OMB outlines the future of federal funding to state and local governments.John A. Koskinen, deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), formerly the Bureau of the Budget, is an agency of the federal government that evaluates, formulates, and coordinates management procedures and program objectives within and among departments and agencies of the Executive Branch. , told CPAs attending the American Institute of CPAs government accounting and auditing update conference in Washington, D.C., that the federal government must rethink the way it funds state and local governments. "The federal government faces an era of declining resources as the debate continues on how to balance the budget," said Koskinen. "In December the Clinton administration Noun 1. Clinton administration - the executive under President Clinton executive - persons who administer the law announced the restructuring of five major agencies: the Departments of Energy, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) was established by section 101 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C.A. § 751). The GSA sets policy for and manages government property and records. and the Office of Personnel Management," and since then has announced the restructuring of six other major agencies as wen as steps to continue regulatory reform Regulatory Reform concerns improvements to the quality of government regulation. At the international level, the "OECD Regulatory Reform Programme is aimed at helping governments improve regulatory quality -- that is, reforming regulations that raise unnecessary obstacles to . A major thrust is the creation of "performance partnerships" between the federal government and state and local governments, said Koskinen. "The president proposed, in his fiscal 1996 budget, to consolidate 271 funding programs into 27 `performance partnerships,"' which are based on the twin goals of trust and accountability. The federal government would trust states by giving them greater leeway lee·way n. 1. The drift of a ship or an aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. 2. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude. See Synonyms at room. to spend federal resources to solve their own problems, said Koskinen. "In exchange, states and local governments would provide greater accountability for how the money was spent and whether or not the goals actually were accomplished." Koskinen said this approach was vastly different from current funding methods, such as block grants and revenue sharing revenue sharing Funding arrangement in which one government unit grants a portion of its tax income to another government unit. For example, provinces or states may share revenue with local governments, or national governments may share revenue with provinces or states. , because it was more effective at measuring performance. "State and local governments would work with the federal government to decide on the performance measurements - a review of how the funds were expended ex·pend tr.v. ex·pend·ed, ex·pend·ing, ex·pends 1. To lay out; spend: expending tax revenues on government operations. See Synonyms at spend. 2. and the results the funding achieved:' he said. Koskinen said he was confident states would be willing to work in performance partnerships, because they would achieve flexible use of federal resources by "providing clear statements of goals for programs and expenditures." |
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