Government execs can't continue to use the crutch that if Congress doesn't care then they can't do performance stuff. There is a lot that agencies can do to improve performance, even if Congress doesn't pay attention or makes decisions based on factors other than performance.

This bill would give authority to the exec branch to work more effectively across program and agency boundaries, around common outcomes. It would be nice if Congress participated, but that doesn't mean agencies can't act without them!

Thanks for your questions. Here's my take:

In your comment about the lack of any emphasis on interagency collaboration -- I agree. The memo is largely silent on this crucial point. Charitably, you could read "collaboration" into the sections about setting high priority goals, and appointing the goal leaders, but the Administration has not put down an ambitious marker on the importance of cross-agency collaboration as a strategy for achieving outcomes the American people care about.

And as to your question about branding the initiative as "accountability,"  every presidential memo, especially one like this, has two audiences -- the general public and government employees. That's why the Clinton Administration's reinventing government mantra was "works better" (something government employees cared about) and "costs less" (something the public cared about). President Obama's message touches on these: "open and responsive," "efficient and effective," and "cut waste and modernize" . . . but the overall heading does stress "accountability," which is something the public cares about but is not a rallying point for government employees. Public servants don't get out of bed and go to work so they can be "accountable" (well, other than the folks at the Government Accountability Office).

The Obama Administration has yet to find a way to broadly and personally connect with federal employees in a way that inspires them to make a difference in their own work place, for the people they serve. For example, the SAVE Award generates thousands of ideas, but is a top-down program that only recognizes and acts on a tiny fraction of these ideas. There needs to be a way to broadly engage -- even empower -- the workforce to innovate, cut red tape, and serve the public. Being more accountable or increasing productivity are not the kind of clarion calls to service to deliver results Americans care about.