Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) is working to ensure federal agencies have specific performance measures in place and that they are working to improve the quality of customer service in order to better use taxpayer dollars and improve the relationship between the federal government and the people it serves. The language addition was just the latest in a continued, successful, and years-long effort by Cuellar to improve customer service by the federal government.

“Just like private sector companies strive for efficiency and excellent customer service to bring in business, the federal government should be doing the same,” Congressman Cuellar said. “Results-oriented government coupled with a culture of respect and customer service isn’t just an ideal to strive for, it’s what hardworking taxpayers deserve and I intend to make that a reality.”

The language Cuellar added stresses result-oriented performance measures which would require government agencies to demonstrate progress towards goals. The language urges Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to work with agencies to ensure that agency funding requests in fiscal year 2016 are directly linked to agency performance plans. The Committee directs OMB to report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee within 180 days of enactment of this to develop these specific performance measures.

Additional language added by Cuellar highlights the need for improvements to the services the government provides including the usability of Healthcare.gov, inquiries from taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or OMB processing federal employment retirement programs. Cuellar’s additions directs that OMB provide, within 90 days of enactment, a report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the implementation and development of standards to improve customer service and how the standards are being incorporated into performance plans.

In 2013, Cuellar and Rep. McCaul (R-TX10) introduced the Government Customer Service Improvement Act of 2013--legislation that would require OMB to develop minimal customer service standards, create a two-year pilot program that will bring experts together to work with agencies that fail to meet government service standards. The legislation would accomplish the objectives at no additional cost to the taxpayer. The bill passed the House of Representatives in 2013.

In 2010, Cuellar passed landmark government reform legislation, the Government Performance Results Modernization Act, which continues to streamline the federal government, integrate resources, and eliminate wasteful redundancy today. The 2010 law required agencies to identify ambitious goals and perform frequent performance evaluation.  Agencies have submitted those reports on a quarterly basis since the law’s passage in 2010 and report a wide range of benefits including improved interagency collaboration, identification existing evidence gaps, and the opportunity to better inform resource allocation decision using evidence, highlighted in the Analytical perspectives of President Obama’s FY2016 budget.