which the plan is submitted and the next fiscal year;

[The level of performance to be achieved can be documented in the TargetResult element of StratML Part 2, for as many years as desired. The StartDate and EndDate associated with each TargetResult can be used to specify the performance period.]

''(2) express such goals in an objective, quantifiable, and measurable form unless authorized to be in an alternative form under subsection (c);

''(A) the general goals and objectives established in the agency's strategic plan required by section 306(a)(2) of title 5; and

''(B) any of the Federal Government performance goals established in the Federal Government performance plan required by subsection (a)(1);

[The Description child element of Objective can be used to explain how they contribute to the realization of other, broader goals. However, the Relationship element of StratML Part 2 can be used to explicitly draw such linkages, based upon the Identifiers associated with each objective. Those relationships can also be named and describe in greater detail, and the RelationshipType attribute can be used to indicate that the objective is associated with a broader goal.]

''(4) identify among the performance goals those which are designated as agency priority goals as required by section 1120(b) of this title, if applicable;

[In StratML Parts 1 and 2, the priority ascribed to goals and objectives might be inferred from their StartDates and EndDates as well as the volume of Inputs allocated to them. The order in which they appear, as documented by their SequenceIndicators, might also be taken as a ranking of priorities. However, in StratML Part 3 it might be appropriate to associate an attribute with Goal and Objective in order to designate whether they are considered to be a "priority" or not or perhaps to indicate degree of priority on a multi-point (3, 5 or 7) scale. Doing so would enable automated aggregation of the governmentwide plan comprised of the priority objectives designated by each agency.]

''(5) provide a description of how the performance goals are to be achieved, including--

''(A) the operation processes, training, skills and technology, and the human, capital, information, and other resources and strategies required to meet those performance goals;

[The processes and inputs required to achieve objectives can be named and described using the PerformanceIndicator element of StratML Part 2.]

''(C) an identification of the organizations, program activities, regulations, policies, and other activities that contribute to each performance goal, both within and external to the agency;

[In StratML Part 2 "activities" can be named and described as PerformanceIndicators of the process type. Other organzations contributing to each objective can be named as Stakeholders of the performer type, and their roles can be named and described. Neither Parts 1 or 2 address the concept of "program" but that concept is a candidate for consideration in Part 3 (along with the concept of "project"). The concept of Authority (e.g., laws, regulations, and policies) has also be identified as a candidate for inclusion in Part 3.]

''(D) a description of how the agency is working with other agencies to achieve its performance goals as well as relevant Federal Government performance goals; and

[In StratML Part 2, the Relationship element can be used to relate PerformanceIndicators to each other, within and across the plans of multiple organizations. Relationships can be named, described, and designated as being of the following types: Narrower_Than, Peer_To, or Broader_Than.]

''(E) an identification of the agency officials responsible for the achievement of each performance goal, who shall be known as goal leaders;

[In StratML Part 2, goal leaders can be designated using the Stakeholder Role element. They can be named and their roles can also be named and described.]

''(6) establish a balanced set of performance indicators to be used in measuring or assessing progress toward each performance goal, including, as appropriate, customer service, efficiency, output, and outcome indicators;

[In StratML Part 2, an unlimited number of PerformanceIndicators can be associated with each goal and objective. However, inclusion of a complex element enabling the categorization (CategorizationTypes) of PerformanceIndicators has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in Part 3.]

''(7) provide a basis for comparing actual program results with the established performance goals;

''(8) a description of how the agency will ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data used to measure progress towards its performance goals, including an identification of--

[In StratML Part 2, this information can be provided in the OtherInformation element under each PerformanceIndicator. However, consideration should be given to including more explicit elements for this information.]

''(E) how the agency will compensate for such limitations if needed to reach the required level of accuracy;

[The concept of "management challenges" is not addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2 and should be considered in Part 3. The relationship of such challenges to key factors (internal and external SuccessFactors) should also be considered. Use of the word "major" suggests that it may be appropriate to associate with the element an attribute to distinguing major challenges from those that are lesser in scope.]

''(B) performance goals, performance indicators, and milestones to measure progress toward resolving such challenges; and

[This wording suggests that management challenges might simply be documented in terms of another set of Goals and Objectives, with associated PerformanceIndicators. If so, perhaps the distinction between such goals/objectives and others might be addressed via a new inclusion of a complex element enabling the categorization (CategorizationTypes) of goals and objectives in StratML Part 3.]

[In StratML Part 2, responsible officials can be identified using the Strakeholder Role element.]

''(10) identify low-priority program activities based on an analysis of their contribution to the mission and goals of the agency and include an evidence-based justification for designating a program activity as low priority.

[In StratML Parts 1 and 2, the priority ascribed to goals and objectives might be inferred from their StartDates and EndDates as well as the volume of Inputs allocated to them. The order in which they appear, as documented by their SequenceIndicators, might also be taken as a ranking of priorities. However, in StratML Part 3 it might be appropriate to associate an attribute with Goal and Objective in order to indicate degree of priority on a multi-point (3, 5 or 7) scale. Doing so would enable automated aggregation of the governmentwide plan comprised of the priority objectives designated by each agency. The OtherInformation element under each Goal and Objective can be used to document the justification for the priority ascribed to it, but it may be appropriate to include a more explicit set of elements for priority and justification.]

''(c) ALTERNATIVE FORM.--If an agency, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, determines that it is not feasible to express the performance goals for a particular program activity in an objective, quantifiable, and measurable form, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may authorize an alternative form. Such alternative form shall--

[In StratML Part 2, PerformanceIndicators can be designated as being either quantitative or qualitative, and the Description element can be used to provide the following information. However, in StratML Part 3 it may be appropriate to specify more explicit elements for this information. For and example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(B) such alternative as authorized by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with sufficient precision and in such terms that would allow for an accurate, independent determination of whether the program activity's performance meets the criteria of the description; or ''(2) state why it is infeasible or impractical to express a performance goal in any form for the program activity.

''(d) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.--For the purpose of complying with this section, an agency may aggregate, disaggregate, or consolidate program activities, except that any aggregation or consolidation may not omit or minimize the significance of any program activity constituting a major function or operation for the agency.

[The concept of Program is a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3. Consideration should be given as to how best to enable the aggregation and disaggregation of program activities, as well as the identification of functions and operations (and how they are distinguished from programs, projects, and processes).]

''(e) APPENDIX.--An agency may submit with an annual performance plan an appendix covering any portion of the plan that--

[In light of the sensitivity of this information, it may not be appropriate for consideration in the StratML standard.]

''(1) is specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy; and

''(f) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.--The functions and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of performance plans under this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.

''(g) CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICERS.--With respect to each agency with a Chief Human Capital Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer shall prepare that portion of the annual performance plan described under subsection (b)(5)(A).

''(h) DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section and sections 1116 through 1125, and sections 9703 and 9704, the term--

''(1) 'agency' has the same meaning as such term is defined under section 306(f) of title 5;

[In the StratML standard, the Organization element can be used to name and describe organizations of all types, including government agencies.]

''(3) 'customer service measure' means an assessment of service delivery to a customer, client, citizen, or other recipient, which can include an assessment of quality, timeliness, and satisfaction among other factors;

[In StratML Part 2, the PerformanceIndicator element can be used to document customer service measures. However, a CategorizationTypes element has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3 in order to enable the identification not only of customer service type measures but also other types of measures.]

''(4) 'efficiency measure' means a ratio of a program activity's inputs (such as costs or hours worked by employees) to its outputs (amount of products or services delivered) or outcomes (the desired results of a program);

[Efficiency measures can be calculated by dividing the ActualResult for each PerformanceIndicator of the input type by the ActualResult for its associated PerformanceIndicator of the output or outcome type. Since efficiency measures are derived from other elements, it may not be appropriate to include it as a separate element in the StratML schema itself, although applications and services supporting the standard should incorporate it as a devived value.]

''(5) 'major management challenge' means programs or management functions, within or across agencies, that have greater vulnerability to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement (such as issues identified by the Government Accountability Office as high risk or issues identified by an Inspector General) where a failure to perform well could seriously affect the ability of an agency or the Government to achieve its mission or goals;

[Based upon this definition, it may be appropriate to enable the identification of the source of identified management challenges.]

''(6) 'milestone' means a scheduled event signifying the completion of a major deliverable or a set of related deliverables or a phase of work;

[The concept of Milestones is a candidate for inclusion StratML Part 3, with a proposed definition that is somewhat different but compatible with this one.]

''(7) 'outcome measure' means an assessment of the results of a program activity compared to its intended purpose;

[This definition is different but compatible with the definition of Outcome drafted for the StratML standard. The intended purpose can be documented in the TargetResult element for subsequent comparison to the result documented in the ActualResult element. If the results are quantitative in nature, they can automatically be compared by using the numbers documented in the NumberOfUnits element.]

''(8) 'output measure' means the tabulation, calculation, or recording of activity or effort that can be expressed in a quantitative or qualitative manner;

[This definition is different but compatible with the definition of Output drafted for the StratML standard. The PerformanceIndicator element provides for both quantitative measures (MeasurementInstances) as well as qualitative Descriptions of outputs.]

''(9) 'performance goal' means a target level of performance expressed as a tangible, measurable objective, against which actual achievement can be compared, including a goal expressed as a quantitative standard, value, or rate;

[In the StratML standard "performance goal" is a synonym for Objective. The targeted level of performance can be documented in the TargetResult element. Actual achievement can be documented in the ActualResult element, and if the results are quantitive in nature, they can automatically be compared by using the numbers documented in the NumberOfUnits element.

''(10) 'performance indicator' means a particular value or characteristic used to measure output or outcome;

[PerformanceIndicator is one of the key elements of StratML Part 2. In addition to Outputs and Outcomes, other types of performance indicators include: Input, Input_Processing, and Output_Processing.]

''(11) 'program activity' means a specific activity or project as listed in the program and financing schedules of the annual budget of the United States Government; and

[Program and Project have been identified as candidate elements for potential inclusion in StratML Part 3. The StratML Committee should explore how programs, activities, and projects are identified in the Federal budget and make sure the elements of the StratML standard are well-specified to accommodate such methods of identifying those concepts.]

''(12) 'program evaluation' means an assessment, through objective measurement and systematic analysis, of the manner and extent to which Federal programs achieve intended objectives.''.

[This concept is not explicitly addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2. However, the ActualResult in for each PerformanceIndicator can be compared to the TargetResult, and such comparisons should serve as the basis for evaluation of the extent to which objectives are being achieved.]

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking section 1116 and inserting the following:

''(a) The head of each agency shall make available on a public website of the agency and to the Office of Management and Budget an update on agency performance.

''(b)(1) Each update shall compare actual performance achieved with the performance goals established in the agency performance plan under section 1115(b) and shall occur no less than 150 days after the end of each fiscal year, with more frequent updates of actual performance on indicators that provide data of significant value to the Government, Congress, or program partners at a reasonable level of administrative burden.

[In StratML Part 2, actual performance can be compared to the TargetResult in the Description of the ActualResult. The EndDate for description of the actual result can also be documented.]

''(2) If performance goals are specified in an alternative form under section 1115(c), the results shall be described in relation to such specifications, including whether the performance failed to meet the criteria of a minimally effective or successful program.

''(1) review the success of achieving the performance goals and include actual results for the 5 preceding fiscal years;

[In StratML Part 2, ActualResults can be documented for as many years as desired.]

''(2) evaluate the performance plan for the current fiscal year relative to the performance achieved toward the performance goals during the period covered by the update;

''(3) explain and describe where a performance goal has not been met (including when a program activity's performance is determined not to have met the criteria of a successful program activity under section 1115(c)(1)(A)(ii) or a corresponding level of achievement if another alternative form is used)--

[In StratML Part 2, the Description element for ActualResult can be used to explain why an objective was not achieved. However, the CIO Council chose to include success stories in its plan, and in support of this requirement, it may be appropriate to include an explicit element for failure stories as well. Perhaps the element might be named Story with an attribute indicating whether it documents a success or a failure.]

''(B) those plans and schedules for achieving the established performance goal; and

[It is unclear how these "plans and schedules" might differ from a set of Objectives with StartDates and EndDates designed to achieve the goal.]

''(C) if the performance goal is impractical or infeasible, why that is the case and what action is recommended;

[The Description element under ActualResult and/or the OtherInformation element under PerformanceIndicator can be used to explain why the objective proved not to be feasible. However, if a Story element is incorporated into StratML Part 3, it may be appropriate to structure the element to include children explicitly addressing practicality/feasibility and perhaps recommendations. However, consideration should be given to how "recommendations" might differ from objectives, i.e., whether they should not be documented as Objectives.]

''(4) describe the use and assess the effectiveness in achieving performance goals of any waiver under section 9703 of this title;

''(5) include a review of the performance goals and evaluation of the performance plan relative to the agency's strategic human capital management;

[This review appears to be a discussion (narrative) of ActualResults documented in the agency's human capital management plan, whose objectives should be aligned with and supportive of the goals in the agency's GPRA plan.]

''(6) describe how the agency ensures the accuracy and reliability of the data used to measure progress towards its performance goals, including an identification of--

[In StratML Part 2, this information can be provided in the OtherInformation element under each PerformanceIndicator. However, in Part 3 consideration should be given to including more explicit elements for this information.]

''(E) how the agency has compensated for such limitations if needed to reach the required level of accuracy; and

''(7) include the summary findings of those program evaluations completed during the period covered by the update.

''(d) If an agency performance update includes any program activity or information that is specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and is properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order, the head of the agency shall make such information available in the classified appendix provided under section 1115(e).

''(e) The functions and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of agency performance updates under this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.

''(f) Each fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget shall determine whether the agency programs or activities meet performance goals and objectives outlined in the agency performance plans and submit a report on unmet goals to--

''(2) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;

''(3) the Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform of the House of Representatives; and ''(4) the Government Accountability Office.

''(g) If an agency's programs or activities have not met performance goals as determined by the Office of Management and Budget for 1 fiscal year, the head of the agency shall submit a performance improvement plan to the Office of Management and Budget to increase program effectiveness for each unmet goal with measurable milestones. The agency shall designate a senior official who shall oversee the performance improvement strategies for each unmet goal.

[A performance improvement plan appears to be no different than any other performance plan, except that it is motivated by an ActualResult deemed to be less than satisfactory. If that is not the case, the distinction will need to be clarified so that the additionally required elements can be specified.]

''(h)(1) If the Office of Management and Budget determines that agency programs or activities have unmet performance goals for 2 consecutive fiscal years, the head of the agency shall--

''(A) submit to Congress a description of the actions the Administration will take to improve performance, including proposed statutory changes or planned executive actions; and

[If this description entails elements not already included in StratML Part 2, Performance Plans and Reports, the need for as well as the names and descriptions of those elements will need to be determined.]

''(B) describe any additional funding the agency will obligate to achieve the goal, if such an action is determined appropriate in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, for an amount determined appropriate by the Director.

''(2) In providing additional funding described under paragraph (1)(B), the head of the agency shall use any reprogramming or transfer authority available to the agency. If after exercising such authority additional funding is necessary to achieve the level determined appropriate by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the head of the agency shall submit a request to Congress for additional reprogramming or transfer authority.

''(i) If an agency's programs or activities have not met performance goals as determined by the Office of Management and Budget for 3 consecutive fiscal years, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit recommendations to Congress on actions to improve performance not later than 60 days after that determination, including--

[It appears that such recommendations can and should be documented as a performance plan in accordance with StratML Part 2. However, if the elements required to document such recommendations differ from a normal performance plan, the additionally required elements will need to be named and defined.]

''(1) reauthorization proposals for each program or activity that has not met performance goals;

''(2) proposed statutory changes necessary for the program activities to achieve the proposed level of performance on each performance goal; and

[The concept of Authority has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3. Such an element could be used to name, describe, and link to statutory provisions proposed to be changed.]

''(3) planned executive actions or identification of the program for termination or reduction in the President's budget.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1119 the following:

''(1) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall coordinate with agencies to develop priority goals to improve the performance and management of the Federal Government. Such Federal Government priority goals shall include--

[In StratM Part 3, if an attribute is associated with Objectives allowing the designation of those that are deemed to be of high priority, the governmentwide plan could be automatically aggregated from the individual agency plans on their own websites. For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(A) outcome-oriented goals covering a limited number of crosscutting policy areas; and

[In StratML Part 2, the PeformanceIndicators associated with each Objective can be designated as being of the outcome type and the Relationship element can be used to associate them with broader, cross-cutting goals.]

''(B) goals for management improvements needed across the Federal Government, including--

[The plan of the Financial Management Line of Business (FM LOB) is available in StratML format.]

[The plan of the Human Resources Management Line of Business (HR LOB) is available in StratML format.]

[The Federal CIO's 25-point plan for IT management reform and his cloud strategy are available in StratML format.]

''(2) The Federal Government priority goals shall be long-term in nature. At a minimum, the Federal Government priority goals shall be updated or revised every 4 years and made publicly available concurrently with the submission of the budget of the United States Government made in the first full fiscal year following any year in which the term of the President commences under section 101 of title 3. As needed, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may make adjustments to the Federal Government priority goals to reflect significant changes in the environment in which the Federal Government is operating, with appropriate notification of Congress.

''(3) When developing or making adjustments to Federal Government priority goals, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall consult periodically with the Congress, including obtaining majority and minority views from--

[In StratML Part 1, these committees can be documented as Stakeholders, and in Part 2 their roles can be named and described. However, in Part 3 consideration should be given to enabling point of contact information to be associated with each stakeholder.]

''(A) the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives;

''(B) the Committees on the Budget of the Senate and the House of Representatives;

''(C) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;

''(D) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives;

''(4) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall consult with the appropriate committees of Congress at least once every 2 years.

''(5) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make information about the Federal Government priority goals available on the website described under section 1122 of this title.

''(6) The Federal Government performance plan required under section 1115(a) of this title shall be consistent with the Federal Government priority goals.

''(1) Every 2 years, the head of each agency listed in section 901(b) of this title, or as otherwise determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall identify agency priority goals from among the performance goals of the agency. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine the total number of agency priority goals across the Government, and the number to be developed by each agency. The agency priority goals shall--

''(A) reflect the highest priorities of the agency, as determined by the head of the agency and informed by the Federal Government priority goals provided under subsection (a) and the consultations with Congress and other interested parties required by section 306(d) of title 5;

[In StratML Parts 1 & 2, Stakeholders can be named and described. In Part 3, it may be appropriate to enable inclusion of point of contact information.]

''(C) have a clearly identified agency official, known as a goal leader, who is responsible for the achievement of each agency priority goal;

[In StratML Part 2, goal leaders can be designated using the Stakeholder Role element. They can be named and their roles can also be named and described.]

''(D) have interim quarterly targets for performance indicators if more frequent updates of actual performance provides data of significant value to the Government, Congress, or program partners at a reasonable level of administrative burden; and

[In StratML Part 2, as many TargetResults as desired can be identified and StartDates and EndDates can be associated with each of them.]

[In StratML Part 2, quarterly milestones can be identified as TargetResults with EndDates specified every three months. However, the concept of Milestones has been identified as a concept for potentially more explicit treatment in StratML Part 3.]

''(2) If an agency priority goal includes any program activity or information that is specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and is properly classified pursuant to such Executive order, the head of the agency shall make such information available in the classified appendix provided under section 1115(e).

''(c) The functions and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently governmental functions. The development of Federal Government and agency priority goals shall be performed only by Federal employees.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1120 (as added by section 5 of this Act) the following:

''§ 1121. Quarterly priority progress reviews and use of performance information

''(a) USE OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION TO ACHIEVE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIORITY GOALS.--Not less than quarterly, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with the support of the Performance Improvement Council, shall--

''(1) for each Federal Government priority goal required by section 1120(a) of this title, review with the appropriate lead Government official the progress achieved during the most recent quarter, overall trend data, and the likelihood of meeting the planned level of performance;

''(2) include in such reviews officials from the agencies, organizations, and program activities that contribute to the accomplishment of each Federal Government priority goal;

''(3) assess whether agencies, organizations, program activities, regulations, tax expenditures, policies, and other activities are contributing as planned to each Federal Government priority goal;

''(4) categorize the Federal Government priority goals by risk of not achieving the planned level of performance; and

[CategorizationTypes is a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3. Failure risk level is among the kinds of categorizations that might be documented in that element. For an example of how this requirement might be met in StratML Part 3, see this screen shot.]

''(5) for the Federal Government priority goals at greatest risk of not meeting the planned level of performance, identify prospects and strategies for performance improvement, including any needed changes to agencies, organizations, program activities, regulations, tax expenditures, policies or other activities.

["Strategies for performance improvement" appear to constitute a performance plan and "needed changes" seem to be objectives to be accomplished in order to achieve the desired improvement goals. However, in StratML Part 3, some thought should be given to whether any additional elements may be required to address this provision of the Act.]

''(b) AGENCY USE OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION TO ACHIEVE AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS.--Not less than quarterly, at each agency required to develop agency priority goals required by section 1120(b) of this title, the head of the agency and Chief Operating Officer, with the support of the agency Performance Improvement Officer, shall--

''(1) for each agency priority goal, review with the appropriate goal leader the progress achieved during the most recent quarter, overall trend data, and the likelihood of meeting the planned level of performance;

''(2) coordinate with relevant personnel within and outside the agency who contribute to the accomplishment of each agency priority goal;

''(3) assess whether relevant organizations, program activities, regulations, policies, and other activities are contributing as planned to the agency priority goals;

''(4) categorize agency priority goals by risk of not achieving the planned level of performance; and

[CategorizationTypes is a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 2. Failure risk level is among the kinds of categorizations that might be documented in that element.]

''(5) for agency priority goals at greatest risk of not meeting the planned level of performance, identify prospects and strategies for performance improvement, including any needed changes to agency program activities, regulations, policies, or other activities.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1121 (as added by section 6 of this Act) the following:

[Rendering plans and reports in open, standard, machine-readable format, like StratML, will enable aggregated reporting not only on the website to be established by OMB but also myriad other sites serving various communities of interest.]

[Rendering plans and reports in open, standard, machine-readable format, like StratML (ANSI/AIIM 21:2009), will enable updated reporting not only on a quarterly basis but in near-real time, on an ongoing basis, as agencies update their individual reports.]

''(C) include on the website information about each program identified by the agencies.

''(2) INFORMATION.--Information for each program described under paragraph (1) shall include--

''(A) an identification of how the agency defines the term 'program', consistent with guidance provided by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, including the program activities that are aggregated, disaggregated, or consolidated to be considered a program by the agency;

[The concept of Program has been identified as a candidate for inclusion in StratML Part 3.]

''(B) a description of the purposes of the program and the contribution of the program to the mission and goals of the agency; and

[The concept of the purposes appears to be the same as Objectives, which can be named and described in StratML Parts 1 and 2. In addition, OtherInformation can be provided about each objective. However, in Part 3 consideration should be given to whether additional, more explicit elements may be needed to address the concept of program "contributions".]

''(C) an identification of funding for the current fiscal year and previous 2 fiscal years.

[In StratML Part 2, funding can be documented as a PerformanceIndicator of the input type for as many years as desired.]

''(b) TRANSPARENCY OF AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS AND RESULTS.--The head of each agency required to develop agency priority goals shall make information about each agency priority goal available to the Office of Management and Budget for publication on the website, with the exception of any information covered by section 1120(b)(2) of this title. In addition to an identification of each agency priority goal, the website shall also consolidate information about each agency priority goal, including--

''(1) a description of how the agency incorporated any views and suggestions obtained through congressional consultations about the agency priority goal;

[In StratML Parts 1 and 2, each Stakeholder can be named and described, and in Part 2, the Role of each stakeholder can also be named and described. In Part 3 it may be appropriate to include a more explicit element addressing how stakeholder input has been incorporated. However, another alternative would be to leave it to applications and services, e.g., the website referenced in this provision, to address such information, apart from the plans and reports themselves.]

''(2) an identification of key factors external to the agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the agency priority goal;

[The concept of key or Critical Success Factors (CSFs) has not yet been addressed in StratML Parts 1 or 2 but should be considered in Part 3. It may be appropriate to name the element SuccessFactor and provide attributes for internal versus external and key (or critical) versus ancillary (or influencing).]

''(3) a description of how each agency priority goal will be achieved, including--

[In StratML Part 2, the resources (and processes) required to achieve objectives can be documented in the PerformanceIndicator element. The distinction between "strategies" and objectives is unclear. Thus far, the assumption in the StratML standard has been that the plan itself is the strategy. It appears that in this context the meaning of "strategies" might be methods to be used to achive the objective. If so, methods are analogous to processes, and processes can also be documented under the PerformanceIndicator element.]

[In StratML Part 2, milestones can be documented as TargetResults to be achieved by EndDates within a single resoure allocation and performance assessment period. However, the concept of Milestones has been identified as a candidate for more explicit consideration in StratML Part 3.]

''(C) the organizations, program activities, regulations, policies, and other activities that contribute to each goal, both within and external to the agency;

''(E) an identification of the agency official responsible for achieving the priority goal;

''(5) a description of how the agency ensures the accuracy and reliability of the data used to measure progress towards the priority goal, including an identification of--

''(E) how the agency has compensated for such limitations if needed to reach the required level of accuracy;

''(6) the results achieved during the most recent quarter and overall trend data compared to the planned level of performance;

''(7) an assessment of whether relevant organizations, program activities, regulations, policies, and other activities are contributing as planned;

''(8) an identification of the agency priority goals at risk of not achieving the planned level of performance; and

''(c) TRANSPARENCY OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIORITY GOALS AND RESULTS.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall also make available on the website--

''(1) a brief description of each of the Federal Government priority goals required by section 1120(a) of this title;

''(2) a description of how the Federal Government priority goals incorporate views and suggestions obtained through congressional consultations;

''(3) the Federal Government performance goals and performance indicators associated with each Federal Government priority goal as required by section 1115(a) of this title;

''(4) an identification of the lead Government official for each Federal Government performance goal;

''(5) the results achieved during the most recent quarter and overall trend data compared to the planned level of performance;

''(6) an identification of the agencies, organizations, program activities, regulations, tax expenditures, policies, and other activities that contribute to each Federal Government priority goal;

''(7) an assessment of whether relevant agencies, organizations, program activities, regulations, tax expenditures, policies, and other activities are contributing as planned;

''(8) an identification of the Federal Government priority goals at risk of not achieving the planned level of performance; and

''(d) INFORMATION ON WEBSITE.--The information made available on the website under this section shall be readily accessible and easily found on the Internet by the public and members and committees of Congress. Such information shall also be presented in a searchable, machine-readable format. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance to ensure that such information is provided in a way that presents a coherent picture of all Federal programs, and the performance of the Federal Government as well as individual agencies.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1122 (as added by section 7 of this Act) the following:

''(a) ESTABLISHMENT.--At each agency, the deputy head of agency, or equivalent, shall be the Chief Operating Officer of the agency.

''(b) FUNCTION.--Each Chief Operating Officer shall be responsible for improving the management and performance of the agency, and shall--

[In StratML Part 2 the names and roles of each Stakeholder can be named and described. Consistent with section 10, the performance plan and report of each COO should be published in machine-readable format and should contain these objectives.]

''(1) provide overall organization management to improve agency performance and achieve the mission and goals of the agency through the use of strategic and performance planning, measurement, analysis, regular assessment of progress, and use of performance information to improve the results achieved;

''(2) advise and assist the head of agency in carrying out the requirements of sections 1115 through 1122 of this title and section 306 of title 5;

''(3) oversee agency-specific efforts to improve management functions within the agency and across Government; and

''(4) coordinate and collaborate with relevant personnel within and external to the agency who have a significant role in contributing to and achieving the mission and goals of the agency, such as the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer/Senior Procurement Executive, Chief Information Officer, and other line of business chiefs at the agency.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1123 (as added by section 8 of this Act) the following:

''§ 1124. Performance Improvement Officers and the Performance Improvement Council

''(1) ESTABLISHMENT.--At each agency, the head of the agency, in consultation with the agency Chief Operating Officer, shall designate a senior executive of the agency as the agency Performance Improvement Officer.

''(2) FUNCTION.--Each Performance Improvement Officer shall report directly to the Chief Operating Officer. Subject to the direction of the Chief Operating Officer, each Performance Improvement Officer shall--

''(A) advise and assist the head of the agency and the Chief Operating Officer to ensure that the mission and goals of the agency are achieved through strategic and performance planning, measurement, analysis, regular assessment of progress, and use of performance information to improve the results achieved;

''(B) advise the head of the agency and the Chief Operating Officer on the selection of agency goals, including opportunities to collaborate with other agencies on common goals;

''(C) assist the head of the agency and the Chief Operating Officer in overseeing the implementation of the agency strategic planning, performance planning, and reporting requirements provided under sections 1115 through 1122 of this title and sections 306 of title 5, including the contributions of the agency to the Federal Government priority goals;

''(D) support the head of agency and the Chief Operating Officer in the conduct of regular reviews of agency performance, including at least quarterly reviews of progress achieved toward agency priority goals, if applicable;

''(E) assist the head of the agency and the Chief Operating Officer in the development and use within the agency of performance measures in personnel performance appraisals, and, as appropriate, other agency personnel and planning processes and assessments; and

''(F) ensure that agency progress toward the achievement of all goals is communicated to leaders, managers, and employees in the agency and Congress, and made available on a public website of the agency.

''(1) ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established a Performance Improvement Council, consisting of--

''(A) the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall act as chairperson of the Council;

''(B) the Performance Improvement Officer from each agency defined in section 901(b) of this title;

''(C) other Performance Improvement Officers as determined appropriate by the chairperson; and

''(A) be convened by the chairperson or the designee of the chairperson, who shall preside at the meetings of the Performance Improvement Council, determine its agenda, direct its work, and establish and direct subgroups of the Performance Improvement Council, as appropriate, to deal with particular subject matters;

''(B) assist the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to improve the performance of the Federal Government and achieve the Federal Government priority goals;

''(C) assist the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in implementing the planning, reporting, and use of performance information requirements related to the Federal Government priority goals provided under sections 1115, 1120, 1121, and 1122 of this title;

''(D) work to resolve specific Governmentwide or crosscutting performance issues, as necessary;

''(E) facilitate the exchange among agencies of practices that have led to performance improvements within specific programs, agencies, or across agencies;

''(G) seek advice and information as appropriate from nonmember agencies, particularly smaller agencies;

''(H) consider the performance improvement experiences of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foreign, State, and local governments, Government employees, public sector unions, and customers of Government services;

''(I) receive such assistance, information and advice from agencies as the Council may request, which agencies shall provide to the extent permitted by law; and

''(J) develop and submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or when appropriate to the President through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, at times and in such formats as the chair person may specify, recommendations to streamline and improve performance management policies and requirements.

''(A) IN GENERAL.--The Administrator of General Services shall provide administrative and other support for the Council to implement this section.

''(B) PERSONNEL.--The heads of agencies with Performance Improvement Officers serving on the Council shall, as appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, provide at the request of the chairperson of the Performance Improvement Council up to 2 personnel authorizations to serve at the direction of the chairperson.''.

(a) SEARCHABLE, MACHINE-READABLE PLANS AND REPORTS.-- For fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter, each agency required to produce strategic plans, performance plans, and performance updates in accordance with the amendments made by this Act shall--

(1) not incur expenses for the printing of strategic plans, performance plans, and performance reports for release external to the agency, except when providing such documents to the Congress;

[Rendering plans and reports on the Web in open, standard format (like StratML) will make it easy for those who care to do so to print them (or selected portions) on demand, anytime and anywhere.]

[The Strategy Markup Language (StratML) standard (ANSI/AIIM 21:2009) is a machine-readable format. It can also easily be transformed into other formats, e.g., PDF. However, the reverse is not true.]

(3) make such plans and reports available on the website described under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code.

[Rendering plans and reports on the Web in open, standard, machine-readable format (like StratML) will make it easy not only to incorporate the data and information they contain into the website required by this Act but also myriad other sites for the benefit of various communities of interest. For example, such data and information should also be made available through the Data.gov site.]

(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than June 1, 2012, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance to agencies to provide concise and timely performance information for publication on the website described under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, including, at a minimum, all requirements of sections 1115 and 1116 of title 31, United States Code, except for section 1115(e).

(2) HIGH-PRIORITY GOALS.--For agencies required to develop agency priority goals under section 1120(b) of title 31, United States Code, the performance information required under this section shall be merged with the existing information required under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code.

(3) CONSIDERATIONS.--In developing guidance under this subsection, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall take into consideration the experiences of agencies in making consolidated performance planning and reporting information available on the website as required under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code.

(a) BUDGET CONTENTS.--Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--

(2) by adding at the end the following: ''(37) the list of plans and reports, as provided for under section 1125, that agencies identified for elimination or consolidation because the plans and reports are determined outdated or duplicative of other required plans and reports.''.

Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is further amended by adding after section 1124 (as added by section 9 of this Act) the following:

Annually, based on guidance provided by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chief Operating Officer at each agency shall--

''(1) compile a list that identifies all plans and reports the agency produces for Congress, in accordance with statutory requirements or as directed in congressional reports;

[It would be good if this list were compiled as a strategic plan, in machine-readable format, identifying the objectives and stakeholders of each plan or report. The concept of Authority (e.g., statutory requirements and Congressional reports) has been idenfitied as a candidate for inclusion in SratML Part 3. In combination with such an element, rendering the list of plans and reports in machine-readable StratML format would facilitate anaylsis, consultation with Congress, and automated generation of the count required by this subsection.]

''(2) analyze the list compiled under paragraph (1), identify which plans and reports are outdated or duplicative of other required plans and reports, and refine the list to include only the plans and reports identified to be outdated or duplicative;

''(3) consult with the congressional committees that receive the plans and reports identified under paragraph (2) to determine whether those plans and reports are no longer useful to the committees and could be eliminated or consolidated with other plans and reports; and

''(4) provide a total count of plans and reports compiled under paragraph (1) and the list of outdated and duplicative reports identified under paragraph (2) to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

''(1) FIRST YEAR.--During the first year of implementation of this section, the list of plans and reports identified by each agency as outdated or duplicative shall be not less than 10 percent of all plans and reports identified under subsection (a)(1).

[This requirement should be documented as a TargetResult in a performance plan addressing the requirments of this section.]

''(2) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.--In each year following the first year described under paragraph (1), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine the minimum percent of plans and reports to be identified as outdated or duplicative on each list of plans and reports.

[This requirement should be documented as a TargetResult in a performance plan addressing the requirments of this section for each subsequent year.]

In addition to including the list of plans and reports determined to be outdated or duplicative by each agency in the budget of the United States Government, as provided by section 1105(a)(37), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may concurrently submit to Congress legislation to eliminate or consolidate such plans and reports.''.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Performance Improvement Council, shall identify the key skills and competencies needed by Federal Government personnel for developing goals, evaluating programs, and analyzing and using performance information for the purpose of improving Government efficiency and effectiveness.

(b) POSITION CLASSIFICATIONS.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, based on the identifications under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall incorporate, as appropriate, such key skills and competencies into relevant position classifications.

(c) INCORPORATION INTO EXISTING AGENCY TRAINING.--Not later than 2 years after the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall work with each agency, as defined under section 306(f) of title 5, United States Code, to incorporate the key skills identified under subsection (a) into training for relevant employees at each agency.

[The requirements of this section should be addressed in a strategic and annual performance plans for human resources.]

(a) The table of contents for chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 306 and inserting the following:

(b) The table of contents for chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking the items relating to section 1115 and 1116 and inserting the following:

''1124. Performance Improvement Officers and the Performance Improvement Council.

(1) IN GENERAL.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall coordinate with agencies to develop interim Federal Government priority goals and submit interim Federal Government performance plans consistent with the requirements of this Act beginning with the submission of the fiscal year 2013 Budget of the United States Government.

(A) not later than February 6, 2012, make adjustments to its strategic plan to make the plan consistent with the requirements of this Act;

(B) prepare and submit performance plans consistent with the requirements of this Act, including the identification of agency priority goals, beginning with the performance plan for fiscal year 2013; and

(3) QUARTERLY REVIEWS.--The quarterly priority progress reviews required under this Act shall begin--

(A) with the first full quarter beginning on or after the date of enactment of this Act for agencies based on the agency priority goals contained in the Analytical Perspectives volume of the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget of the United States Government; and

(B) with the quarter ending June 30, 2012 for the interim Federal Government priority goals.

(b) GUIDANCE.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall prepare guidance for agencies in carrying out the interim planning and reporting activities required under subsection (a), in addition to other guidance as required for implementation of this Act.

(a) IN GENERAL.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the ability of Congress to establish, amend, suspend, or annul a goal of the Federal Government or an agency.

(1) INTERIM PLANNING AND REPORTING EVALUATION.--Not later than June 30, 2013, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress that includes--

(A) an evaluation of the implementation of the interim planning and reporting activities conducted under section 14 of this Act; and

(B) any recommendations for improving implementation of this Act as determined appropriate.

(A) IN GENERAL.--The Comptroller General shall evaluate the implementation of this Act subsequent to the interim planning and reporting activities evaluated in the report submitted to Congress under paragraph (1).

(i) EVALUATIONS.--The Comptroller General shall evaluate how implementation of this Act is affecting performance management at the agencies described in section 901(b) of title 31, United States Code, including whether performance management is being used by those agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agency programs.

(I) an initial report on the evaluation under clause (i), not later than September 30, 2015; and

(II) a subsequent report on the evaluation under clause (i), not later than September 30, 2017.

(i) EVALUATIONS.--The Comptroller General shall evaluate the implementation of the Federal Government priority goals, Federal Government performance plans and related reporting required by this Act.

(I) an initial report on the evaluation under clause (i), not later than September 30, 2015; and

(II) subsequent reports on the evaluation under clause (i), not later than September 30, 2017 and every 4 years thereafter.

(D) RECOMMENDATIONS.--The Comptroller General shall include in the reports required by subparagraphs (B) and (C) any recommendations for improving implementation of this Act and for streamlining the planning and reporting requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.