Topic: Creating an Inventory of All Federal Programs
In late December, Congress passed a law requiring the preparation of a governmentwide inventory of all federal programs by 2024. Implementation of a similar requirement in 2010 foundered on an inability to develop a consistent definition of what constitutes a “program.” GAO criticized that effort and proposed a potential course of action in a 2017 report, but OMB did not act on it right away since additional legislation was pending that would affect development of a definition.
The new law was preceded by several months of effort by OMB to develop pilot inventory efforts. The outgoing Administration put in place a process and timetable for developing the pilots, including a website where preliminary results have been posted.
This session will hear from those involved in the inventory effort, including its background, what has been learned so far, the potential uses of such an inventory – once completed – and what challenges lay ahead.
Discussants:
• Christian Hoehner, Minority staff, U.S. House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
• Benjamin Licht, Assistant Director, U.S. Government Accountability Office
• Deidre Harrison, Acting Deputy Controller, U.S. Office of Management and Budget
Background Reading
OMB Website for Inventory Pilot
** This session will be closed to media and not for attribution. **