Timothy J. Conlan

Timothy J. Conlan is Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Prior to joining the faculty of George Mason University in 1987, Dr. Conlan served as a senior research analyst with the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as the assistant staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations.

Federal Government Reform Resources: Memos to National Leaders

If President Obama meets with Governor Romney to discuss ways to reform the operations of the federal government, here are some resources they have to draw upon. A number of think tanks have busily been preparing a series of white papers to spark the imaginations of those developing a reform agenda. These are not to be confused with agendas for new policies (such as climate change or immigration reform) or budget decisions, such as the pending fiscal debates.

The Virginia Implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

These funds were accompanied by a new, centralized system of strict financial accountability and perfor­mance reporting, with frequent reporting requirements. These new requirements, as well as the rapid implementation time­frame required by the Recovery Act, created an enormous implementation challenge for all the participants in our federal-state-local-non­profit intergovernmental system.