FOR GOVERNMENT REINVENTION PROGRAM
Secretary of Defense William J. Perry has nominated the Defense Commissary
Agency (DeCA) for the Performance Based Organization government-wide
reinvention program. The Secretary of Defense remains committed to preserving
the commissary benefit for Service members while at the same time looking for
new ways to save money and streamline operations.
Vice President Al Gore announced March 4 that the Defense Department's
commissary agency was one of eight federal agencies being nominated for
conversion to a Performance Based Organization (PBO). The Vice President made
the announcement while addressing the National Press Club on "Reinvention's
Next Steps: Governing in a Balanced Budget World."
The PBO status will permit DeCA greater flexibility while holding the agency
accountable for its performance. DeCA will work to achieve greater
efficiencies and appropriated fund savings for the taxpayer while improving
customer service and savings at the cash register. DeCA has already saved
taxpayers $302.6 million since it became a joint agency in 1992 and a pilot
agency under the Government Performance and Results Act in 1994. This is one
more way the Defense Department is working to streamline costs.
Other agencies participating in the program include the departments of
Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior,
Transportation and the Office of Personnel Management.
