BPC Launches New Task Force to Examine Executive Branch Oversight

Washington, D.C.– The Bipartisan Policy Center this week launched a new task force to examine how the government conducts oversight – of itself.

The Task Force on Executive Branch Oversight will examine the broad legislative and administrative authorities of the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management.

The task force will build on the report BPC issued in July 2018, Oversight Matters: What’s next for the Inspectors General, and examine the framework the executive branch uses to oversee itself. It plans to issue recommendations next summer.

The bipartisan task force of former public administrators with diverse federal government experience will examine how agencies:

• Conduct their oversight authority and the tools they utilize
• Interact with the Government Accountability Office, Congress, and each other
• Evolved over time and the source of their authorities
• Address large transformative solutions with practical, commonsense ways forward
• Are influenced by Congress in their conduct of executive branch oversight

“This task force will examine the functions of these agencies from the oversight angles of visibility, accountability, and technology to find where the gaps are that may need bridging,” Dan G. Blair, BPC senior counselor and fellow who will lead the project, said.

Task force members are:

• Clarence Crawford – vice chair, Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority; former chief financial officer, Office of Personnel Management
• G. Edward DeSeve – former special assistant to the Vice President; former deputy director for management, Office of Management and Budget
• Sallyanne Harper – past president, Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management; former chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, Government Accountability Office
• Janice Lachance – former president, American Society for Public Administration; director, Office of Personnel Management
• David Mader – civilian sector chief strategy officer, Deloitte; former controller, Office of Management and Budget
• Marcus Peacock – executive vice president, Business Roundtable; former deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Sean O’Keefe – former administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; former deputy director, Office of Management and Budget
• Linda Springer – former director, Office of Personnel Management; former controller, Office of Management and Budget
• Robert J. Shea – principal, Grant Thornton; former associate director for administration and government performance, Office of Management and Budget
• Denise Wilson – former special assistant to the President, Office of Legislative Affairs; former professional staff member, House Office and Government Reform Committee