HR 2188

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 15, 2011

Mr. Latham (for himself and Mr. Burgess) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

A BILL

To require government-wide application of continuous process improvement methods to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “LESS Government Act”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

(a) Findings.—The Congress finds the following:

(1) Nearly 100 major United States corporations, and many government entities around the world, have reduced waste in their operations and improved the quality of the goods and services they provide by implementing a continuous process improvement methodology known as lean six sigma.

(2) Use of this methodology has resulted in average cost reductions greater than 25 percent while also improving the quality of goods and services.

(3) The piloted use of lean six sigma within the Department of Defense and several other departments and agencies has demonstrated that it can successfully be applied across the Federal Government.

(4) Continuous process improvement is essential for Federal agencies to be successful in setting and meeting performance goals and is a key component that is missing from current statutory requirements for performance improvement efforts.

(5) Clear direction and authority from Congress is needed to ensure this innovative management process from the private sector is applied across the Federal Government to achieve waste reduction and optimal efficiency.

(b) Congressional Statement of Policy.—It shall be the policy of the United States—

(1) to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness of the Federal Government through the use of continuous process improvement methods;

(2) to require each Federal agency to implement the necessary capabilities to fully institutionalize such methods within such agency to reduce waste while maintaining or improving the level of services provided by the Federal Government; and

(3) to return savings from such methods to the United States Treasury to reduce the deficit.

SEC. 3. CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

(a) Continuous Process Improvement Defined.—Section 1101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) ‘continuous process improvement’ means a management methodology (commonly referred to as lean six sigma) that combines tools to improve process speed, reduce waste, and incorporate requirements with data driven project analysis to provide products and services with improved quality at lower cost.”.

(b) Agency Performance Reporting.—Subsection (c) of section 1116 of such title is amended—

(1) in paragraph (6)(E), by striking “; and”;

(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:

“(8) describe the implementation of continuous process improvement, including information on each of the following:

“(A) The extent to which employees have received continuous process improvement training appropriate to the position of such employee, and its relation to the deployment goals in a typical application of continuous process improvement.

“(B) A description of the application of continuous process improvement in cost-reduction projects, including any performance or quality improvements and cost savings realized as a result of such application.

“(C) A comparison of the implementation results to the goal of a 25 percent cost reduction per project.”.

(c) Implementation Results.—Subsection (c) of section 1122 of such title is amended—

(1) in paragraph (8), by striking “; and”;

(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(10) a description of the results of the government-wide implementation of continuous process improvement.”.

(d) Chief Operating Officer Requirement.—Subsection (b) of section 1123 of such title is amended—

(1) in paragraph (3), by striking “; and”;

(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) implement continuous process improvement within the agency.”.

(e) Performance Improvement Officer Requirement.—Paragraph (2) of section 1124(a) of such title is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking “; and”;

(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by inserting at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(G) advise and assist the head of the agency and the Chief Operating Officer on implementing the continuous process improvement within the agency.”.

(f) Performance Improvement Council.—Subsection (b) of section 1124 of such title is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)—

(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as

(D) and (E), respectively; and

(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B), the following new subparagraph:

“(C) an appropriate expert designated by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to paragraph (4);”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) Designation of expert on continuous process improvement.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall appoint a highly-qualified expert on continuous process improvement to serve as a member of the Performance Improvement Council to advise on the implementation of continuous process improvement across agencies.”.

SEC. 4. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

(a) In General.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “Sec. 1126. Center of Excellence for continuous process improvement

“(a) In General.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall designate a center of excellence for continuous process improvement training, from within the Department of Defense.

“(b) Functions.—The Director shall ensure that the center designated under subsection (a) provides agencies with a common set of approaches to training and deployment of continuous process improvement.”.

(b) Designation.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall designate the center of excellence required under section 1126(a) of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.—The table of contents for chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1125 the following new item:

“1126. Center of excellence for continuous process improvement.”.

SEC. 5. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS TO THE PRESIDENT.

Paragraph (1) of section 1108(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “The head of each agency shall include information on the results of cost-reduction projects using continuous process improvement in each relevant appropriation request for the agency, and an explanation of how any savings from such implementation have impacted the agency’s request.”.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

Except as otherwise expressly provided under this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. <all>