“Setting high standards for the federal government,” says Schatz

(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today applauded the Department of Labor for achieving the top ranking in the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s fourth annual Performance Report Scorecard.

“Secretary Elaine Chao has assembled a staff that is dedicated to achieving greater transparency and accountability at the Department of Labor,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Hopefully, other agencies will emulate the high standards set by the Department and improve their performance next year.”

The top 24 federal agencies are required to publish an annual performance report under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GRPA), which CAGW was actively involved in supporting.  The goal of GPRA was to improve accountability and transparency within government.

“CAGW has been a leading advocate in the call for greater accountability in government,” Schatz said.  “Legislation such as GRPA and allows taxpayers to determine whether and where they are getting their money’s worth.”

The Mercatus Center uses the reports filed by the 24 agencies and ranks them based on transparency, public benefits, and leadership.  Leading the list this year was the Department of Labor with a total score of 40 (60 maximum score, 12 minimum), followed by the Department of Transportation (39), and the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (tied at 36).  Rounding out the bottom of the list is Department of Defense (24).

“The Mercatus Center provides a valuable tool for taxpayers to better understand and evaluate government performance,” Schatz concluded.  “It is a benefit to everyone when watchdog organizations demand more accountability from the government.  Now, Congress needs to review the Mercatus report and other evaluations of federal performance and hold agencies accountable through the appropriations process.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.