National Partnership For Reinventing Government - History

History

The NPR was the Clinton-Gore Administration's interagency task force to reform and streamline the way the United States federal government functions. It was the eleventh federal reform effort in the twentieth century.

The creation of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government was announced during U.S. President Bill Clinton's address on March 3, 1993 to a special joint session of the United States Congress This initiative was a reinvention of an effort formerly known as the National Performance Review, and consisted of a proposed six-month efficiency review of the federal government spearheaded by U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The aim for the initiative was to create a government that “works better, costs less, and gets results Americans care about.” However, Vice President Gore went beyond preparing a report to lead an effort that evolved into the longest-running and, arguably, most successful reform effort in U.S. history to date.

In the address to a joint session of Congress on March 3, 1993, President Clinton provided rationale for implementing the NPR: “The conditions which brought us as a nation to this point are well known. Two decades of low productivity growth and stagnant wages, persistent unemployment and underemployment, years of huge government and declining investment in our future, exploding health care costs, and lack of coverage for millions of Americans, legions of poor children, education and job training opportunities inadequate to the demands of this tough global economy.”

The stated intention of the NPR was to “invent government that puts people first, by: serving its customers, empowering its employees, and fostering excellence.” In order to achieve this, the objectives of the NPR were to “create a clear sense of mission; delegate authority and responsibility; replace regulations with incentives; develop budget-based outcomes; and measure success by customer satisfaction.”

Clinton’s address on March 3 was a call to arms aimed at both branches of government and the political parties. His proposition to establish and implement the NPR consisted of four components, detailing the shift from 1) consumption to investment in both the public and private sectors, 2) changing the rhetoric of public decision making so that it honors work and families, 3) substantially reducing federal debt, and 4) administering government spending and cuts.

Gore presented the report of his National Performance Review to President Clinton and the public on September 7, 1993. Gore cited the long term goal was to “change the very culture of the federal government,” and designated “optimism” and “effective communication” as the keys to success of the NPR.

In September 1993, the National Performance Review issued its initial report, noting that successful organizations—businesses, city and state governments, and organizations of the federal government—do four things well. These four things became the recipe for reinventing government: 1) Put customers first; 2) Cut red tape; 3) Empower employees to get results; 4) Cut back to basics.